Tide refuses to fold and beat the Buffs 62-61

New  York,  New York –

Releford hits the winner with .13 left

                There may not be crying in baseball, but there were a lot of tears shed after Alabama beat Colorado  62-61. At the end there wears tears of joy, tears of sorrow, and most of all there was JaMichael Green’s tears of relief. Green had picked up his 5^th foul with 2:27 left in the hotly contested contest, and when he went to the bench it seemed to all the world that ‘Bama’s chances to win were right there with him.  Colorado wasted no time in regaining the lead with Green on the bench.  30 seconds later Colorado’s Andre Robinson hit a layup to give the Buffs 61-60 lead. That shot came with a buck 15 seconds left in the game.  Only two more points would scored, and Alabama’s little man, Trevor Releford took the ball down the left baseline and hit a lay-up to put the Tide on top 62-61 with unlucky 13 seconds left.

Chris Hines was as tough as a junkyard dog...

                The Tide withstood one last shot by Colorado by superstar Alec Burks with two seconds left to gut out their 25^th win of the season.  The game was as close as the experts had predicted between the two number  one seeds.  Hard to imagine that these two teams didn’t play in the NCAA.  None of that mattered to the gallant but tattered Crimson Tide who circled JaMicheal Green after the game showing some love and respect to the big man. I’ve seen a lot of emotional things in my life in Alabama basketball.  The last 2:27 of the game and the post game celebration brought a smile to face and a tear to my eye.  The small but loyal road fans for the Tide were treated to an all timer.

 Bottom line of this game should read.  The Tide staggered but got off the canvas to post a win.  Anthony saw his team overcome a near meltdown but somehow the coach kept the team focused. I have no idea what Green said to his team in that last 2:27 but I’m sure the words defense and rebounding were prominently mentioned.  Alabama held Colorado to 19 points below their season’s average. The Buffalos started to run but they could never stampede their way over the Tide.

Consider this – with 6 minutes left in the game the Big Twelve representative had scored 57 points and appeared ready to rip and roar for a lot more.  Alabama cinched up their belts a notch tighter and allowed only 4 points in that 6 minutes.  While the Tide wasn’t setting the hardwood on fire with their offense they didn’t quit playing defense.  When it appeared that maybe the Tide was going to fall apart they continued to contest shots, deflect passes, and get key rebounds. In the middle of all the chaos the junkyard dog, Chris Hines, was everywhere.  He was fighting for boards, getting knocked to the floor, and pumping up the troops.  I doubt his name will appear anywhere in the New York Times but in my eyes it was Hines who kept the team together long enough to make a comeback.  

When Chris Hines batted away the last rebound to seal the win I saw Anthony Grant raise both arms and smile. Yep, saw it myself.  Three years ago Alabama fans started the movement for a new coach.  You all know who this writer wanted.  So what do you Tide fans think? Did we get a coach? I think we did. How good a coach is Grant? He put Engstrom in the game to beef up the board game. Engstrom?  Are you kidding me?  He did just fine.  Grant is going to win us a national championship before he leaves. Write that down.  Alabama’s seniors have one more game to play. They will never play for a national championship basketball team at Alabama.  But each of the kids can hold up their head and tell the world they lit the fuse…Roll Tide.

Wrap up:

Anthony Grant is having the unique experience of seeing his present players attempting to win the NIT. At the same time many of his VCU players are trying to win the NCAA…


Green had 22 points and dominated the game when he was allowed to play…

Releford’s lay-up to give Bama the lead caused every basketball coach in America to say  “They gave Releford the baseline. I can’t believe it”

Colorado missed a lot of three pointers. They also made a lot. You can easily see why they average 80 ppg.  When uncontested they knocked them down.

Colorado proved the old adage that pressing teams don’t like to be pressed themselves. The Buffalo upped the pressure and the Tide almost panicked. 

Bama missed so many free throws it got sickening.  I don’t know about you but I kept thinking , ‘if we had only made those free throws’

What do they put in the water at VCU for coaches to drink?

For the first time in a long time I thought the refs were consistent. A lot of fouls went uncalled inside but at least they were consistent in not blowing the whistle.

I’d put the Tide fans at about 1200 or so.  I don’t know how loud Times Square is when the drop that ball on New Year’s Eve, but I know how loud 1200 hundred Alabama fans can be. Call it a draw.

Have you ever tried to explain to anyone what Roll Tide Roll  actually means?

Have you ever paid 16.00 dollars for a hamburger and only 10.00 for a Rolex?

Regardless of what you’ve heard New Yorkers are very friendly.

There isn’t  single cab driver in New York City that speaks English.

There isn’t a single person who opens a door in NYC who does have his hand stuck out for a tip.

I’ve never gotten a last minute call from a friend who said, “hey, meet me at the airport we’re taking my jet to NYC after all”.  Small miracles do happen.

And we’re doing it again on Thursday. Rich friends are nice to have.  The guy owns a private jet and kept saying “I  can’t believe how expensive gas is in NYC.”

I’ve been all over the world and NYC is still the greatest city on the face of the earth despite the price of gas and hamburgers.  Oh yeah,  have you ever bought canned Coke for 4 dollars?  I refuse to pay 4 bucks for a coke, yet threw down 8.75 for a beer. Go figure.  Six beers are going to cost me over 50 bucks. That’s a lot, but less than the 12 I'd bought had we lost. Only kidding, sort of...

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