Bama drops one to Georgetown at home...

    

The Hoyas shut down
the inside game.

      Good grief. ‘Bama lost a game at home. You would think our fans need a Code Blue. The team played hard. They played well. They shot the ball from inside the three-point line more than well enough to win.  They shot the ball so poorly from the outside it was astonishing to watch.  Georgetown, no Johnny come lately to big time basketball, defended ‘Bama well. The Tide was 3-16 from downtown. They needed to be 4-16. They needed to hit 2 more free throws. They needed to switch on a pick which allowed Georgetown to win on a 3 point shot. That failure to switch probably will cause Coach Grant to worry a lot more than missing shots. Everybody misses shots in basketball. Every team that plays basketball will have a game like the Tide had last night. When you hold a team with the national respect that a Big East team deserves to 57 points you’ll win 9 out of 10 games.

There are a hundred things that Bama did well. There were very few things they did poorly.  So let’s all take a deep breath and relax. Basketball is not a sport where losing one game will make or break your season. Well, it might if you are playing in the absolute last game of the college season and lose. The home streak the Tide put together was remarkable. It was remarkable in the sense that it was put together with teams trying to get better.

Here’s the way basketball is when you are trying to build a great program. First, you win a few home games and get shellacked on the road. Then you win a few more home games and knock off a couple of pretty good teams in front of your home crowd.  You also win a few road games against poorer teams. Next you win most of your home games and split even on the road. Then you put together a real home court killer (like Bama has) and also beat some good teams on the road and the good opponents are afraid they might lose to you at home. So that is where we are this Friday morning. Look back over Grants first two seasons and see how Alabama has followed that script. Alabama is going to win more games on the road against good teams than they will lose at home. Losing to Georgetown is not the end of the world. Losing to UAH might be. I remember when Alabama almost lost to Birmingham-Southern a short time ago. That caught my attention.

I commend Georgetown for coming into a tough road game and having the presence to run their sets, set their picks, and tone down the home crowd. When the season is winding down I have no doubt where Georgetown will be – in the NCAA Tournament. They are better than expected because you can’t predict poise and confidence. Alabama lost on a 3 point basket at the end.  A great player made that shot. Alabama had once short lapse of focus and became confused whether you switch on the screen or fight through the pick.  For those of you who don’t quite understand that, you always switch on a three pointer and take your chances on the other rolling down to score. Rolling down might have tied the game. Letting someone shoot a three point will get you beat some nights. Last night was one of those nights.

Bama’s shooting will improve. I know that. Why? Because, the Tide has too many good shooters to go 3-16 and suffer through many games such as last night’s. When those nights occur you hope you are playing Podunk College and not Georgetown.  Shooting that poorly at home is a rarity. Later on in the season it will be offset by 13-16 shooting one night when they need it most. Alabama will start another home winning streak. We will go to the NCAA tournament. I’m not worried about our shooting. I’m worried about a lack of depth inside. I believe Alabama will be as good as their bench plays. I’m not happy about losing. It is not the end of the world to lose a game as we know it. Ask the football team.




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