'Bama faces a huge week on the hardwood

The Tide drops one spot to 10th in the AP Poll

Alabama moves up to 7th in the Coaches Poll...

 

   After a close loss to Oklahoma, the Crimson and White fell to 10th in the AP Poll. That one place small drop means voters think Nate Oats has put an excellent basketball team on the floor. The polls are always fun to view, but the big news now is Alabama playing LSU and Missouri this week. Two wins and would make the Tide's three-game lead in the SEC look even bigger. Before the Kentucky game, I thought Alabama might win three of the four games. Now, the Tide finds itself with Herb Jones injured, Rojas/Quinerly recovering from illness, and these next two games looking tough. Missouri on the road will be a hard game. Coach Martin has put together a fundamentally sound team that can score a lot of points. 

     It's more than injury and illness for the Tide. John Petty is in a shooting slump. In games the Tide wins in blowout style, Petty was deadly. In the last couple of games, not so much.  The loss to Oklahoma was an example. It's simple. When Petty shots well, the Tide's chances to win go up. One reason the outside shooting has suffered is the inability to drive and dish. It seems defenses have decided to take their chances with one on one in the lane and have started cheating outside on the perimeter.  Shooting is contagious. When Petty shoots well, the entire team shoots. It seems like the opposite is true, though. If you want to understand the mentality of a shooter, look at Shackleford. I bet he thinks the next one is going in. A shooter has to shoot. That's what Petty has to do. Just keep shooting.

     I have wondered why Alabama doesn't put Herb Jones around the elbow and let him use his passing skills to find an outside shooter. He could also drive to the basketball. (Please note, I'm not the coach)  The extra day of practice might give Oates time to fine-tune the offense. It will also give Jones, Quinerly, and Rojas time to recover. In my opinion, as soon as we get our players back on the floor, we will be fine. Apparently, Nate Oats is sticking to the "two more weeks" for Jordan Bruner. I had hoped it would be sooner.  Quinerly's play needs to improve. First, he can drive and dish.  He is also a better than average outside shooter. The key to Alabama is shooting well. I'm not worried about the defense. KenPom.com has the Tide as the 7th best defensive team in the NCAA. The offense has fallen off some and now is 21st. The defense has been the surprise of the year to me.  

      Let's give Alex Reese some credit. He played an outstanding game against Oklahoma. He has 15 points, which was his season-high. One thing he did which was not noted was his finding gaps in the perimeter defense. He is also good at recognizing the down scenes set by other players to give him room to shoot.  If Reese continues to play well, it would be significant.  Keon Ellis is stepping up as well. 

     I spoke with someone close to the program, and Jones is getting treatment for his lower back and hip. I'm betting that Jones is better for the LSU game and will be back to full speed this weekend. Here's one thing to keep in mind. By the time the SEC Tournament is played, we should be healthy and back at full speed. 

     LSU lost forward Darius Days was hurt in the Texas Tech game. The 6-7 245 pounds Tiger will take 12 ppg and 8 boards to the bench with him. I'm not sure what the LSU mental state will be. On top of losing Days, the Tigers blew a 7 point lead in the final minute against Texas Tech.

     Missouri rallied late to beat TCU, and for that effort, they dropped six places in the AP Poll. 

Even though Bama lost they gained one spot to 7th in Coaches Poll...

More on LSU tomorrow. I'll update today as needed.