Bombs away against Maryland...

   

Quinerly sliced the 'terps with 11 assists

       I've said several times that Alabama can beat anyone when they shoot the ball well.  Last night, they shot the ball well and beat Big 10 Maryland 96-77. It could have been worse.  The Tide rained three-point shots and gave notice that perhaps the Tide's downtown shooting has returned. For the night, Alabama was 16-33 from behind the arc.  Think about that for a moment. The 16 made baskets were worth 48 points. The Tide was 10-10 from the free-throw line.  The Tide shot 53% from the floor overall and was 48% from behind the arc. The rebound margin was Perhaps the most impressive part of all that was most was done with SEC Player of the Year, Herb Jones, sitting on the bench in foul trouble. 

     Jaden Shackleford led Bama with 21 points.  John Petty, Jr. had 20 and appears to be coming out of his shooting slump. Josh Primo surprised 'Bam fans by coming on the floor and knocking down 2-4 from three-point land and 2-2 from inside. One was a nifty reverse dribble Canadian special. He played for 23 minutes. He also pulled down 4 boards. Juwan Gary started over Bruner and had 6 points, 7 rebounds, an assist, and one blocked shot. Bama is a better team with Bruner on the floor. How about Reese? Alex made 3 bombs from downtown, 5 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Jahvon Quinerly had a double-double. He scored 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists. Keon Ellis, who injured an ankle, and did not appear at full speed, made 4 points and pulled down 3 boards in limited playing time. The Tide only made 9 turnovers. 

    It was a well-played game by both teams. Kudos to Aaron Wiggins, the Terp, who scored a game-high 27 points on silky-smooth outside shooting. He was the one player who Alabama couldn't stop. But they stopped everyone else. 

     Alabama now plays UCLA. The Historic Bruins are the surprise team in the Tournament, in my opinion.  They lost their best player earlier in the season and turned into a great team as the year progressed. The Bruins whipped MSU in a stunning comeback in the play-in game and then reeled off two wins over BYU and Abeline Christian.  This will be a great game between high-flying teams.