BAMA PLAYS THE IRISH...   

Brey's Irish beat Rutgers

      Notre Dame hung on the beat Rutgers last night 89-87. It was one of the best NCAA basketball games I've seen in a long time. It was a two-overtime thriller. Alabama will have its hands full on Friday afternoon. The Irish won the play-in game and then had to fly to San Diego, and their late tip-off and flight for an early game should help the Tide. Alabama is a 4 point favorite, according to the oddsmakers.    

     Sportswriters have written the Tide has to prepare for two teams since they were unaware of who might win the play-in game. It was the same for Notre Dame, however. The Irish had to prepare for Rutgers. Now they prepare for 'Bama. I doubt they did anything for Bama before their game with Rutgers. It seems to me that evens out. 

Bad and good news for the Tide  

   Here's the bad news for the Tide. Notre Dame had only five turnovers against Rutgers. I thought the Irish looked good on offense. Here's some good news for Bama. The Irish won the game, but they got out boarded by 22. If Alabama wins the battle of boards by 22, they should win. Hopefully, the Tide can keep the turnovers around 10. Nate Oats said he has simplified his offense to keep the errors down. I'm not sure what that means, but the Tide will probably just shoot quicker than they have in the last half of the season. Oats likely has some analytical numbers to support the change. Whatever he does will be better than what the Tide has down in the last half of the season.

The Tide has one chance to turn their season around.

     Alabama has the chance to end a disappointing year. If the Tide wins today, they can win 20 games and turn their season around. One win in the NCAA might make things different. It might spark something even better. Perhaps the Tide might make one win turn into two victories. I'm not counting on that, but St. Peters beat Kentucky in a monumental upset. So who knows what a win today might mean for Alabama. 

     If the Tide can play defense like it matters and shoots the lights out from downtown, it could even lead to something monument. I'm not counting on that, but the NCAA is the birthplace of the strange and inspirational. Alabama has beaten two one-seeds already. This team can have already proven they can do the impossible. Who knows? 

     Will this afternoon reignite the dreams of a team that can beat great teams? Or will it be the team that has broken the hearts of Tide fans?