BAMA WELCOMES SOME REST ...   

Miller fouls out with 2.30 left.

      Texas A&M beat Alabama 67-61. Alabama shot 11 free throws and made 10 in the first half. They were not allowed to shoot any free throws in the second stanza. No doubt, the Aggies got a generous serving of home cooking. The Crimson and White staged a comeback, down by 17 by one point in the second half. Bama took a one-point lead with time running out.   Mark Sears threw a pass to Jahvon Quinerly that an Aggie stole. Charles Bediako was standing between Sears and Quinerly. Mark didn't see the A&M player. That one play killed the Tide. Strange things happen in basketball games. Once again, the Tide needed help to make shots from behind the arc. Tip of the hat to Alabama for staging a comeback. Alabama reverted to early season turnovers. 

     If Bama plays TAMU again, Take the Tide in a double-figure game. Alabama pulled three previous games out of the fire. They couldn't do it the fourth time. If you want to know why Bama has been shooting so poorly from the outside, I look at the grinding schedule that gave no rest to the weary. Tired legs lead to poor shooting. 6 days' rest will fix the shooting. Oats will have his outside shooters practice ready to roll in the SEC Tournament postseason. He'll prepare for Miss. State. He doesn't have to do much pre-game preparation for Florida. The state is a good team. Their current record is 21-10. The Bulldogs have size on the interior and decent guard play. The Tide must shoot better from downtown to beat Miss. State. In the postseason, teams try to peak when it matters most. Given the subpar performances in the last four games, the table is set for a comeback.

   

Oats welcomes the rest for his team.

 Despite the loss, Alabama is still a #1 seed in the NCAA bracketology reports. Joe Lunardi has Bama as the top seed in the South. Look for the Tide to fall a couple of spots in the AP top twenty-five poll, which will be released Monday. 16-2 is a remarkable finish in the SEC regular season. Two years ago, the Tide accumulated the same record and won the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship. The road to the tournament championship begins with Alabama taking on the winner of the MSU-Florida game. Barring any upsets, Bama will play the winner of the Missouri-Tennessee game. Bama should win their first two games. In the bottom bracket, I like Auburn to beat A&M in round two and play Kentucky in the next game. And no, it wouldn't surprise me for the Aggies to beat Auburn.

The top four teams in the Vegas prediction are:

1. Alabama

2. Tennessee

3. Kentucky

4. Texas A&M 

    I don't understand the love affair that Vegas has with Tennessee. The Vols have lost their point guard and 6 of 10 games. Bama will get no respect from the national media as the punishment for the Bama movement continues. Bama can win the SEC Tournament, but Kentucky and TAMU keep an eye on A&M and Kentucky. Tennessee or Arkansas could be spoilers. If Missouri has a red-hot shooting, they can surprise some people this week.

     For true hoops fans, you can see teams fight for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament all week. If Bama drops a few spots in the Polls, it is no cause for concern. The real season starts after the SEC Tournament. Can Bama win 30 games this season? I think they will.  

     Bama received a much-anticipated commitment from Kris Parker, 6-6 forward from Quincey, Florida. Parker's final two choices were Villanova and Alabama. Parker is a top 100 prospect. Some recruiting sites list Kris as being 6-8. A strong connection with Nate Oats sealed the deal for Parker. 

     I'd like to see Quinerly start with Mark Sears at the guard position. We had terrible starts with Bradley at this point. We cannot continue to dig a hole from the beginning of most games. I'm not the coach. He burned so much energy in Aggieville in catching up we couldn't finish.  

Miller was named Freshman and SEC PLAYER of the YEAR 

Bediako was named on the All-Defense 1st team

Miller, Bradley, Clowney All-FRESHMAN Team

Jahvon Quinerly CO-SIXTHMAN

Mark Sears -ALL-SEC SECOND TEAM

BUZZ WILLIAMS AND JERRY STACKHOUSE - COACH OF THE YEAR  (tie)