I'm betting 'Bama is ready for the Bruins...

         At one point, UCLA won seven consecutive national championships and ten out of 12 NCAA Tournaments. The last time Alabama went to the Sweet Sixteen was 2004. How much will that matter in tonight's game? The answer to that question is not one bit.  Let me elaborate on that. It won't matter in the least.  Alabama is full of players who might not know about UCLA's tradition or even care if they did.  The game will be played in the famous Hinkle Fieldhouse.  The ghosts of Milan High Schools of their improbable run to an Indiana State Championship will not be in attendance. Instead, the Alabama players will be focused on building their own legacy. For Alabama fans, this season has been one of excitement.  It has not been easy to be an Alabama fan since Wimp stopped coaching.  Sure, there have a few shining moments.  Hope caving into disappointment has been the general rule. Things seem to be changing. 

      Alabama is favored by around six points tonight.  The Tide is coming off a great offensive performance against Maryland. Jordan Bruner has given way to Juwan Gary which will help Alabama inside. Alex Reese has found his game once again.  John Petty made a bunch of three.  Joshua Primo is back in the lineup and appears to have found his stroke. Keon Ellis is becoming a defensive force and he can score inside and out. Last but not least, Jahvon Quinerly as exploded as one of the NCAA's best point guards.  Does this mean Alabama will beat UCLA.  Hopefully, but don't count UCLA out. They have three deadly outside shooters, and are stronger in the paint that 'Bama. UCLA hasn't played a team which as both an outstanding offense and a downright stingy defense. 

      Alabama has greater depth than UCLA. I recorded five UCLA games and watched them all again. The Bruins don't turn it over much as Alabama. 'Bama's has reduced it's turnovers to a manageable number. Can they do that continually? I don't know. UCLA will try to run with the Tide. Is that a good idea? It is for 'Bama. Statistically, the team's are similar, and has the Tournament has proven the PAC 12 is not a weak sister. Alabama needs a good start to this game. I think the Tide can wear the Bruins down in the last quarter of the game. Bama made 10-10 free throws in their last game and the Tide needs to make most of their chances.  Hall, Reese, and Rojas need to rebound and keep UCLA from getting second chances. Getting a few extra opportunities themselves. They'll get some.

      Tonight the Tide has a chance to win game number twenty-seven. Will they do that? I'm betting they will. I like the Tide by eight. 

Bama and UCLA could be an All-Time Classic 

      I graduated from high school in 1965. My senior class had 31 people walk the stage. It was all football in Blount County, Alabama. For me, it was all about basketball. I grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, and my first love was playing basketball on an asphalt court.  We had chain-link backboards, chains for nets.  My family wasn't rich by any standards. We lived close to the black neighborhood. Every afternoon, I'd walk to the court and meet my black friends to play. It was tough, but I learned a lot about life in the Deep South and how to play basketball.  

     Basketball was, is now, and will always be about one thing.  You have to put the ball in the goal. Everything you do on the court is just window-dressing to finding out how many points you could score. Suffice it to say that when my family moved to Alabama, my basketball background was different from my classmates.  For my buddies, it was about controlling the ball and taking good shots. I'd never seen a bad shot in my life. Controlling the ball for me meant behind my back, between my legs, and having court sense.  Today, they call that spatial interpretation. I remember throwing a pass to a teammate who wasn't looking. It hit him in the face. The coach screamed at me. My only thought was he should have been looking. To be a good basketball player, you have to have a court sense.  Your world isn't looking for a place to lower your shoulder to run.  It means you understand where nine other players are on the Court and how to maximize your advantage. Some players understand, but many don't  

      Alabama has players who certainly have high basketball IQs.  Jahvon Quinerly is always two moves ahead of the defender. His teammates know where they need to be and understand they better get there ASAP because Jahvon will deliver the mail right away. If you ask Quinerly how he knows to do the things he does, he'd likely say, "I don't know, but it seems like the right thing to do."  Basketball isn't about the best five players. It is about having five players on the court who play the best together. 

     This weekend, Alabama plays UCLA. The Bruins are an example of a team that is coming together at the right time. So is Alabama. This should be a classic game.  The Bruins of UCLA are the heralded basketball program in NCAA history.  For UCLA fans, this weekend is a chance to bring back some of the magic of John Wooden. Under this leadership, the Bruins won seven National Championships in a row. They also won 10 of 12 Championships under Wooden.  Just think about a minute.  Imagine any team ever doing that again. It won't happen. 

      Alabama hasn't won a national championship in basketball or even an Elite Eight. They can take a monumental step toward doing that this Sunday.    

My top four to win the NCAA Tournament...

     Given the collapse of the Big 10 in the post-season, it makes it more difficult to take Michigan seriously.  I've still got them in my top four to win the whole thing, but I'm not holding my breath on the Wolverines. For the record, here are my picks.

1. Gonzaga

2. Baylor

3. Michigan

4. Alabama.

        It's been a Gonzaga kind of year. The Zags are still undefeated and have had not close games.  They have three NBA future players in their starting line-up. Not many teams can say that. I'm picking Gonzaga to win the whole shooting match. They are balanced, all five starters can score, they are disciplined.  Often overlooked, they play together as a team. A great team is often greater than the sum of its parts, and when you have as many outstanding players as the Zags have, that puts them in the all-time best territory. All that being said, there is one team that might beat them. 

       That team is the Baylor Bears. The Big 12 team is a cohesive team whose ability to score can't be stopped. I'm not joking. They lost a game after a COVID pause, and it took some time to get going again.  When they did, they simply had no real competition. I think a Gonzaga-Baylor final might be the best final the NCAA Tournament has ever seen. 

 

       Michigan is a more traditional team. They have a tremendous post player.  They can out-rebound anyone they play, and they can shoot. Their weakness is they depend on their inside game to win.  Shut down the inside game, and you shut down Michigan.  LSU ran out of energy, or they would have beaten the Wolverines. M go Blue is the last chance to win a national championship for the Big 10.  No team from that league has won a national championship in over two decades.

      Alabama is on my list, and that is not being a homer.  For Alabama, the recipe for winning a national championship is simple.  Shoot the rock from downtown at 40% or above. The Tide's defense is solid and is rated d 3rd in the nation right now.  John Petty, Alex Reese, and Josh Primos showed some signs of being over their shooting slump. Another plus is the emergence of Juwan Gary inside.  

     This has been a special season to be a Tide fan.  Alabama has now won 26 games.  That is in one season and not two. Nate Oats has brought a new attitude and mindset to the Capstone.  

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. 

 Alabama hopes to move on tonight by sending another Big 10 team home...

     The Crimson Tide takes on the 10th seeded Maryland Terps tonight.  For Alabama, a win puts the Tide into a position not enjoyed in decades. For Maryland, a loss is just another embarrassment for the overrated Big Ten. There are two Big 10 teams left in the tournament. After tonight there could be zero teams.  LSU takes on Michigan tonight, and talk on the street is the Bayou Bengals might win. Alabama is now a six-point favorite over Maryland. 

        This is the biggest game the Tide has played on a national level in recent memory. Nate Oats is in his second year and finds himself a 2-seed in the NCAA field. Being a two-seed doesn't guarantee victory. Ohio State and Iowa were 2-seeds, and look where they are today.  Only Alabama and Houston remain in the land of two seeds.  So what does Alabama need to do to beat Maryland? First, Alabama must make Maryland up its tempo. The Terps like it so.  They won by keeping the score low. Alabama wants 80 plus points. 

1. Run the floor.  Push the ball every time they have possession. Speed the game up. 

2. Cause 15+ turnovers. Keep Bama's to 10 or less

3.  Establish lane penetration and shoot lay-ups. This causes the defense to collapse from the perimeter.

4.  Take good outside shots. Don't create threes on your own. Make the extra pass to have better shots.

5.  Make 75% of the free throws. 

6.  Stick to the gameplan. Always stick to the gameplan

7.  Bruner, Gary, Reese, and Rojas need to control the glass. It is imperative to outboard the Terps.

8.  Hard in your face defense. Good switches where needed. Plug the gaps.

9 Get off to a better start than with Iona. 

10. Win the fifty-fifty balls. 

     Alabama needs to be smart. Don't look ahead.  Make this the most important game they have played this season.  Don't look at the results of other games. 

      If Bama scores 80 they win.  

       I'm picking Alabama by 10.

 Bama will have to play better to beat Maryland.

   

Petty led Bama in rebounds

    For 30 minutes in yesterday's Iona game, the Crimson Tide looked lost. They stumbled around, looking for some way to score some points. Alabama shot 47% from the floor. That's usually enough to win a game. The Tide outrebounded the Gaels by 42-26. That is outstanding. Alabama had 10 steals. They caused 17 turnovers, and that's in the hard hat game plan. So why did Alabama look like they were on the verge of getting beat?  It was several things. 

        If you look at the stats for the first 30 minutes, Alabama wasn't doing much more than outrebounding Rick Pitino's Iona team. Bama was missing free throws, throwing the ball away, making lazy passes, and forcing themselves into playing some awful basketball. The outside shots weren't falling. Pitino was working some coaching magic to force the Tide into playing at a slower pace. The more the Tide wanted to run, the more mistakes they made. 'Bama found itself in a catch-22 situation. They couldn't dictate the pace because they were throwing the ball all over the floor, missing free throws, and couldn't hit the ocean if they shot the ball off the end of a pier. Alabama was only 5-16 from downtown.  When half of your offense is shooting threes, that is a pretty bad number. It was the worst game Bama has played all season. 

      Iona wasn't putting pressure on Alabama. The Tide was putting pressure on themselves. When Alabama finally got a lead in the second half, they could relax and put the game away. Survive and advance. Bama did that. Several teams didn't do that. If you look at the "experts" picks, you'll see that they are all over the place. The upsets in Round One surprised a lot of people. My personal bracket looked like it was dripping blood. There will be fewer upsets now. Alabama will play Maryland, which upset favored UConn. Mark Turgeon, head man at Maryland, is a great head coach. The Terrapins finished 8th in the Big10 with a record of 17-13 and 9-11 in the conference.  They are capable of good games. They beat Illinois this season. 

      Maryland is not powerful inside, but they dominated UConn inside as their game neared the end. Expect Gary, Reese, and Rojas to get more time. The Terps made 9-18 from behind the arc. Galin Smith transferred to Maryland after playing at Alabama. He had one point yesterday. 

       If you want to find a silver lining in the Iona win, I'd suggest the Tide played about as bad as they could play and won. Iona is a decent team. They have a great coach. Bama could have lost but managed to cut down on turnovers in the second half and make a couple of downtown shots to build a lead. Only a couple of late threes by the Gaels kept the Tide from covering the line. The margin was 13. Bama is a 6.0 point favorite.

       Loyola whipped in Illinois. No upset in than one. It appears the Big10 was very over-rated. If you watched the game, it was clear that Loyola was the better team. They were ready from the opening whistles to beat the Illini. Illinois and Ohio State are out of the Tournament. Michigan State is gone. Purdue got the thumb early. This doesn't mean that the Big 10 can't win the Tournament. At any rate, the Big 10 is officially on notice. Four of their nine bids are now beaten. 

 Survive and advance...   

Quinerly leads comeback

   The defense allowed only 55 points. Despite Alabama's problems on offense for the first 30 minutes, the defense came to play. It was enough to keep Alabama in the game until the offense caught fire. No doubt, part of the reason the offense came around was that the defense wore out the Gaels. The final was 68-55, and it was enough to win and hopefully enough to let the Tide know that anyone in this Tournament might beat you. 

         I think Jahvon Quinerly, Alex Reese, and Herb Jones were the players of the game. Reese nailed a couple of three-point baskets to give the Tide a little breathing room, and his defense inside was outstanding. Reese finished with six points and three boards. He cut off Jr. Joseph from scoring when he kept passes coming inside from the perimeter. Iona had to eliminate the inside game and shoot threes. That helped tip the scales from a close game to giving a big edge to 'Bama. Alabama out boarded the Gaels by 12. Bama shot 47% from the floor overall. 

       The Tide has a lot of cleaning up to do.  Poor shooting and sloppy play plagued the Alabama for 3/4 of the game. The outside shooting is becoming a problem. John Petty, Jr. seems to lost his confidence. His free throw shooting off as well. He is showing the stress of his cold spell. To be fair,  his defense has been stellar, and his is rebounding well.  He is throwing ill-advised passes, and is trying to force his inside game in the absence of his outside game.  That might be good, but he is taking so many bad shots inside aren't helping the Tide.  You cannot fault his effort though. Alabama is waiting for him to explode from the outside. 

      I'll go ahead and say that Bama needs keep moving toward Reese and Gary for inside muscle. Bruner's mobility is not getting better.  He seem reluctant to mix it up inside. Alabama played its best ball with Reese at the post. At times Gary and Reese were on the floor together and the Tide looked much better inside. If the outside shooting doesn't get better, it might be better for Oats to consider both of them playing. I thought that Rojas gave great effort today. Quinerly is the man. He is a future All-American in my opinion. His steady play, outside shooting, and ability to slice and dice defenders on the outside is exceptional. He is Alabama's best player right now. 

   

Jones led all scorers  with 20

    It's hard to believe that Alabama's free throw shooting was so poor.  Had the Tide made their free throws, the Tide would have had a bigger margin in the first half, and it would have caused Iona to press to score even more.  Little things make a big difference in games. The Tide failed to protect the ball and hit their free throws. The Tide controlled the boards, and that kept them from getting beat. You might get away with that against a 15 seed, but not a lower seed. I'm betting that Nate Oats was pretty upset by the entire effort.  I watched his post-game press conference.  He wasn't very upbeat to say the least. 

       Once again, Herb Jones was the best player on the floor. His heady play on offense. He had 20 pts., 6 rebounds, made all four of his free throws, and had 3 assists. He defended three different positions, and had 3 steals. He was selected by most as the Player of the Game. Alabama had 14 turnovers, with 10 coming in the first half. Herb had 5 of those,  which was uncharacteristic for him. 

       Color me unimpressed with the Tide's Round one play. But I'm not concerned. I think Oats can get his players back on track. Shooting from the outside is problematic but it won't always be this bad. I wonder if Bam ahas some first game jitters. It wasn't like the Tide was used to playing in the NCAA. I felt like they were putting too much pressure on themselves. My guess things will be better.

      Alabama will play Maryland who upset UConn  63-54.  Alabama will be a favorite in that game.