NCAA snubs Tide ...

When winning doesn't matter...

      I guess beating Georgia head to head and back to back meant nothing. This is not going to be a rant. Simply stunned at this point. Bama also beat Belmont, Kentucky, Tennessee and their cheating coach, We finished 2nd in the Conference. We finished the last third of our season on fire. I guess winning doesn't matter. Other teams have reason to complain. Georgia a 10 seed and we beat them twice. The second time we beat them Bama' intensive defensive pressure melted the dogs off the floor. But winning doesn't matter. Bama beat the God Almighty Kentucky Wildcats. But winning doesn't matter. We beat Tennessee on the road. Bruce Pearl gets rewarded for lying?  But winning doesn't matter. Didn't we beat Belmont. Isn't St. Peter's in the NCAA.

And if you finish 11th in your conference why should be rewarded with an NCAA bid. When nail down spot number 2 in our league and get zip. If you have 7 teams and 11 teams out of two conferences what are conferences designed to do?  I can hear the Coaches' pep talk. "all we have to do is finish 11th and we are in."

Here's the truth -  for whatever reason the NCAA simply wasn't going to select Alabama. The final conference win over Georgia that was touted as important wasn't. So when Bama whipped the Dawgs the first time an opportunity to beat the Tide might happen in the SEC Tournament.  It happened that Alabama whipped the Dawgs again. Georgia was on the bubble according to every bracket specialist would be lucky to get in even if they managed to beat Alabama. So if Alabama is so bad didn't those two losses fall under the bad losses column. Nope, something stinks here, and I think a lawsuit that Alabama won against the NCAA had a lot to do with what happened. Payback come in all types of packages.

Never say die Bama wins again...

A game for the centuries....

Mitchell celebrates big three in OT

       Perhaps 4,000 Alabama fans witnessed  a game that 10 years from now at least 100,000 people will swear they watched. As the years progress the game will take on an almost legendary proportions. Bobby Thompson move over, you now have company. It was a game where the impossible became the improbable. The improbable proved to be the unbelievable. The unbelievable will become one of those moments in Alabama sports history where grandfathers will tell their grandsons what happened and finish the story by saying, "and I was there." I was there. I still find it find the convince myself that it really happened  From 14 down with only 7:33 left with Georgia holding the ball the Crimson Tide decided to write basketball history.

     This is a story that is almost impossible to tell. The only story that comes to mind is that of Lazarus. Alabama came back from the dead. The Crimson fought back on defense. They snatched, clawed, dived, and hustled themselves back into contention. Georgia lost their composure. Alabama found their groove. For the last 7 minutes Alabama could do nothing wrong and Georgia could do nothing right. It was as if Georgia has run out of gas, and Alabama hit the Turbo button. Back finished on a 19-5 point run to tie to the game at 53. With four seconds left Georgia's Dustin Ware took an inbounds pass and dribbled just outside the three point circle and shot a floating one hander. Off the glass and Georgia wins. Nope. Instead of the letting the Georgia players go for the win, Mark Fox decided to coach a little. . Fox called a time out just before the Ware worked his magic. The Georgia players looked stunned. I'm not sure that Fox even saw the ball go into the basket. The glee of that moment turned into disbelief. And five minutes later that disbelief turned into defeat.

     I'm not defending Fox, but the whistle clearly sound before the shot and Alabama's JaMichael  Green who had blocked everything thrown his way in the last 7 minutes, heard the whistle lowered his arms. This allowed Ware to shoot unobstructed. Green likely would have either blocked the shot or altered Ware's shot and he wouldn't have made it. Who knows?  All defeats are bitter. But this had to be as bitter as hemlock for a Georgia team that had played flawlessly for 53 minutes. While all the mini-drama will be talked about as long a peach baskets are nailed to walls it - doesn't take on thing away from Alabama's never say die team. Even in the overtime when Georgia twice took the lead they Tide came back. Bama won the overtime on a fierce defense, a key three point basket by Tony Mitchell in overtime, and clutch free throw shooting by Bama. In overtime and just for record Green pulled down so many key rebounds he seemed like the unmovable object.  For the game Green had 20 points, 13 rebounds, five blocked shots, and the full hatred of every Georgia Bulldog who watched the contest.

Ware's last second 3 didn't count when Coach
Mark Fox decided to call time out. 

     Look, this is a game where you can write the numbers, but it won't tell the story of the game. This is a story about an Alabama team that played so bad my buddy Jeff Sherrer said he couldn't tell if the Tide looked like a train wreck or a dumpster fire. For while it might have been worst than that.  The Tide proved that you can make silk purses out of sow's ears if you have persisitence and effort. Bama pulled it together and and Georgia fell apart. At halftime,  Coach Grant told Tony Mitchell to be a man and shut down Georgia's Lesile. He challanged him. He questioned his manhood and his effort against his home school. Tony answered the challange and shut down Leslie in the second half. When the last seven minutes were played Leslie became the invisible man. Mitchell sacrificed a lot of offense by burning himself on defense until he hit that rock the cradle three late in overtime.


Can't keep out Bama from NCAA now...

     Trevor Releford commented to the press that Grant challanged Mitchell man to man, and told him  to kill  the snake by cutting off its head. Stop Leslie. Mitchell stopped Leslie and Georgia lost. Bama now stands at 21-10 with a semi-final game with Kentucky on Saturday. Bama has earned a berth to the Big Dance. The Tide has shown that the RPI should be renamed the RIP. It is a meaningless number. It meant nothing when it was dreamed up and clearly its value is baseless. I have no idea where the NCAA will send Alabama. But a lot of coaches who will be in the NCAA is saying "please not our bracket? Roll Tide my Crimson Brothers and Sisters. Thank you Alabama reminding each of us that impossible is not a word if you believe its not.

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Higgins does it again...

Time to step down...
     
     Let me say something before I start talking about Tim Higgins and the state of officiating in general. I didn't think Tim Higgins could officiate when he was younger. Now I know he can't officiate in the autumn of his career. There is absolutely no way that Higgins could have missed the St. John player stepping out of bounds. He as only OB by about a foot. I don't fault anyone for missing the travel. Those things are hard to determine walking in the best of times. In a crunch time when officials want players to determine a game's outcome and travels sometimes get, ahem... overlooked. But you can't overlook stepping out of bounds. Higgins reportedly has worked around 80 games this season to date. That wear and tear mounts up on a young man. I can only imagine what it does to an older man.
   
     Not defending the indefensible but the NCAA could help alleviate the such situations by limiting the number of games any official can work in a week. Some work 5 or 6 games weekly. One day you are in Gainesville and the next day in the Garden. Not only are old men trying to keep up young men they have to travel, eat food on the road, sleep in strange beds. No of this is conducive to doing a good job. Some of these men have officiated over 120 games by season's end.

     The crew that worked the Rutger's - St. John game collectively missed the most obvious call since JaMicheal Green did not step out of bounds as he was mugged in Vandy.  There was no excuse for Higgins then. There is none in the Big East Tournament. I've never understood why the NCAA allows such to occur. No actually I do. They are penny wise and dollar foolish. The NCAA could hire professionals like the NBA does. The NBA is paupers compared the NCAA.

     Here is my favorite Tim Higgins quote about officiating. "It's not hard work. You only have to concentrate for what, two hours?" That right Tim, two hours. Two complete hours. Not 1:59 minutes. It's time to step down for the good of the game.

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Bamabasketball.net All SEC Team 2010-2011

 Bamabasketball.net is proud to present our picks for All-SEC and other awards. The panel of voters consists of 12 voters. One fan from each school in the SEC.

JaMichael Green – Jr.  Post player – 6-8  220 lbs   Alabama

Chandler Parsons – Sr. swing player – 6-10 218 lbs.  Florida

Trey Thompkins –  Jr.  Power  forward -  6-10 245 lbs.Georgia

John Jenkins -   Jr . Shooting  Guard – 6-4 20         Vanderbilt  

Chris Warren – Sr.  Point Guard  - 5-10   185 lbs.                    Mississippi

This may be the weakest All SEC team in the last two decades 

Honorable Mention:  Jones, Knight (Kentucky) Hopson (Tennessee) Releford (Alabama) Bost (MSU)

Boyton (Florida) Gabriel (Auburn) Mitchell (Alabama) Clarke (Arkansas) Leslie (Georgia) Taylor (Vandy)

Ezili (Vandy)

Players of the Year – tie:  Parsons (Florida) Green (Alabama) Each player guided his team to success

Newcomer of the Year /Freshman of the Year  - Releford (Alabama) runner up- Knight (KU)

Coach of the Year:  Tie: Grant (Alabama) Donovan (Florida) It is hard to tell who did the better job. Was it Grant who took a freshman point guard and a few good players and turned them into contenders. Or was it Donovan who got his players to play at the level expected. I’m not  sure which is harder. Alabama’s success was unexpected.  Florida’s started slow but finished at the top.

Talking with fans around the SEC...

No consensus as to who will win the Tournament ....

     If you talk with ten different fans from from ten different teams you'll get ten different answers. That's what you have to love about the SEC.  Everyone sees their respective teams through rose colored glasses. I have talked with about 20 fans across the SEC.  Only Kentucky fans feel they are lock to win the SEC. Of course, they also feel they are lock to win the NCAA, and the NBA championship if allowed to play.

     Most SEC fans do believe that Kentucky or Florida will win the Tournament, but even the Auburn fans feel like they might win the shootout. They have won two straight, played Bama off their wheels on two occasions, and all they need is for Ole Miss to beat Kentucky. LSU fans seemed to feel like they need a new coach. It is kind of sad to see LSU reduced to an afterthought

     Georgia fans are touting their home court advantage and are absolutely sure they will beat Bama in a rematch. Georgia fans also feel that Auburn can't run in Cam Newton at this late date. Smirk, smirk. Alabama fans think they are under appreciated by the SEC and the NCAA, but especially by ESPN, and the talking heads around the nation.   Bama has won 12 of their last 16 and apparently that doesn't matter for much according to some.


     You cannot count out Mississippi State according the Bullie fans. Dee Bost, Renardo Sidney, and Ravern Johnson can rise up to smite you on any given occasion. Tennessee fans, who believe that Bruce Pearl has been unduly selected by the nasty NCAA for ridicule, believe that Scotty Hopkins can lead them out of the wilderness and into the promised land. Vanderbilt fans believe they come from a superior gene pool and thus in matters of great stress can contain their composure and will win. It might help if they get out a few three point shooters now and again.


    After all the jawing in good nature most SEC fans voted this way:  1. Kentucky  2. Florida  3. Vandy  4. Alabama. That has nothing to do with their bracketing, just who they think can actually win.  It was interesting that no Arkansas teams thought the Hogs could win but offered to sell their tickets to me a cut rate. Does this bode ill will toward John Pelphry?  It is long way from Fayetteville to Atlanta to see your team lose in the first round. Maybe it is just the gas prices.

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So who wins the SEC Tournament this week...

The likely candidates are one of the four teams that drew a bye into the quarter-finals. Nothing has been remotely in the category of likely in the SEC as we have come to know this season. So anything is possible except LSU winning the tournament. I'd throw Auburn in that category as well.

Auburn avoid the cellar by winning their last game. Can anyone seriously see either variety of Tigers winning the Tournament? Not me.

The East would be the odds on favorite to have the winner fall out of their ranks. The big blue two, Kentucky and Florida are the favored to win according to Vegas. Vanderbilt seemed a good choice at one time. Georgia is once again playing at home. South Carolina is playing for next year. And Tennessee is trying to get its hoop Prozac adjusted. Looking at the East if Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, or Tennessee won on Sunday it would not be a huge surprise.

Now think about the West. Alabama and Mississippi State won the byes. Vegas gives Alabama an 8% chance of winning the clambake. The aforementioned pair of Tigers have 0.00% chance of winning to the boys who set the odds. Arkansas and Ole Miss might give a decent account of themselves before falling. But lets face it. Bama and State have been given about the same respect that Rodney Dangerfield might get if lost as a kid in traffic.                                                                                             

To the betting world it is Florida to come out of the lower bracket to play Kentucky in the upper bracket. Just for the fun of it let me tell you why that won't happen. Florida has been playing great. They couldn' t play any better, and are due for some type of letdown in Atlanta. It is conceivable that State behind really great games for Dee Bost, and Leon Spinks could pull an upset. Because the SEC is looked at as a wannabe in basketball this season it would not make much a splash nationwide should State win. But it would set off a small earthquake in these parts. If Mississippi State upset Florida the Kentucky fans would cut the nexts down on Saturday.

But Kentucky has a few problems of its own. In fact their problem number starts with 6. They play six players only. The haven't been road warriors and even Alabama beat Tennessee at home. Assuming the SEC mandates something akin to fair officiating  I can see the Ole Miss Rebels who have never played up to their potential giving the Cats a run. First, they have the size inside to offset some of the Kentucky size. They also have experienced guards who shouldn't fall apart at the first run the Wildcats take. I know that Kentucky is going to be the heads on favorite in this game (assuming Ole Miss gets past South Carolina). Write it down - Ole Miss is going to play Kentucky hard.

Alabama is waiting for neither of their favorite teams to come out of the first round Auburn-Georgia game. Alabama has barely beaten Auburn twice this season and you have to wonder if third time charms come true. Georgia and Alabama have more to gain NCAAwise than any other teams in the field. Just when Alabama proved to the selection committee that deserve a bid over Georgia they may have to tip it up again. If Georgia wins they'll be barking about beating Auburn and Alabama. Ironically, even if they won both games it will hurt their RPI. If Bama had to play Auburn again you can bet your last dollar that Barbee will use the same gameplan as before. He ran Alabama off its feet and turned the game into a food fight. An Alabama win will not help their RPI either. But if Auburn beats Georgia and Alabama beats Auburn it would at least take Georgia out of the NCAA conversation.

Alabama has a short bench. They can't afford another duel to the death with Auburn and expect to have legs to play Kentucky. The only way the Tide beats KU is to run them out of their Nikes. Alabama will have a hard time winning a half court game against the Wildcats. I'm not sure that Bama can count on Davis for three games in a row the way they had to count on him against Georgia last weekend. But perhaps Davis will continue to play inspired. If he does the Tide is going to be tough to beat.

When Alabama is shooting well they can beat anyone in the SEC. For that matter I believe they can beat almost anyone in the nation. Their defense is Shutter Island good. If the offense can catch fire the Tide will non only be tough in Atlanta but could make some NCAA noise. You can always take your defense with you on the road but sometimes the offense misses the bus.

I personally don't see how Bama doesn't make the field of 68. The won the SEC West in a runaway and won 4 or 6 against Eastern Division teams. Still it bothers me that all the pundits keep finding reasons why Alabama shouldn't be in the field. Simple question - do you think their are that many better teams in the nation right now than Alabama? Do you think that anyone is that much better than anyone else this year. That is one reason why everyone is struggling to say which teams should get in the field. I say we are in right now.

If you would like to leave some words of encouragment on the comments section below I will forward them our team. Hope to see many of you in Atlanta. Are any fans staying at the Hyatt Place in Buckhead. If so let me know. Roll Tide.


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It seems to me the NCAA selection process is screwed up...

Frank talk is best sometimes...

1     Just some observations about the upcoming NCAA Tournament...  

2.    No one really seems to know how to pick the field...

3.    If you are the 7th - 11the team selected in from the Big East you don't deserve a bid.

       If you are the 11th best team in your conference you shouldn't be considered except as a joke.

4.   Tennessee doesn't deserve a bid they are 18-12 and have a cheater for coach. The Vols should
      pay for Pearl's lies to the NCAA. And so does Pearl.

5.   I like the Cinderalla effect that happens when teams like UNC-Ashville gets a bid, and don't think
      that should ever be eliminated.

6.   Only 6 teams from any conference need to be considered for a bid, and all of those teams must have
      winning records in their conference.

7.  Every defending national champion should always be invited the following year.

8.  The field should be opened to each team. It would take two more rounds. One week. No more    arguments about who gets in. We can then argue about seedings instead.
    
9.   Alabama and Georgia deserve bids before Tennessee. So does UAB.

10. The Selection Committee should include an ex-player and a fan.

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