Well, that was certainly a basketball game that was played in Nashville the other night. Or maybe it wasn’t – tweet – just got called for another foul. An epic back and forth battle between two of the early favorites to win the SEC was highjacked after halftime by the officiating crew, who apparently did not receive the memo that no one showed up or tuned in to watch them.
For anyone who has been around, horrific officiating in college basketball is certainly nothing new, but that doesn’t mean we should just sit back and accept it. It’s beyond time for the powers that be in college athletics to address it. And I don’t say this just because Alabama lost the game. The officiating was atrocious on both ends. The game took nearly three hours to be played. NBA games don’t take that long despite having 8 more minutes of game time and two more built in stoppages. It’s absurd.
Anyway, I didn’t have much to take away from that game. The fact that the Tide competed and had a legitimate shot late despite Aiden Sherrill missing the game and Labaron Philon leaving early in the second is a testament to this team’s ability and fight. Especially when you consider how poor the shooting was, both from the line and the arc.
Now, the Tide returns home looking to bounce back against Sean Miller and his Texas Longhorns.
How to Watch
What: Texas (9-6, 0-2 SEC) vs #13 Alabama (11-4, 1-1 SEC)
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa AL
When: 7:00 pm CST
TV: ESPN
Line: Alabama -12.5
The ‘Horns don’t resemble much of the team we saw last season – the only returning players who logged significant minutes on that team are Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark. Like many SEC teams a year ago, Texas was a very experienced and veteran team. They also made a coaching change this past offseason, bringing in Sean Miller from Xavier – his second stint with the Musketeers after a long, successful career as Arizona’s head man.
As such, there was a lot of turnover and a massive influx of new talent. Dailyn Swain followed Miller from Xavier, and he’s been Texas’ best player by a decent margin this season, averaging 15.6 PPG on 55.6%/29.7%/76.8% with 7.1 RPG, 3.5 APG (team-best 22.8% AST%), and 1.8 SPG. Lithuanian seven-footer Matas Vokietaitis arrived by way of Florida Atlantic. Camden Heide brought his shooting proficiency (50.0% 3P%) from Purdue. Simeon Wilcher came from St. John’s. Etc.
On paper, this is a really talented team. But they have struggled to gel together in Year One under Miller.
Three Keys to Victory
- Overcome Injuries. The injured list is really starting to pile up for Nate Oats’ squad right now. I already mentioned Sherrill and Philon – who are both considered game time decisions as of this writing – but Amari Allen also tweaked his ankle the other night in Nashville, Davion Hannah has missed the past few games, and Latrell Wrightsell clearly still hasn’t fully recovered from that Achilles tear last season. The Tide has a lot of depth on this year’s unit, but it’s hard for anybody to withstand that level of attrition. If Sherill and Philon are both out again tonight, that changes the outlook of this game tremendously.
- Keep up the Pace and Attack. That all being said, regardless of who all is playing tonight for the Tide, Alabama doesn’t need to get away from its identity. Because I’ll tell you this – Texas can’t guard a soul in transition or outside of the paint. Their guards and wings are basically traffic cones compared to what Vandy threw at Alabama the other night. 225th in 3P% allowed, 270th in Turnover Rate, 257th in Free Throw Rate allowed. As long as Alabama has enough healthy bodies to keep pushing the tempo and attacking with intention, the Tide could run this team out of Coleman.
- Guards and Wings Iso Defense. On the other end of the court, Texas is a very iso-heavy team. One of the few things that didn’t change much from last year. Pope, Mark, Swain, etc. are all looking to get by their defender and get to the free throw line. After I just got done ranting about officiating, the basketball gods reward us with a game against the #1 team in the country in Free Throw Rate. Texas doesn’t share the ball much at all – they rank 319th in Assist rate. So, Alabama’s perimeter defenders need to be ready to lock-down their one-on-one matchups without fouling. Probably not a “switch everything” kind of game tonight for the Tide.
Losing the only match-up Alabama will have against Vandy this year definitely hurt in the SEC title race. Still, there was enough from that game to be encouraged about, and hopefully the Tide will start to get a bit healthier as we progress further into the thick of the conference schedule. Texas is kind of a disorganized mess right now, but they do have plenty of talent on the roster, so Alabama doesn’t have time to sit around and lick its wounds.
Come on out to Coleman tonight and show your support! Roll Tide!
