| MBB/WBB šŸ€#16 Alabama @ Florida (Tuesday 6 pm - ESPN) [Oats previews game]

I get emotional let downs. But lord have mercy that doesn't excuse garbage effort. Estrada does incredibly dumb shit, yet fills up the stat sheet so it looks like he has a good game. His turnovers are mind boggling dumb and lazy. He loafs around on D too. Nelson is probably having his worst game in uniform.

Whoever was apart of this defensive gameplan did an atrocious job.
 
It seemed to really manifest in the 2nd half of the TN game, but this team just looks like its out of gas right now. Guys are a half step slower. Leaving shots short. The freshmen have hit that wall that tends to pop up in Feb or March, and it's impacting their play... Winning at UF was going to be very difficult under the best of circumstances, and getting blown out on the road (again) sucks. But right now, this team needs to get back, finish with a W against the Hogs on Saturday and try to get their legs and heads right for the tournament.
 
But right now, this team needs to get back, finish with a W against the Hogs on Saturday and try to get their legs and heads right for the tournament.
Not a given with how this team is playing down the stretch. Add insult to injury Ryland G was just injured and had to be helped of the court and into the locker room. This team is what just around .500 down the stretch. Start the season .500 and end the season .500. Not a great recipe for success.
 
That was painful to watch. UF shot something like 44 or 45 FT's. Team is playing tired and just looked defeated after the very first run by Florida. Not very much energy. Certainly not playing their best basketball in March.

I will add with putting so much into one game instead of playing to the standard no matter the opponent you get one emotional loss turning into one or more losses. To late now but Oats should have made a statement earlier in the year with peoples playing time and their performance on the D end.
 
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Team seems to be out of control skidding in reverse. The offense emulates the NBA. Unfortunately, so does their defense. The coach
or coaches teaching defense are doing a poor job or the players are unable or unwilling to play as taught. Team plays Helter Skelter.
 
Team seems to be out of control skidding in reverse. The offense emulates the NBA. Unfortunately, so does their defense. The coach
or coaches teaching defense are doing a poor job or the players are unable or unwilling to play as taught. Team plays Helter Skelter.

Oats has proven he can put a top 5 defense on the floor... he's done so twice at UA, and I'd bet top dollar next year's squad is well within the top 20 in that metric again. But this team just isn't physically capable of being that good on defense. Problem is, they compound it by creating even more issues... can't guard without fouling, poor effort at times, they let their frustrations on offense follow them down the court on defense, etc.

If they can't get their MOJO back quickly, their goose is cooked in the SEC tourney and The Dance.

I really don't care personally how they fare in Nashville at this point... I'd rather them be 1 and out than play 3 and not win it all. IMO, they need the rest, especially some of the younger guys. Them, just have to hope for a decent to good draw in the NCAA's... I like Bama's guard play more than most, and guard play is going to matter. But a bd matchup could send them packing pretty quickly. Just have to hope for some luck and that the hot shooting returns... the latter can cover up some of their other issues in a big way.
 
Oats has proven he can put a top 5 defense on the floor... he's done so twice at UA,

Yes Sir, his team has played very good defense in the past. But, those teams were coached by CNO and Different assistants. That was the point I was beating around the bush about in my post above.

Also, I agree with you. We may get a little lucky and draw a few lesser teams in the tournament to run over. Until we run into a buzz saw like SD State(?) like last year when we had a better team that played better defense than this one.
 
Yes Sir, his team has played very good defense in the past. But, those teams were coached by CNO and Different assistants. That was the point I was beating around the bush about in my post above.

Also, I agree with you. We may get a little lucky and draw a few lesser teams in the tournament to run over. Until we run into a buzz saw like SD State(?) like last year when we had a better team that played better defense than this one.

Yeah, Henry and Hodgson were big losses in that department... and I think with them, this year's defense would be slightly better... but still with an overall low ceiling just based on the parts. But, I do think that while Oats has earned the reputation of being an offensive coach, he's still a pretty good defensive-minded guy too... well before this season, I'd listen to him on podcasts and such, and you could tell how seriously he takes it. He understands that to win at the highest level with his style, he requires both sides being really good. But it's fair to say that the staff turnover and roster turnover really set that side of the ball back... and that unexpected loss of Bediako.... damn.
 
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Yeah, it's got to be hard to have carry over from year to year when you you have as much roster turnover And lose all your assistants to boot.
Agreed, CNO knows and preaches defense. But for whatever reason, his team has not seemed to play defense consistently. Also, his offense seems to falter against hard nosed teams like tonight and against Tn. and other teams. Maybe Bediako would have made the difference this season between the team being soft or tough, but I would have to see it to believe it.
 
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