🏀 Alabama Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short Against Arkansas, 76-73

[BAMAneck]

When's A'Day?

Our CROWD sucked. If anyone of you were there , I fart in your general direction.

 

[UA Press Release]

Braxton Key led the Alabama offense with 16 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocks

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Despite a late rally, the Alabama men's basketball team fell short to Arkansas, 76-73, Saturday evening at Coleman Coliseum. Four players reached double figures as sophomore Braxton Key led the charge scoring with 16 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

Other double-digit contributors included freshman Collin Sexton and John Petty scoring 15 points and 14 points, respectively, while sophomore Dazon Ingram put up 13 points. Junior Donta Hall collected eight rebounds while blocking four shots for the Crimson Tide on defense.

Alabama (17-12, 8-8 SEC) ended the game making five of its last six shots, but Arkansas' 36-28 rebounding edge throughout the game along with shooting 50 percent from three-point range (7-of-14) in the second half made the difference.

"It was another slow start for us today," Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. "We had no rhythm, no sense of energy. To start the game, we weren't ourselves; I'm still trying to put my finger on it. Give them (Arkansas) credit. This is a team that lost to North Carolina last year in the (NCAA) Tournament and they have a bunch of prideful seniors. They came out and played with a lot of energy. We talked at half time about trying to pick up our energy and I thought we did in the second half, specifically Braxton (Key). He came out and played a much better second half, but for us to be successful, we can't play 20 minutes or 22 minutes. We definitely can't turn the ball over 18 times. Another game where we get outrebounded and that's something we're going to have to turn the corner on. I thought we did a good job of making threes tonight, but we didn't do so good a job from the free throw line. At the end of the day, give Arkansas credit. They're some hard-nosed players and they came in and wanted it really badly."

The Razorbacks (20-9, 9-7) took the 35-31 lead at halftime after shooting 48.1 percent from the field (13-of-27) while the Tide connected on 40 percent of its shots (10-of-25) for the half. In addition, Arkansas held the edge in rebounding, 16-14, and points off turnovers, 11-10, to own the advantage at the break.

Arkansas knocked down its first four field goals to lead 11-4 at the 15:01 mark, but the Crimson Tide responded with a 9-0 run over a span of 4:08 to tie the score at 16 apiece with 8:53 left. The Razorbacks would answer and led by as much as 10 points, 35-25, with 1:54 left in the stanza. However, the Crimson Tide ended the half dropping back-to-back trifectas to trail by four heading into the locker room.

Alabama continued to build on its run started in the first half, outscoring the Razorbacks 10-1 to begin the second half and took a 41-37 lead at the 16:55 mark. In all, the Tide's 16-2 run that spanned halftime lasted 5:10.

From there, the game was a back-and-forth affair that featured six lead changes and five ties over the final 20 minutes. With the score tied at 56 with 6:53 left, Arkansas went on a game-deciding 11-3 run over the next 3:22 to take a 67-59 lead with 3:21 left to play.

The Tide would rally back to cut the lead to 73-70 with 30 second left, but Hall missed a pair of free throws that would have cut the lead to one. Alabama would have one final shot at the buzzer to tie the game, but Sexton's half court heave fell short.

The Crimson Tide shot 50 percent in the second half (12-of-24) but the Razorback defense was able to contain Alabama in the final seconds for the win. In the contest, Arkansas forced 18 Alabama turnovers and turned them into 21 points while its bench outscored the Tide, 22-11. The Razorbacks also finished with a 36-28 advantage on the glass.

Daryl Macon led the Razorback offense with 17 points while four other reached double figures.

Alabama will play its final home game of the season when it welcomes the Florida Gators for Senior Night on Tuesday night at 6 p.m CT. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the ceremony. Tuesday's game will broadcast live on ESPN.

Alabama Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short Against Arkansas, 76-73 - Alabama Athletics

 

[CmnRef]

We are just a bad fundamental team. You can't coach height and you can't coach speed, but you can improve throughout the season by maturing in your decision making and practicing fundamentals. So many of our constant turnovers are just sloppy play and often come without the least amount of pressure. It's tough to watch Bama play this sloppy and lose concentration and focus. We're at season's end and we still look out of control.

The question I have is why does Coach Johnson have to constantly stand near mid court and yell at the offense telling them to move. There is way too much standing around as well as lack of concentration and careless, lackadaisical passes.

 

[CmnRef]

View attachment 8930

If you can not bother to come do not comment on those that do. I am an animated and vocal fan. I am a season ticket holder who actually goes to games I have witnessed the very good and the very hard to watch. It is easy to sit at home and bitch and moan. Take a weekend off and come see a game, or not.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Didn't see a desperate team tonight. Scary Avery must not be that scary.

JMO but Avery is a better than average recruiter and less than average coach. He is more the players buddy than their mentor.

 

[footballer]

This team does not look like they are playing smart, aware basketball a lot of the time. They look undisciplined, uninspired and lacking in fundamentals more often than not.. I suppose that their youth plays a part in their irregular play, but that must not be an excuse for bad habits. They have had many practices together and played three exhibition games I believe, in Canada , last summer. According to media and press, we have the all hair team and look good while playing. With the articles written about the barber shop they all go to and now a barber shop opening up on campus, there should be no problem keeping up their all important appearance. According to some players own words, they try to one up and impress each other with their hair do. Guys, where is your focus? You have to grow up one of these days and realize there are more important things in life than how different or radiclal looking hair cut you can come up with. Where is y'alls focus. It seems that Jalen Hurts light came on recently. He got very kind and positive feedback from most every poster on this site for his new and improved look.

 

[BAMAneck]

If you can not bother to come do not comment on those that do. I am an animated and vocal fan. I am a season ticket holder who actually goes to games I have witnessed the very good and the very hard to watch. It is easy to sit at home and bitch and moan. Take a weekend off and come see a game, or not.

I didn’t comment on those attending the game . I commented on someone who commented about those attending...

I just shot out a pic of Monty Python that another poster had used a line from their movie ..

Congrats on having tickets though .

 

[CmnRef]

I didn’t comment on those attending the game . I commented on someone who commented about those attending...

I just shot out a pic of Monty Python that another poster had used a line from their movie ..

Congrats on having tickets though .

Mea culpa. Sorry for responding to wrong post

 

[BAMAneck]

Mea culpa. Sorry for responding to wrong post

No worries, I kinda figured ....

 

[TerryP]

JMO but Avery is a better than average recruiter and less than average coach. He is more the players buddy than their mentor.

I just don't understand opinions like this. We're looking at a team who was 0'fer against ranked teams--after playing 27 and losing every one--three years ago. This season we've seen five, top-25 wins against coaches who've been in collegiate basketball longer than CAJ and are regarded as some of the best in the business.

But, he's a "less than average" coach? It doesn't fit.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

I just don't understand opinions like this. We're looking at a team who was 0'fer against ranked teams--after playing 27 and losing every one--three years ago. This season we've seen five, top-25 wins against coaches who've been in collegiate basketball longer than CAJ and are regarded as some of the best in the business.

But, he's a "less than average" coach? It doesn't fit.

Oh yeah it fits alright......you just will not accept that fact........if the shots are going down then they're good to go...Avery is better than Grant but about the same as Gottfried

 

[BamaFan334]

Oh yeah it fits alright......you just will not accept that fact........if the shots are going down then they're good to go...Avery is better than Grant but about the same as Gottfried

Count me as one not on board or understanding of your position as well. We have lost some close games, made some bad mistakes, turned the ball over, not shot well free throw wise, but so has every other team in the country. I don't think there has ever been this much parity on college basketball. For the first time in my life there are not two or three teams that are simply shoe ins for the National Championship, there are about fifteen with legitimate shots. The SEC is looking at a record number of entrants because the level of play has been elevated, and we're one of those potential teams. Avery Johnson has coached our boys up to be competitive. We haven't had the players to maintain multi-year tournament teams, so we started from scratch basically. Simply look at the excitement around the program. Heck, look on here at the conversations about basketball that simply weren't here years ago, and if they were all it was was salt and vinegar type comments. Johnson is a good coach, can recruit, and is working on building a program. Nothing was handed to him, he's having to build it like Saban. Only time will tell if he can get it to the next level, but I dang sure like where we are now from where we were. Coach Johnson is a stand up guy, killer ambassador of the program, and deserves a ton of respect for the job he has done.

 

[#80]

Oh yeah it fits alright......you just will not accept that fact........if the shots are going down then they're good to go...Avery is better than Grant but about the same as Gottfried

It appears you know little about basketball. What we are seeing are signs of a young and tired team. It's a long and grinding season. It's been a bit of a learning experience for CAJ there is a difference in coaching NBA and college teams. And Marky G would never get a team to the NBA finals and his teams played no defense.

 

[TUSKtimes]

What concerns me about this team is chemistry and fundamentals. They don't click and honestly, I've seen better chemistry in the games Sexton didn't play. No one is going to just figure it out when so many things aren't adding up. It's just another season of basketball that has drained the fans of excitement going into March Madness.

 

[BamaFan334]

What concerns me about this team is chemistry and fundamentals. They don't click and honestly, I've seen better chemistry in the games Sexton didn't play. No one is going to just figure it out when so many things aren't adding up. It's just another season of basketball that has drained the fans of excitement going into March Madness.

I happen to agree with you on this. Sexton is an awesome basketball player, but I do not think he is a Top 10-15 draft worthy player. The dude can dribble, score, is fast, has a killer never quit attitude, but he is too reckless (especially when we need a score). Passing to our worst free throw shooter on the court at the end of the Arkansas game when he knows he can get to the rim, has a better chance to hit the free throws, or an even better shot at hitting a jumper peeved me big time. Dribbling into the mess and turning the ball over multiple times within the last five minutes of the game killed us as well. Too many turnovers for me to think he's a Top 10-15 guy. Draft analyst, coaches, and scouts will all disagree with me, and that's why they are there and I'm here, but I just don't see the maturity and under control abilities I would feel safe taking in the Top 10. He won't stay, but I think he should. I am also considering it is panning out like this because he is so advanced from everyone else on the court that it in turn makes him look bad because others can't keep up.

In the end, I'm not disappointed in this team. Beating Auburn, A&M, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Florida has all been worth it because we haven't won those lately. We can still make the tournament and that was the #1 goal this season. I enjoy watching this team so much, but also get very frustrated in the last five minutes of the game. That's the competitive nature in us all. Hell, look at how upset we get over losing one game in football. We're spoiled fans.

 

[TerryP]

Oh yeah it fits alright......you just will not accept that fact........if the shots are going down then they're good to go...Avery is better than Grant but about the same as Gottfried

That's a real simplistic view. And, quite frankly, it doesn't fit as well. IE: Bama shot worse against LSU in wins they they did against Auburn and Kentucky in losses. They shot .500 against Vandy and lost.

"If the shots are going down they're good to go" fits over 300 teams in the NCAA's D1 division. Hell, we could say the same about UNC Asheville--if the shots fall they're good to go against anyone.

Back when there were rumors about Key not returning this season I mentioned that CAJ is in a learning phase when it comes to coaching kids that are 17-18 years old. He still is just like 99% of the coaching world.

The comparison between "Gottfired* and Johnson is funny. What kind of offense did we see from Mark each and every year? One that centered around high post play--whether it was there or not. We've seen more adjustments within games under CAJ this season than we did with xCMG over his entire tenure.

Every year this team has improved in recruiting, play, and coaching. It's real easy to find those "facts," whether you accept them or not.

A third year coach who is coaching a team where what...three teams out of 350 can claim to be younger?

 

[#80]

What concerns me about this team is chemistry and fundamentals. They don't click and honestly, I've seen better chemistry in the games Sexton didn't play. No one is going to just figure it out when so many things aren't adding up. It's just another season of basketball that has drained the fans of excitement going into March Madness.

I have thought this as well. It appeared to me we played our best team basketball when Sexton was our with ab strain.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

I have thought this as well. It appeared to me we played our best team basketball when Sexton was our with ab strain.

Ed Zackery.....the other players stand around and watch Sexton.....