🏀 GAME THREAD 🏀 2025-26 Season Archived Game Threads.

I got curious. There's no ML on the game tonight. Bama is -32.5.

I noticed a parlay on ESPNBet that has the total tonight at Over 168.5 with a few other legs.

What's a little crazy is you can find some BIG money lines tonight. You might look at Vandy playing Lipscomb and see -20,000. Okay, right? But then you look at Bethune-Cookman...who is playing Auburn with that ML at -100,000. Geez.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Arizona is a damn good squad. They'll bully most teams around. Sherrell showed grit by having as many blocks as he did.

Alabama still loses this game by 10, even if Oats utilizes timeouts correctly. The rebounding is atrocious. I don't think anyone is coached to put two hands on the ball at all. Just constant ball watching, losing position, and chaos every possession.

That said, this game should not have been a blowout. Bad coaching tonight.

Lineups were weird. I'm not even sure why Holloway played... why risk it if he can't shoot.

 

[Bammerboy321]

Lineups were weird. I'm not even sure why Holloway played... why risk it if he can't shoot.

I rarely saw Davion Hannah. Bethea subbed in the last few minutes of the first half and did a decent job on Bradley. Considering how well he played vs UTSA (it's UTSA, I know) I'm shocked he didn't see more action.

Just a poor coaching night. Oats will adjust though.

 

[Bammerboy321]

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

 

[UAgrad93]

That sucked ass!! Best part about it was spending time with my grown son! Also got to put a face to the name in Tim/ @It Takes Eleven .

 

[TerryP]

That sucked ass!! Best part about it was spending time with my grown son! Also got to put a face to the name in Tim/ @It Takes Eleven .

Not a shade of difference in what you see here and what he's like in person.

 

[mando]

I give credit to Oats for his scheduling because he knows exactly what his team is and what they are not. The inside game is just so deficient not sure how you get that cleaned up enough to move the needle against elite teams

Oats also called out the team for not playing harder and their competitive character. I still think he should have called a time out to try and get their minds right in the 2nd half before it was out of control.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

That sucked ass!! Best part about it was spending time with my grown son! Also got to put a face to the name in Tim/ @It Takes Eleven .

Great to meet you as well @UAgrad93 ! My wife and I went with my youngest son and his wife, great fun. We ate at Little Donkey in Homewood, part of the same restaurant group as Rodney Scott's BBQ, Hero Diner and Luca & Lucy. It was good, and it'll be good to get the 280/Chelsea location that just opened new locations for all four of them on the same property.

Their run and our cold spell (due much to their perimeter defense), turned things quickly. It's no fun being on the receiving end on an unstoppable run. They only left our big men open on the perimeter, and they obliged by bricking several. The number of blocks were impressive, but when you've got two guys contesting shots at the rim, 1) you've let them get to the rim and 2) there's one less to rebound, giving them the offensive glass.

I've said it more than once, this offensive philosophy allows you to be a giant killer, or lose ugly.

 

[BamaFan334]

First time I recall seeing us let go of an opportunity in a while. Second half start killed us. I can't understand why we don't crash rhe boards. It seemed like every time we put a shot up we had no one in the paint, no one. Understandable on a fast break three, but the way we moved the ball there was plenty of time to crash inward.

Tough night, but we have the ability to hang with anyone, we just have to do it for two halves against a team like this. Arizona is my Natty favorite at this point. Boys can run and will boss Purdue around.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Hopeful that Bama can get into the show and win the 1st game. Anything more is gravy.

 

[footballer]

Recipe for a loss. ----- Start 2nd half with no focus
Little to no intensity
Turn the ball over X number of times
Do not make shots
Do not rebound
Play a smidgen of defense
Get frustrated

As we have seen, this recipe is easily repeatable.

 

[Secondand26]

@Bammerboy321
Here’s the answer from Oats about timeouts.
(I’d have called one & replace players if this is the case)

 

[footballer]

Call a timeout and gnaw some ears off.

In practice, be their teacher, their friend.
In games, be their coach, their menace.

 

[footballer]

In this day and time, player era, players Have to be mentally tough and disciplined more than any other era in time that I can remember.

 

[TerryP]

Call a timeout and gnaw some ears off.

In practice, be their teacher, their friend.
In games, be their coach, their menace.

I understand both sides of this argument. I've no issues with either.

"Am I going to call timeout to tell them to play harder? These guys are supposed to be competitors."

 

[Bammerboy321]

@Bammerboy321
Here’s the answer from Oats about timeouts.
(I’d have called one & replace players if this is the case)

I saw it. Completely disagree with it. It would make sense if you're trying to get your guys to overcome a 10-0 run. Allowing a 28-6 run? Yeah, I'd say that calls for it. And if he's against it, he called a timeout in the first half to stop a run, immediately called a set play for a corner 3 and it allowed Alabama to regain momentum before the end of the half.

Thinking timeouts don't help stop momentum is disingenuous. Look at our game vs Duke in the Elite 8. Every time momentum even started to shift in our direction, Scheyer called a timeout and prevented us to go on a run. It completely threw off our rhythm on offense.

I'm not saying timeouts magically fix everything. But it does help you to get the guys to regroup, get in the right sets, and hopefully have the best lineup. Amari Allen was running point during the majority of their run instead of Philon. And not only that, the effort dropped off. You can't have that vs a team like Arizona.

 

[ElephantStomp]

That was an ugly game for the most part. I disagree with Oats about not calling a timeout during Zona’s big run.

 

[BamaFan334]

I understand both sides of this argument. I've no issues with either.

I'm the same. I do wonder if people think a timeout is gonna make a team go cold all of a sudden.

 

[Secondand26]

I saw it. Completely disagree with it. It would make sense if you're trying to get your guys to overcome a 10-0 run. Allowing a 28-6 run? Yeah, I'd say that calls for it. And if he's against it, he called a timeout in the first half to stop a run, immediately called a set play for a corner 3 and it allowed Alabama to regain momentum before the end of the half.

Thinking timeouts don't help stop momentum is disingenuous. Look at our game vs Duke in the Elite 8. Every time momentum even started to shift in our direction, Scheyer called a timeout and prevented us to go on a run. It completely threw off our rhythm on offense.

I'm not saying timeouts magically fix everything. But it does help you to get the guys to regroup, get in the right sets, and hopefully have the best lineup. Amari Allen was running point during the majority of their run instead of Philon. And not only that, the effort dropped off. You can't have that vs a team like Arizona.

There’s a reason you have them & a reason to call them. I agree.
Maybe he was try to send a message to the team? I don’t know

 

[UAgrad93]

I'm the same. I do wonder if people think a timeout is gonna make a team go cold all of a sudden.

Not necessarily go cold, but to break momentum. I’ve used timeouts in a variety of ways and it wasn’t to always “coach up” the team or chew their asses out. I did and replaced all 5 on the floor, done and chew out officials over a obviously blown call, and even called timeout and told the guys “this timeout is for you to figure out just how much the game means to you! Not that particular game, but basketball in general.” Then told them if it didn’t mean that much, let me know now and I’ll sub you out and not waste my time with you anymore!