Forced Arizona to play at our pace in the first half. Come out in the second half with zero plan, play slower, turn the ball over, and allow Bol Bowen and Sherrell to a multitude of 3s. Just a dumb second half gameplan. And then as all the momentum is mounting on Arizona's side, Oats decides to sub in Noah Williamson to counter it.
I love Oats to death. Best coach in program history. He still makes incredibly dumb coaching decisions at times. His in-game adjustments when things aren't going his way are questionable. Arizona completely dictated our offense. Thing is, I don't even think they did anything spectacular to throw Alabama off. Philon, Holloway, Wrightsell, and Bol Bowen all forced everything and turned it over. Once Arizoma took the lead, we saw the same thing we did vs Purdue and Gonzaga - bad shot selection, forced shots, and turnovers. Then Oats decides not to take a timeout despite a 28-6 run. I get wanting to play through runs, but there are times you HAVE to regroup your guys.
I am once again asking for Brian Adams to be fired. His defenses are routinely lost. The transition D is nonexistent; rebounding again is a major issue; and he never identifies good matchups. Bradley was killing Holloway and Philon. Why not put Davion Hannah on him? Or Bethea?
Also, just because Arizona has a low volume of 3s on the year doesn't mean they're not going to take open looks. Tommy Lloyd mentored Mark Few for 20+ years. He may focus a lot more on ball movement and getting a high percentage shot inside, but he's an analytical guy like Oats. The defensive gameplan must seriously have been "if they're open, just let them shoot it" because multiple guys just did not even attempt to close out. Dumb as hell. They have talented players on their roster. They'll take an open shot all day.
Just loads of questionable decision making. I don't think Alabama should have gotten blown out.
Live and learn I guess. 0-3 vs elite teams...
