🏀 🏀 Bama closes out Battle 4 Atlantis with 83-68 win over Southern Miss

[rick4bama]

What was the final score?

 

[#80]

Not what I heard, especially with Jones.

He said Herb plays his ass off never backs down but struggles to scores. All of that is true.

 

[mando]

The team played hard. The improved in their turnovers. Could not believe the number of times the NC big guys swatted the ball out from under the rim on an offensive rebound or free throw to get another possession. To me those are the same as turnovers. Definitely the difference in the game. Also, Jones played hard but missed several close shots that he is going to have to hit. Those should be high percentage shots.

They could have folded when they got down 15 but they kept pushing. A good sign that Oats is making a difference. We will play Iowa tomorrow at 5:30. I think they lost to Michigan.

Hope they can win at least one of the 3 games they will play in this tournament. Would be great if they could win 2 out of 3.

 

[TerryP]

I did not look but I bet the line on this game was 15 or more.

Bama covered. UNC -9½

The team played hard. The improved in their turnovers. Could not believe the number of times the NC big guys swatted the ball out from under the rim on an offensive rebound or free throw to get another possession. To me those are the same as turnovers. Definitely the difference in the game. Also, Jones played hard but missed several close shots that he is going to have to hit. Those should be high percentage shots.

They could have folded when they got down 15 but they kept pushing. A good sign that Oats is making a difference. We will play Iowa tomorrow at 5:30. I think they lost to Michigan.

Hope they can win at least one of the 3 games they will play in this tournament. Would be great if they could win 2 out of 3.

I mentioned the boards at half time and I believe it was @#80 who posted the numbers: 31-17, I believe? The game ended with a 60-31 differential in rebounds. That's a crazy margin in favor of UNC but goes back to discussions about lacking a post presence. Inside of the arc yesterday the team shot 38%. I didn't count but I feel like there were at least a dozen missed shots in and around the restricted area.

Call it an excuse if you will. I believe it's an accurate assessment to say the team was overmatched. We see talent, but not to the same degree as what's found in Chapel Hill.

Moral victory? By no means. Pleased with what I saw as a great effort from the team, especially on the defensive side? I'm there.

 

[UA Press Release]

No. 6 North Carolina Uses Rebounding, Post Play to Overtake Alabama, 76-67, in Opening Round of Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament - Alabama Athletics

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – The Alabama men's basketball team fell to No. 6 North Carolina, 76-67, on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the 2019 Bad B...

rolltide.com

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – The Alabama men's basketball team fell to No. 6 North Carolina, 76-67, on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the 2019 Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.

The Crimson Tide (2-3) battled hard throughout the first half and trailed by six at the half. However, with Alabama trailing by three early in the second half, North Carolina went on a 14-2 run that lasted just over six minutes and resulted in a 51-36 lead with less than 14 minutes remaining.

The Tide was able to whittle the score to single digits on several occasions, but the Tar Heels, which leads the nation in rebounding margin, owned a huge 60-31 advantage on the boards to keep UA from making a run to get back in the game.

Junior John Petty Jr. led the team in scoring, finishing with 23 points on the strength of 7-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. also added 20 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists in the loss. It was his third 20-point game of the season.

Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments

• "We said our transition defense, turnovers on our offense and our rebounding on the defensive end was going to be the three big keys to the game. I thought the turnovers were much better, we cut them from 22 in each of the last two games to 14 tonight. I thought our transition wasn't too bad. The defensive rebounding just destroyed us. They got half their misses. We had 23 defensive boards, they had 23 offensive boards. If you're rebounding half your misses it's hard to get stops on the defensive end, so we have to do a better job. We really only have one floor man with size and then we mix in Alex Reese, Herb Jones, John Petty and Jaylen Forbes in the post. We play small. I thought Alex really did do a good job on the glass, but he's not really built right now to be playing 40 minutes. So, when you go small, I thought they really beat us up, but Reese did do a really good job of rebounding the ball."

Team Stats

• The Crimson Tide had two 20-plus scorers in a game for the first time since it occurred on March 15, 2018 vs. Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (Colin Sexton had 25 and Petty added 20)
• In addition to its 60 rebounds, the Tar Heels also pulled down 23 offensive boards compared to eight for UA which resulted in a 23-7 edge for UNC in second chance points
• Alabama had a season-low 14 turnovers while forcing North Carolina into 20 miscues – the first time this season that UA had fewer turnovers than its opponent
• As a result, the Tide outscored the Tar Heels 17-12 in points off turnovers
• Alabama grabbed 31 rebounds throughout the game, marking the first time of the season the team did not earn at least 40 boards in a contest
• UA entered the game with a +10.5 edge over the opposition in rebound margin which ranked among the top 10-percent in the nation, however, UNC came into this afternoon's contest leading the country in the category at +19.5

First Half

• North Carolina jumped out to 7-2 lead by the game's first media timeout
• Alabama responded with a 13-8 run to tie the game at 15-15 with 10:08 remaining in the half
• The Tar Heels used a 15-7 run to grab a 30-22 lead with 4:51 to play in the first
• A Petty three-pointer with 4:29 to go in the first half capped an 8-0 spurt by the Tide to even the game at 30-30
• North Carolina outscored Alabama 7-1 over the last four minutes of the half to take a 37-31 lead into intermission
• Petty led all players with 15 of his game-high 23 points coming in the first half

Second Half

• A 14-2 run by the Tar Heels gave North Carolina a 51-36 lead with 13:52 remaining – the largest lead of the night
• Alabama responded and trimmed the lead to nine points, 63-54, with just under seven minutes left to play
• The Crimson Tide was not able to get any closer than seven points the rest of the way, thanks in large part to the Tar Heels 45 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range over the final 20 minutes of action

Alabama will move to the consolation bracket where it will take on Iowa State, which fell to Michigan in the first game of the day. The Tide and Cyclones will play on Thursday at 5:30 pm CT (6:30 p.m. ET) and will be available on ESPN2 or ESPNU.

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[mando]

Pleased with what I saw as a great effort from the team, especially on the defensive side? I'm there.

Agree with this. Effort and toughness is independent of talent. John Petty looks like a completely different player on the defensive end and the effort he is giving. That is just one example of the improvement I have seen.

 

[#80]

We are only a 3 pt dog.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Final score sports fans

Iowa State 104 Bama 89

 

[rick4bama]

 

[#80]

Going to be a loooooooong year.

 

[mando]

Did not get to see the game with Thanksgiving activities with family. So did we just not defend, turnover machine show back up? What happened? When you give up 100+ points my knee jerk is we did not defend. Scoring 89 should be enough. Looks like the rebounding from the NC game improved.

 

[TerryP]

A Bama team scoring almost 90 points and its still a loss by double digits. Pardon the sarcasm here, but that isn't Bama basketball we've known.

 

[#80]

With the type of game CNO wants to play you need players who can handle the ball and Jones and Petty have a very loose handle. To many turnovers.

 

[TerryP]

With the type of game CNO wants to play you need players who can handle the ball and Jones and Petty have a very loose handle. To many turnovers.

I didn't get a chance to watch the game either. I see by the box score Petty had three turnovers. That only makes five in the last three games, doesn't it? He's been a lot better with control this season.

Based on what I'm reading while surfing around it reads like a lack of defensive effort/concentration is where their issue was tonight.

 

[#80]

I didn't get a chance to watch the game either. I see by the box score Petty had three turnovers. That only makes five in the last three games, doesn't it? He's been a lot better with control this season.

Based on what I'm reading while surfing around it reads like a lack of defensive effort/concentration is where their issue was tonight.

I've had limited viewing myself but Jones had five turnovers today and yesterday that's alot considering he it not a point guard. Both were turnover machines last year.

 

[TerryP]

I've had limited viewing myself but Jones had five turnovers today and yesterday that's alot considering he it not a point guard. Both were turnover machines last year.

You misread that. Five, over the last three (based on what I read yesterday.) Three in this game, two in the previous games combined. ISU's PG had five on the night, Lewis as the main ball handler had four for Bama. Kira's been the turnover leader this season.

 

[#80]

You misread that. Five, over the last three (based on what I read yesterday.) Three in this game, two in the previous games combined. ISU's PG had five on the night, Lewis as the main ball handler had four for Bama. Kira's been the turnover leader this season.

Jones has ten turnovers in the past 3 games according to ESPN box scores. Lewis handles the ball the majority of the time.

 

[TerryP]

@#80, missed you were talking about HJ.

 

[UA Press Release]

John Petty Jr.’s Career Night Not Enough for Alabama to Overtake Iowa State at Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament - Alabama Athletics

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Junior guard John Petty Jr. went off for career highs of 34 points and 12 rebounds – his first career double-double – but it was n...

rolltide.com

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Junior guard John Petty Jr. went off for career highs of 34 points and 12 rebounds – his first career double-double – but it was not enough as Alabama fell to the Iowa State Cyclones, 104-89, Thursday night in the second round of the consolation bracket at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.

The Crimson Tide will face the loser between Seton Hall and Southern Miss on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. CT) to conclude the three-day tournament. The television will be announced at a later time.

After jumping out to a 10-point lead early in the first half, Alabama found themselves down by a 15-point deficit at halftime, 51-36, thanks to a 20-4 run by the Cyclones (4-2) to end the opening stanza.

Alabama (2-4) rallied to cut the lead to only six points, 61-55, but another run by the Cyclones ended any chance of a Crimson Tide comeback.

Petty finished the night connecting on 6-of-9 from deep and 11-from-22 from the field. The junior also earned his the first double-double for the Crimson Tide this season.

Nate Oats Postgame Comments

• "We talked about getting our rebounding back on track after our debacle against North Carolina and I thought we did a good job of that. I thought we came out with energy. We got up 14-4 and they had to call a timeout early. We didn't get a sustained effort on defense for 40 minutes. We just didn't have it. We were able to get back in the game in the second half and cut it to six, but they immediately blew it back open with a 14-2 run in about two and a half minutes. We didn't do a good job guarding the three-point line. They entered the game ranked about 317th I believe from three-point percentage in the country and went 15-of-29. We couldn't finish from two – I think we hit about 39 percent of our two-point attempts and they hit over 50 percent from three. It's hard to win games when you're missing layups and their making threes on the other end."

Team Stats

• Petty's performance was the second time this season Alabama had a player score more than 30 points, with the first being Kira Lewis Jr. in the season-opener against Penn (30)
• Alabama finished with 44 rebounds and owned a 44-35 advantage on the boards, marking the fifth time in six games that UA has outrebounded the competition
• It also marked the fourth time of five games the Tide has snagged over 40 rebounds.
• Beetle Bolden was the only other Crimson Tide player to reach double figured, accounting for 10 points off the bench
• The team's combined for 193 total points, the most in the nine-year history of the Battle 4 Atlantis

First Half

• Alabama raced out to a 14-4 lead with 16:56 to play in the first half, as Petty scored 11 points, going 3-for-3 beyond the arc in the game's first three minutes
• Iowa State answered with an 8-2 spurt to cut the Tide's lead to 16-12 with 14:45 left in the half
• The Tide held a 32-31 lead with 5:48 to go in the opening half, however, the Cyclones ended the half on a 20-4 run to take a 15-point lead at intermission

Second Half

• The Crimson Tide opened the second half on an 11-4 run and closed the Iowa State deficit to 56-47 with 17:03 remaining
• Alabama used a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 61-55 with 14:37 left in the game
• The Cyclones quickly responded with an 14-0 run to extend its lead to 75-55 with 12:22 to play