🏀 GAME THREAD 🏀 Missouri vs #23 Alabama. - Strong Second Half Performance Helps No. 23/23 Alabama Down Missouri 90-64

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Good news is, Wrightsell may have finally found his range from 3 again. 5-8 so far...

Now 7-10....

 

[Bammerboy321]

Now 7-10....

Found his shot for this game. He and Mallette seem to have very good chemistry.

His dribbling is atrocious though

 

[Bammerboy321]

No one watching?

I'm watching but not participating in the game thread. On baby duty with twins.

 

[Bammerboy321]

Alabama is so weak at the rim... every season...

It's maddening to watch at times.

Let me preface with this - the offense works and isn't the issue. It's elite year in and year out. But dang there are some things that make you scratch your head. Like Oats takes such an analytical approach to the game, and wants us to play efficient and fast. Sometimes that can be mutually exclusive. But you'd think with how many rim shots Oats want, he'd spend more time getting us more efficient in that area. Watching us be so frantic in transition is puzzling.

There's definitely been some things Oats has tweeked since he's been here to his offense. Our turnovers are down significantly this season. We look better when we reset to our half court sets and just aren't throwing up wild shots within the first 10 seconds. Just some little things I think that could transition the offense to a championship level.

 

[Bammerboy321]

Defense has gotten better throughout the game. It was pretty piss poor to start but as Muzzou starting missing shots, Alabama found their stroke from 3 and started playing better on both ends. Still a lot to work on IMO. Bol Bowen is the most Jekyll and Hyde player from possession to possession. His on ball defense can great at times and he'll play the switch very well. Then other times, he gets caught ball watching and out muscled for a rebound.

Mallette is not the best shooter but damn does he understand his role and hustle. Love him.

Last thing I noticed too was every time the camera panned to the bench, Bethea's body language was not good. He wasn't cheering and looking disinterested. Could be nothing but I can't imagine him sticking around. Didn't anyone else notice this?

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

 

[Bammerboy321]

Good win. It's good to get Holloway back. We needed him vs TN IMO because he can take pressure off of Philon. Allen would have been speculatur because of his ability to rebound but Holloway adds quickness and has superior ball handling.

Hopefully Allen can get back healthy and we'll have them both vs Florida.

 

[mando]

It feels like the team will get better and better with Bediako as he reaclimates to being away for a couple of years. At least that is my hope and having him and Sherrell in the paint should improve that area although I think Mizzou still out rebounded us. Still maybe there will not be a 20+ differential on the boards against another team.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Last thing I noticed too was every time the camera panned to the bench, Bethea's body language was not good. He wasn't cheering and looking disinterested. Could be nothing but I can't imagine him sticking around. Didn't anyone else notice this?

I'd be surprised at this point if any of the 4 players that portaled in this past spring will be here next season.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

 

[RTB.com]

 

[TerryP]

What y'all think? Are these two, somehow, related?

 

[TerryP]

I have to hand it to #35 for Mizzou. I'm not sure who his man is and I'm not sure he knows. But, he's hustling!

 

[alabama mike]

No one watching?

Nope, son, daughter in law and two GRANDS came over and we played games last night. We had a great time!

 

[rick4bama]

Nope, son, daughter in law and two GRANDS came over and we played games last night. We had a great time!

Family first!

 

[BamaFan334]

I never made the comment, so of course it'll look like Captain Hindsight kind of remark, but when everyone was talking about Allen being out and his importance to our team and a run we could go on, all I could think is how Holloway means more to this team than anyone is wanting to admit. Comments were made about being able to survive without Holloway. I never agreed with that. Philon can't do it all and there is a noticeable drop-off when he is out and Holloway has been injured. It's a night and day difference. Now, when you have Holloway to spell Philon, we still have a field general that can penetrate the lane, kick out, and hit some big shots. He has the best ball handling skills on the team. We saw this last night as I felt we never hit a lull/wall. He didn't score a ton of points, but with 8 assists and only 1 turnover, that really can stabilize a team. He is extremely important to our season and I think a guy we can't go without if we want to make a run. Philon and Holloway on the court at the same time, that's so much fun to watch.

 

[TerryP]

Captain Hindsight

He got off at the last port. Bediako changes everything.

Captain Nowsight: No depth underneath made Allen very important. With Chuck, his role changes but I don't see the importance factor changing. What they lacked in depth is how big Allen becomes. I believe the ability to slide Sherrell out to the four makes a big difference.

On the same note, Holloway's has been the #2 guy on the outside behind Philon. His importance hasn't changed in my view. It's just different.

Let's say this is the scenario. If Allen is out we're looking at TBB. If Holloway were to be out, we'd be looking to Mallette or Wrightsell. Against Florida I'd rather have Allen ready to go.

And I really like the idea of London seeing more time.

 

[BamaFan334]

He got off at the last port. Bediako changes everything.

Captain Nowsight: No depth underneath made Allen very important. With Chuck, his role changes but I don't see the importance factor changing. What they lacked in depth is how big Allen becomes. I believe the ability to slide Sherrell out to the four makes a big difference.

On the same note, Holloway's has been the #2 guy on the outside behind Philon. His importance hasn't changed in my view. It's just different.

Let's say this is the scenario. If Allen is out we're looking at TBB. If Holloway were to be out, we'd be looking to Mallette or Wrightsell. Against Florida I'd rather have Allen ready to go.

And I really like the idea of London seeing more time.

We have no true point without Holloway. We have struggled handling the ball. Wrightsell is not the guy we need handling the ball when Philon is out. Holloway creates shots and finds open teammates. Not saying Allen isn't necessary, but Philon can't carry the whole team. We are WAY more dangerous with Holloway and Philon healthy.

Having Bediako is good, but he isn't moving the needle for me over Sherrell. We struggled with size when Sherrell needed breaks, but we could still score.

I did an extremely quick analysis on Holloway. We, on average, score six more points per game when he plays. I ranked our opponents by my own metric 1-3, 1 being good Q1 ball team, and 3 being more like a Quad 3 or 4 team. When I look at that we score 14 more points per game against "1" teams when he plays compared to when he doesn't, 13 more points per game against "2" teams, and 10 points more against "3" teams. Holloway in that same metric is averaging 14 against "1" teams, 21 against "2" teams, and 22 against "3" teams. Some drop off there as you could imagine simply due to talent of opponent, but still strong and it shows we score more when he is in versus when he is not.

 

[TerryP]

Having Bediako is good, but he isn't moving the needle for me over Sherrell. We struggled with size when Sherrell needed breaks, but we could still score.

A third of the points last night came from those two which is enough to register.