| MBB/WBB 🏀 No. 8/9 Alabama Defeats No. 21/20 Mississippi State, 78-67, to Open SEC Play

[Bammerboy321]

Despite terrible officiating and 19 turnovers (we just love giving the ball away), we pretty much dominated on the road and got another Q1 win. Tennessee almost lost to Ole Miss on the road last night due to Rick Barnes ancient offense. Arkansas lost to LSU. So I think we definitely have a good shot at a regular season title.

 

[mando]

Not trying to be a downer but if State shoots even mediocre from the freethrow line this is a different game. Their FT shooting mask the poor ball handling issues we continue to have. Against really good opponents this will get you beat. If this team wants to win titles and tournament games they are going to have to fix the ball handling issues. It has been this way for 13 games now. I continue to be amazed that this cannot be cleaned up. What are they doing in practice?

 

[BamaFan334]

Let Mississippi State hang in there, but I never felt the game would slip away like I've felt many times before. We have talent everywhere on the court and it's great to see. We can score inside and outside consistently, which is beautiful to finally have. The turnovers stink, but this team never loses its hustle and fights to get the ball back unlike other Alabama teams. Great road win in the SEC and excited for the next one to come. Roll Tide.

 

[BamaFan334]

Not trying to be a downer but if State shoots even mediocre from the freethrow line this is a different game. Their FT shooting mask the poor ball handling issues we continue to have. Against really good opponents this will get you beat. It this team wants to win titles and tournament games they are going to have to fix the ball handling issues. It has been this way for 13 games now. I continue to be amazed that this cannot be cleaned up. What are they doing in practice?

Like some have said before, it's a by product of the offense. It's why the three ball is important. Getting three and turning it over is better than nothing and turning it over. It's fast paced and you never know how a defense will get back snd set up, so a lot of it is just because bodies are all over the half court when we run. Not sure if this is a good comparison or not, but it's a lot like the air raid or wing t in football. Dome days you look like you'll compete for a Natty because everything is hitting, and other days you look like a mess because it's just a bad night. Now I think Oats system has way more upside than those football offenses, but just trying to make a point we can run with the best of them (Houston, Gonzaga, Carolina, Michigan State), but we also have that ability to sink like a ship (Georgia and Memphis last year).

 

[PurlJam]

The call where a Mississippi State player elbowed Sears in the face and Sears is the one called for a foul sums up this game. Doug Shows I believe called the game. He is and has always been trash.

That and the one where Quinerly was shoved by a State player to the floor and the State player tripped over him, Quinerly gets called.

 

[PurlJam]

Like getting the win on the road, that's big in the SEC. The Miss State defensive playing style is to make the game ugly, not hard to do on the TO side of our offense but scoring 78 points at the "Hump" against their defense in that environment is pretty impressive by college basketball standards today.

 

[TerryP]

Not trying to be a downer but if State shoots even mediocre from the freethrow line this is a different game. Their FT shooting mask the poor ball handling issues we continue to have. Against really good opponents this will get you beat. If this team wants to win titles and tournament games they are going to have to fix the ball handling issues. It has been this way for 13 games now. I continue to be amazed that this cannot be cleaned up. What are they doing in practice?

If you're expecting Oats' teams to be efficient with the basketball, you're going to continue to be disappointed. It's not his style.

Not trying to be a downer but if State shoots even mediocre from the freethrow line this is a different game.

If State made their normal average on FT's, they still lose.

In the same light, every one of their players who scored a three last night shot above their normal 3PT average. That negates lost points at the line, and also shows how badly they could have been beaten.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

JMO but Nate needs to keep JQ over on the bench with him. He adds little to this team.

 

[Bammerboy321]

Not trying to be a downer but if State shoots even mediocre from the freethrow line this is a different game. Their FT shooting mask the poor ball handling issues we continue to have. Against really good opponents this will get you beat. If this team wants to win titles and tournament games they are going to have to fix the ball handling issues. It has been this way for 13 games now. I continue to be amazed that this cannot be cleaned up. What are they doing in practice?

This was the first time State had actually played in a full arena. That + playing a physical team like Alabama affects your mentality going to the FT line. Rewatching the game, Alabama forced Mississippi State to play out of their element.

Turnovers are always going to be an issue under Oats. But we do need to sit JQ more.

 

[Bammerboy321]

Btw, we're now 14th in adjusted D in KenPom. Arkansas, Mississippi State, Auburn, and Tennessee are the only SEC teams above us. We're 17th in Adj O (only Mizzou is above us at #2).

We're the only SEC team in the top 20 in both.

For possessions per 40 minutes, we're #3 in the country with 75.5. I think this plays into our turnovers being higher than most since we generally have more possessions.

 

[bamafan4ever]

The refs were really bad and the announcers were equally as bad. I felt like I was listening to the MSU Radio Network.

 

[bamafan9201]

Not trying to be a downer but if State shoots even mediocre from the freethrow line this is a different game. Their FT shooting mask the poor ball handling issues we continue to have. Against really good opponents this will get you beat. If this team wants to win titles and tournament games they are going to have to fix the ball handling issues. It has been this way for 13 games now. I continue to be amazed that this cannot be cleaned up. What are they doing in practice?

To be fair, the announcers alluded to it later in the game. The gameplan was to foul their big man Smith if he got the ball in the paint. Or at least body him up and keep him contained. It worked to a degree, now some of those fouls were definitely ticky-tack but the reason they shot so poorly is that his FT% isn't the greatest, kinda like HACK A SHAQ back in the day. Better to force him to beat you from the line, instead of the paint where he dominates.

 

[TerryP]

For possessions per 40 minutes, we're #3 in the country with 75.5. I think this plays into our turnovers being higher than most since we generally have more possessions.

I believe you're spot on there.

When they're moving at that pace the offense flows. When teams manage to..let's say disrupt one of the passing lanes and by that forces the Tide to take a "half court approach" another reason pops up. In Oats system he puts a lot on his players and their decision making capabilities, right? The concept is pretty easy to see: he wants the guys to "square their man up," read what's going on with the other defensive players, and go. (One of the areas JQ excels is his ability to drive and create.) There is no traditional half court offense in his system—yet I feel turnovers are defined by old, traditional standards.

There are five guys who are asked to make a quick decision, go, and then the other four follow suit. These guys are not going to be on the same page every trip down the court. It's going to lead to turnovers.

In my view, averaging 12 a game would be a benchmark. That's only cutting out three.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

The refs were really bad and the announcers were equally as bad. I felt like I was listening to the MSU Radio Network.

I only saw the 1st half, going to watch the 2nd half later today... glad Bama won... really nice road win. For some reason, the announcers were not at the game. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and the possibility they had Southwest Air travel issues, but at the same time, ESPN has been doing this shit to save money ever since they did it for the COVID year... so I can't help but think they were just pinching pennies. I caught bits and pieces of most of the other SEC games as well, and it sounded like they were off site on at least one on them too (can't remember which one, may have been Tenn v. OM). If it is true ESPN just doing it to save money, the SEC coaches need to speak up if Sankey won't do something about it, because it is definitely watering down what is a pretty good product right now in SEC basketball.

 

[BamaFan334]

Btw, we're now 14th in adjusted D in KenPom. Arkansas, Mississippi State, Auburn, and Tennessee are the only SEC teams above us. We're 17th in Adj O (only Mizzou is above us at #2).

We're the only SEC team in the top 20 in both.

For possessions per 40 minutes, we're #3 in the country with 75.5. I think this plays into our turnovers being higher than most since we generally have more possessions.

Exactly what I was eluding too this morning. Guys running all over the court to keep pace with us makes it incredible difficult to run/setup a play when the defense is not set.

 

[#80]

Not trying to be a downer but if State shoots even mediocre from the freethrow line this is a different game. Their FT shooting mask the poor ball handling issues we continue to have. Against really good opponents this will get you beat. If this team wants to win titles and tournament games they are going to have to fix the ball handling issues. It has been this way for 13 games now. I continue to be amazed that this cannot be cleaned up. What are they doing in practice?

They beat a ranked team on the road. State averages three 3pt. shots made a game they hit 9 last night. That more than offsets the FT's they missed. This is a very young team they will only get better I'm very happy with where we are.

 

[mando]

If you're expecting Oats' teams to be efficient with the basketball, you're going to continue to be disappointed. It's not his style.

Well I have accepted some but not all. I guess I am hoping for improvement. 19 turnovers is high even in an Oats system. In a post above you threw out getting the avearage to 12. I could live with that. If they were to do that I believe this team could make a run. It felt like last night the D had their best post Burnett injury game. Hope it continues.

 

[PurlJam]

Putting it in perspective...we weren't UK in Columbia last night. That was pretty much a beat down from start to finish.

 

[TerryP]

Putting it in perspective...we weren't UK in Columbia last night. That was pretty much a beat down from start to finish.

I'd almost bet that the average age of the Mizzou roster is 22+, maybe 23+. I think it's four seniors and five, fifth year guys.

 

[PurlJam]

I'd almost bet that the average age of the Mizzou roster is 22+, maybe 23+. I think it's four seniors and five, fifth year guys.

I understand...hell, I liked the 12th grade my senior year so much, I went back 3 times.