🏀 SEC Tourney Semi-Finals! Bama drops close game to Kentucky
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colbyjacks
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We were the first to 60!
BamaFan334
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You called that shit. Give this man some Bama Bucks
43 to 28 on the boards.
B
By Alex Byington Sports
Alabama knocks off Gamecocks
NASHVILLE — After needing four overtimes to win their last meeting, Alabama knew exactly what to expect against South Carolina on Friday.
And it just happened to fit into what’s carried the upstart Crimson Tide all season.
Utilizing a stifling defense, stingy board work and a “grind-it-out” approach on both ends, fifth-seeded Alabama knocked off No. 4 seed South Carolina, 64-53, in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
“We knew what type of game it was going to be … it was going to be a grind-it-out, hardnosed, blue-collar type game,” Alabama graduate senior guard Corban Collins said. “You (knew you) had to come in and work on the defensive end because these are two of the best defensive teams in our league, so we knew what type of game this was going to be, and we came in ready for it.”
The Crimson Tide (19-13) advance to take on top-seeded and reigning SEC champion Kentucky (27-5) in today’s first semifinal at noon.
The Wildcats, who beat Alabama 67-58 in the regular season, knocked off Georgia 71-60 in the earlier quarterfinal game Friday.
“I told them whatever happened in the regular season is behind us right now,” Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. “This is a moment in time that if we capitalize on it, we can go somewhere.”
It will mark Alabama’s first appearance in the SEC Tournament semifinals since 2013, with Friday’s victory serving as the first time since 2002 that the Crimson Tide has won multiple games in the tournament.
It was also the sixth straight game Alabama hasn’t allowed the opposition to score more than 60 points, following a 75-55 win over Mississippi State on Thursday.
Key to that defensive effort was Alabama’s ability to control the backboard on both ends of the court, outrebounding the Gamecocks 42-27 overall and 22-10 in the second half, including 12 offensive boards that led to a 16-to-6 advantage in second-chance points.
“It was really simple. I didn’t give them a fire and brimstone speech (before the game, it was): ‘Rebound or lose,’” Johnson said. “The bench needs to play well, or we’re going home. It was just that simple.”
One day after Dazon Ingram powered the Tide with a perfect game from the field, fellow freshman guard Braxton Key paced the offense with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds. Junior wing Riley Norris also added 12 points, all in the second half.
While the game was won inside, some of the most important shots were taken outside the arc, including a pair of 3s from Key over a span of 2:26 in the middle of the first half, the first of which allowed the Tide to retake the lead, 16-14, with 6:30 before halftime.
While Key carried the offensive torch in the first half, it was Norris who nailed a couple of second-half daggers that kept South Carolina at bay late, answering a 5-1 run by the Gamecocks with a trey from the corner for a 49-45 lead with 5:42 left.
A minute later, after SEC Player of the Year Sindarius Thronwell stole a pass from Key and turned it into a fastbreak layup, Ingram found Norris all alone to once again create some separation with a 52-47 lead with 4:36 remaining.
“Those type of shots in a game like this are really key, because a 3-point lead in these types of games can feel like a 10-point lead,” Collins said. “Because it’s so hard to buy a basket in these types of games. So for them guys to step up and knock down those shots in crucial moments both times, it propelled us and let us get that lead that was only by a few points, but it felt like more.”
With the slight lead, Alabama closed out the final 2½ minutes on a 10-0 run, doing all of its damage on the boards and at the free-throw line, where the Tide finished 10 of 12 and 15 of 21 for the game
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
NASHVILLE — After needing four overtimes to win their last meeting, Alabama knew exactly what to expect against South Carolina on Friday.
And it just happened to fit into what’s carried the upstart Crimson Tide all season.
Utilizing a stifling defense, stingy board work and a “grind-it-out” approach on both ends, fifth-seeded Alabama knocked off No. 4 seed South Carolina, 64-53, in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
“We knew what type of game it was going to be … it was going to be a grind-it-out, hardnosed, blue-collar type game,” Alabama graduate senior guard Corban Collins said. “You (knew you) had to come in and work on the defensive end because these are two of the best defensive teams in our league, so we knew what type of game this was going to be, and we came in ready for it.”
The Crimson Tide (19-13) advance to take on top-seeded and reigning SEC champion Kentucky (27-5) in today’s first semifinal at noon.
The Wildcats, who beat Alabama 67-58 in the regular season, knocked off Georgia 71-60 in the earlier quarterfinal game Friday.
“I told them whatever happened in the regular season is behind us right now,” Alabama head coach Avery Johnson said. “This is a moment in time that if we capitalize on it, we can go somewhere.”
It will mark Alabama’s first appearance in the SEC Tournament semifinals since 2013, with Friday’s victory serving as the first time since 2002 that the Crimson Tide has won multiple games in the tournament.
It was also the sixth straight game Alabama hasn’t allowed the opposition to score more than 60 points, following a 75-55 win over Mississippi State on Thursday.
Key to that defensive effort was Alabama’s ability to control the backboard on both ends of the court, outrebounding the Gamecocks 42-27 overall and 22-10 in the second half, including 12 offensive boards that led to a 16-to-6 advantage in second-chance points.
“It was really simple. I didn’t give them a fire and brimstone speech (before the game, it was): ‘Rebound or lose,’” Johnson said. “The bench needs to play well, or we’re going home. It was just that simple.”
One day after Dazon Ingram powered the Tide with a perfect game from the field, fellow freshman guard Braxton Key paced the offense with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds. Junior wing Riley Norris also added 12 points, all in the second half.
While the game was won inside, some of the most important shots were taken outside the arc, including a pair of 3s from Key over a span of 2:26 in the middle of the first half, the first of which allowed the Tide to retake the lead, 16-14, with 6:30 before halftime.
While Key carried the offensive torch in the first half, it was Norris who nailed a couple of second-half daggers that kept South Carolina at bay late, answering a 5-1 run by the Gamecocks with a trey from the corner for a 49-45 lead with 5:42 left.
A minute later, after SEC Player of the Year Sindarius Thronwell stole a pass from Key and turned it into a fastbreak layup, Ingram found Norris all alone to once again create some separation with a 52-47 lead with 4:36 remaining.
“Those type of shots in a game like this are really key, because a 3-point lead in these types of games can feel like a 10-point lead,” Collins said. “Because it’s so hard to buy a basket in these types of games. So for them guys to step up and knock down those shots in crucial moments both times, it propelled us and let us get that lead that was only by a few points, but it felt like more.”
With the slight lead, Alabama closed out the final 2½ minutes on a 10-0 run, doing all of its damage on the boards and at the free-throw line, where the Tide finished 10 of 12 and 15 of 21 for the game
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
Wanna double down today? :devil:
60 comes into play again today--"if's" come into play.
The last time UK lost they were on the road against UF. (This was before Florida lost Egbunu for the season.) The Gators held UK to 66 and--much like Bama did last night with U of SC--they out-rebounded UK by 20 or so. Can Bama hold them to around 60, or less? UK didn't break the 60 mark until less than a minute was left in regulation when these teams met one month ago, today. (To add to that a bit, UK was shooting a tad under 45% in that game so it wasn't like they were horribly off.)
I know how simple this is going to sound. Rebound. Defend that perimeter. Foul shots. The last go around they accomplished two of the three. While I don't see Bama winning today I can see how they could win today.
Well, we can't outshoot them, so we had better play defense and control tempo and out rebound them. And hit some free throws. When it's working, nothing is so simple as a coach's game plan. Bama will win a fist fight and the first to 60 favors us. I'm in.
That's one of the weird stats for the first game. Bama had a better shooting percentage--FG and 3's--than UK. Not by much, but still. Of course, that's a bit overshadowed by them taking 10+ more shots than Bama. They got the Tide on the boards last game but not by much.
There's always more than one reason a team lost, but that right there has to be the main point of focus if they are looking back at last month's game. Bama was on the line more than double that of UK and UK hit more FT's. :smh:
I know that SC has defensive game, but can we not inbound the ball under the basket? We had to throw the ball long to the other side of the court too many times and that stuff cost time and points.
It was a foul from an inbound play that sealed the game yesterday. With :15 on the shot clock, 2:00 on the game clock, Avery called a timeout under Bama's basketball. Inbound went to the corner, Key drives and is fouled ... making both free throws.
There were a few times when they went deep it intrigued me ... but, those times all had a full shot clock, as I recall.
Dang Terry, shouldn't have been too hard to remember something that finally worked. Bama's been struggling to score points off of set plays out of clock stoppages all season and it's been one of our bigger buggaboos for this team. The inbound play is more of the same.
For one oof the few times this season I felt confident going int the second half. We had the energy, the confidence, the poise, they did not.
Keys for today
1. Take care of the basketball. We are in trouble if we let Ky. get a bunch of live ball turnovers and runouts.
2. Do what we do defensively. If they have a great day outside shooting we are not going to beat them, but we have a shot if all their shots inside the arc are hotly contested.
3. Make Adebayo work on defense. We need some scoring from Hall/Taylor to keep him home.
4. Good shot selection
Let it all hang out. We have nothing to lose.
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