Ole Miss B'ball Grades

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From Our Correspondent at FM 90.7

            All Alabama needed to do was win.  Win and they would face Florida with a chance to clinch at least a share of the regular season title. Win and their tournament hopes would remain alive. But the Crimson Tide blew a 51-40 second half lead and Alabama’s bubble sprung a leak that can likely only be patched with an orange and blue band-aid.

            The difference is this game was free throw shooting. Alabama went 10/16 from the line, but Ole Miss, one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country, converted on 27 of their 34 attempts. Head Coach Anthony Grant was careful to criticize the discrepancy in the number of fouls called in his post-game press conference saying, “the difference was the foul line. When they shoot twenty-something free throws in the second half, that’s hard to overcome.”

            Grant’s team, however, didn’t do much to help themselves out. In the second half, senior Chris Hines and freshman Trevor Releford both missed the front end of one-and-one opportunities while Ole Miss converted all four of theirs. Tony Mitchell also missed Alabama’s only two free throw opportunities in the first half. And with 2:42 left in the game, and Alabama trailing 58-59, Anthony Grant was called for a technical foul for arguing with an official over a foul called on senior Senario Hillman. Between the foul on Hillman and the technical, that sent the Rebels to the free-throw line for four straight attempts, of which they converted three, and Ole Miss was up for good 58-62.

While it would be easy to point fingers and say that the referees, with a few questionable calls here and there, cost Alabama the game, that just wasn’t the case. The Crimson Tide played lackadaisical basketball and displayed no sense of urgency. If the current slump continues, Florida will take them to the woodshed in Gainesville and for that matter, they probably won’t win another game.

Here are my grades for Saturday afternoon’s game:

Offense: B-

            Alabama’s offense was average, at best. It scored 63 points, 4 shy of their season average, and leaned heavily on its leading scorers. JaMychal Green led all scorers with 17 points on 7/15 shooting from the field and 3/3 from the free throw line. Sophomore Tony Mitchell shot 6/13 scoring 13 points, but went  0/2 from the free throw line.

            Senior Chris Hines continues to impress, scoring a career high 15 points, going 6/7 from the field and 3/5 from the free throw stripe. The junior college transfer from Southwestern Illinois has seen his minutes increase; he played 32 on Saturday, and has worked his way into a starting role.

            Trevor Releford continued to play poorly, scoring 8 points and turning the ball over 5 times, with no assists.

           

            Bench play and three-point shooting are easily the two biggest weaknesses for Anthony Grant’s team and it showed Saturday afternoon. The Alabama bench shot a mere 1/8 from the field, with freshman Charles Hankerson scoring the only basket. From the three-point line, The Tide went 3/11.

Defense: B

            Ole Miss guard Chris Warren is as good as they come in the SEC. Warren averages 19 points per game on the year, and shoots the 3 at an amazing 34.5%. The Crimson Tide held the senior guard to 15 points in his trip to Tuscaloosa, but he would not be denied in Oxford. Warren scored 25 points in 39 minutes of action. He shot 7/16 from the field, but was also an impressive 9/11 from the free throw line.

            Warren was by no means a one-man show, however. Zach Graham added 17 points and went 11/12 from the charity stripe.

            For Alabama, Tony Mitchell was the team-leader on defense yet again, causing 4 steals and 1 block. JaMychal Green 2 blocks and a steal, while Chris Hines and Charvez Davis each had 2 steals.

Coaching: C

            Since conference play began, this was the worst loss for the Crimson Tide. The team was still finding an identity against Arkansas, and Alabama played a very good Vanderbilt team close on the road and got some tough calls down the stretch. But there was no excuse for the way Alabama played on Saturday. Yes, Ole Miss is a good team, but with everything the Crimson Tide had on the line, they needed a quality win in Oxford to improve their tournament resume. More than that, this was a chance for the team to get back to playing the fundamental basketball that had been so successful for them in SEC play.

            The technical foul Coach Grant took late in the game was similarly inexcusable. Grant has been known to be fiery and intense, like all good coaches, but when the game is on the line, a coach has to keep his temper under control. You hate to point to one instant and say that that’s where the game was lost, but there is no reason for a coach to take a technical in a critical situation and give the other team an opportunity for 2 free points.

Where do we go from here?

            Alabama’s RPI took a hit, dropping to 89, but the Tide has an opportunity to make up for it against the best team in the SEC. Bama travels to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators in a match up that will decide the SEC regular season champion. The Gators fell in Lexington on Saturday, so Alabama still controls its own destiny in the SEC.

          

            The Ole Miss loss gives the Tide little room for error coming down the stretch. With only two regular season games remaining, the season finale in Coleman Coliseum against Georgia looks like a must win, and they can’t get blown out in Gainesville. Some say Alabama must now win 4 in a row, the final two regular season games, and two games in the SEC tournament. Alabama has already clinched a bye in the SEC tournament and it looks like they will play Tennessee, Vanderbilt, or Kentucky in their first game, a great chance to get a quality win.

In my opinion, if Alabama beats Florida and Georgia, they are in. The tournament selection committee simply can’t ignore the regular season champion of a major conference. However, if the Tide loses to Florida, they will need a strong showing in the SEC tournament. A loss in the first round, and they can pack their bags for the NIT. Stay tuned, as Tuesday marks the beginning of March Madness, and Alabama will be right in the thick of it.

Marc Torrence, from Franklin, TN, is a freshman at The Capstone majoring in Telecommunication and Film. He is co-host of the sports-talk show "The Student Section" on Wednesday nights from 8-10 on 90.7 in Tuscaloosa, or online at thecapstone.ua.edu. He can be reached at mdtorrence@crimson.ua.edu