Alabama’s streak of SEC road dominance is over. On Wednesday, the Crimson Tide suffered a 110-98 defeat to the Missouri Tigers (20-6, 9-4 SEC) in a hostile Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri. Alabama (21-5, 10-3 SEC) fought and clawed, but in the end, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates had to request fans—decked head-to-toe in black-and-gold—not to storm the court.
Questions abound as we pull back from this gritty SEC matchup. First, Missouri felt like a must-win game for the Tide (at the very least a bounce back game) and with the upcoming gauntlet Alabama must go through over the next few weeks, one must wonder, “Is it time to hit the panic button in Tuscaloosa?”
Secondly, Alabama has proven it can score. Now can Oats and the Crimson Tide solve the major problems on the defensive end of floor?
Let’s look at The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Wednesday’s game, starting with The Bad.
– The Bad –
D-Fence
You’ve got to assume that a SEC team is going to play with more confidence on its home floor, but for Alabama to give up 59 points to Missouri by halftime and 110 points overall is just embarrassing.
Let me repeat: Missouri scored 110.
I get it. The Tigers were absolutely cookin’ on the offensive end. The Grill was smoking hot—hitting step-back 3’s and hustling all over the court—while Mark Mitchell played perhaps the best game of his career, charring the Crimson Tide with a 31-point effort.
Overall, Missouri shot a blazing 60 percent from the floor (35-for-58) in large part because Alabama did little to frustrate the Missouri’s bigs in the paint or impede dribble penetration. The Tigers scored 40 points in that coveted area, knocked down 31 free throws, and had 27 points from long distance. That’s your ballgame, cuz.
There was a point in the game in which I wondered why no one was helping in the paint for Alabama. Hardly anyone was trying to strip the ball from Missouri’s post players or making it difficult for them to score. As a result, Mitchell and Co., feasted unabatedly while the Crimson Tide players remained hugged up to their respective men most of the night.
Slow Start
This was the second straight game the Tide got off to a slow start. Auburn jumped out to a 9-0 lead in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, and Missouri raced out to a 12-0 lead in Columbia on Wednesday. Forasmuch detail as Nate Oats puts into his program, it’s highly doubtful that Alabama’s players simply weren’t ready to play or were conked out on the bus prior to a big game. So, what’s the problem?
Because it was a bounce back game on Wednesday, I fully expected Alabama to start the game by hitting Missouri in the mouth. When the opposite happened, I said to myself, “This game’s over.” Sure, it was early and there was plenty of basketball left to be played, but I just didn’t think the Tide could recover from such an onslaught. It didn’t.
You can’t dig yourself into a big hole or allow the other team to throw you into a deep pit and expect to be a winning basketball team. Yes, Alabama fought and clawed all night, but it was the 12-0 run to start the game that was the difference. After that, the game was even.
Normal Oatsian philosophy does not make liberal use of time outs, and Oats usually lets his teams play through adversity. Though I don’t necessarily agree with that approach, I do respect it. There comes a time in a sporting event, however, when you need to halt the avalanche, gather your team, and challenge them. Oats called the first time out at the 17:32 mark, but by then the damage was already done.
To his credit, Oats took responsibility for the team’s slow start, saying in his postgame presser, “Getting our guys ready to go is part of my job as head coach, and I did not do a good job of it tonight.”
– The Good –
“Much of a Man”
When describing someone who was tough, my dad used to say, “He’s Much of a Man!” On Wednesday night in Columbia, Missouri, Alabama guard Mark Sears was Much of a Man. Anyone who has strapped on the togs and played in an away arena knows how difficult it can be to play in that sort of environment. Shoot, go up to Meek High School in Arley, Alabama, on a Friday night and you’ll see how much push back you’ll get. That said, in as adverse an environment as there is in the SEC, Sears played like an animal—and I mean that in a good way. I was so impressed with his leadership and the way he almost willed his team to a victory. At one point, I thought Alabama was going to come back and win after Sears drew an And-1 and almost Hulked out while sitting on the floor. Though the Tide just could not seem to get within striking distance, you must tip your cap to Sears for the game he played on Wednesday.
There’s fight in this team
Yes, Alabama lost, but it fought. Which tells me that this team isn’t going to lie down and can stand up to adversity. I still believe that Alabama is too good and too resilient to let this season spiral out of control, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it circles the wagons and has a strong finish to the season despite the untimely difficulty of its schedule.
– The Ugly –
Massive Free Throw Discrepancy
Missouri shot 47 free throws on Wednesday to Alabama’s 21. Forty-seven! That’s a big discrepancy and honestly a head-scratcher in my book. Perhaps Missouri should rename Mizzou Arena “Missouri’s Country Kitchen” because it appears there was plenty of home cooking served up on Wednesday.
Looking Ahead
Because the Tide hasn’t played particularly well at home as of late, if you’re a ‘Bama fan you would hope that the next home game would be against Oolitic or Cedar Knob. But guess who’s coming to supper on Saturday? That’s right; the old Blue Bloods themselves, the Kentucky Wildcats.
Unfortunately, Alabama isn’t going to catch a scheduling break from here on out. It’s not time to panic yet, but it’s definitely bootstraps time for the Crimson Tide.
Kentucky is playing well and will be looking for ugly payback on Saturday. For the Tide to pull out a victory, it will take more than Sears.
It will take Much of a Man. TG
Photos courtesy UA Athletics
