Coach McDermott says Bama's perimeter shooting is inconsistent...

Bama's shooting is the Key...

Father and Son. Father thinks Creighton should
have a better seed. Son in First Team AA

     That might be the kindest statement made by any coach regarding the Tide's outside shooting. Inconsistent? The Tuscaloosa Brick Company could sponsor Alabama. Alabama fans, never known for their kindness or lack of criticism, chooses to use another description - bricks. I'm not sure that bricks is descriptive enough. How about concrete blocks. Alabama ranks 331st in the NCAA in made three point shots. Creighton ranks 3rd. Alabama ranks 83rd in defending the three. That breaks down to 25% Creighton ranks 173rd. 

     The Tide is giving up only 14 points per game from behind the arc. Creighton is giving up right at 20 points per game from behind the arc.  As a league, the MVC attempts 7% more shots from three pointer line than the SEC.  So why all this talk about three pointers? I believe there are two areas in basketball where you can make a legitimate comparison. Three point shooting and frees throws are the same distance from the goals in every arena in the NCAA.   

Releford will likely draw Senior Antoine Young
who runs the point for the Jays

     The Jays have great three point shooters. Bama has no three point shooters. Well, that isn't exactly correct. We have four shooters but no one that can consistently make them. I think Releford makes more when they seem to matter. Lately, Lacey has done that. Early on in games it appears that Randolph makes them. But there is no flow. We pass up open shots all the time. I liked what we did against Florida in the second half. We were going to get the ball inside to Green or Jacobs come hell or high water, and the three point shooters let a few fly. Just shooting them makes defenders instinctively step out. Just like a head fake.  A head fake will the  defender leave his feet most of the time.

Echenique is the enforcer inside and protects McDermott

     I think the closet opponent to Creighton that we've played is Florida. Creighton seems to have much better interior defense because the have 6-7 McDermott and 6-9 Gregory Echenique in the paint.  Florida has four shooting guards in the line up most of the time. Creighton plays three guards, two of them are natural point guards, and one other deadly shooter. McDermott swings inside and out. He appears to be equally effective  in either role. This first team All-American is someone who the Tide has no answer regarding a man defender. He's too quick for Jacobs to play outside. Green could, but that pulls him away from the basket. I'm not the coach but for my money I'd do everything I could to get Echenique in early foul trouble. He is the man who makes it possible for McDermott to roam around. 

MVC Coach of the Year?

     If you watched the MVC Tournament you had to notice Antoine Young. He's the Creighton point guard and he can penetrate like Releford. But another thing that makes the Jays so hard to defend is Grant Gibbs. He is a natural point guard plays on the wings. This gives the Jays two great ball handlers to shoot, penetrate, dish or just feed the ball inside. You look at the Jays on offense and wonder how close to perfect can a team be? 

    However, the Jays are not a great defensive team. Part of that might be because they have never had to rely on their defenders to win. The are not a bad defensive team though. Echenique is going to give Green fits inside with his size and weight. He goes about 6-9 and 270lbs. give or take a few milk shakes. The Jays are not as deep as the Tide. This is one of those bizarre games where two teams has   to exert their style of play on the other to win. There seems to be no in between for either team. This no mans land may may help the Tide in two ways - first if the Jays just sit back in a zone the Tide can run the clock and keep the score low.  Second, on offense it may cause the Jays to take some bad early shots in  an attempt to force the tempo.  The question is this - Will Coach McDermott play at a slower pace than he'd like? I think he may have to do that because Bama's going to slow it down. The Tide will run when they can, but when they can't they'll slow it down.