bama's defense makes the difference...
releford, randolph, and lacey key the win
Alabama turned to an old friend to beat an foe. Bama beat the Tennessee Vols 68-64 on Saturday afternoon by playing full court pressure defense when it mattered the most. The Tide was down by four at the half but outscored the Big Orange by eight in the second half. In the last five minutes of the game it was the quick hands and gutty courage of Tide defense that made the difference. Bama opened up a five point lead late in that game on the strenght of steals by Andrew Steele and Levi Randolph. When the Vols battled back to take a one point lead it was Lacey, Releford, and Randolph who picked the pockets of the Vols to regain the lead and salt away a key SEC game. The Tide is now 1-1 in the SEC and moves to 9-6 for the season.
All of those steals off the press allowed Bama to shoot a red hot 64% from the floor. That's a lot better than the 27% made in the first half. While Alabama was stone cold in the first half, their defense was dead solid and kept the score in reach. Bama made only 6-28 shots in the first half after starting the game off with two three point baskets. If I had to pick a player of the game I'd go with Moussa Gueye. The big center shut down Jarnell Stokes from having a big night, and did so without a lot of help. The big sophomore entered the game with 12 ppg, and finished with only 6. Stokes became frustrated in the second half and Tennessee Coach Counzo Martin chose to sit during some key minutes. I think the biggest surprise about Gueye's ability to match Stokes quickness around the basket. He blocked two shots including one absolute face job.
Lacey had all but disappeared the last two games. He responded to Grants need for more aggression on offense with 15 points. More than just scoring his hard nosed play seemed to set a tone for some hard nosed play by the Tide. Releford had 15 points as well. Randolph has 12 but he kept the team together with is solid play when things turned against the Tide late in the game. Levi put up 12 shots and caused the Vol defense to pay attention to him. That helped Releford and Lacey to better shots. Turning toward the negative the Tide as out boarded 45-25 including 14 offensive rebounds. That big rebounding edge allowed Tennessee to keep it close. It was the worst effort off the glass after out boarding the nation's top rebounding team the game before. Give Tennessee a lot of credit for their toughness under the boards. They outfought the much smaller Tide in the paint all day
The good: Alabama ended up shooting 43% after a horrible start. The defense was spot on, and Gueye help disrupt things in the middle. The Tide made 16-19 from the free throw line which made for making 3 less free throws. The Tide scored 16 points off of turnovers they caused. The bad: No offensive production on the inside by the Tide's two big men. In fairness, Jacobs did have a couple of nice baskets, but he is getting push around far to much. The ugly: I thought the Tide really had no bad areas today. The cut their turnovers down. The lack of rebounding was bad, but late in the game the Tide pulled down some important missed Tennessee shots. Cutting off those second opportunities made a difference.
Tennessee falls to 8-6.They may win a few games this season but they are the worst looking team I've seen all season. Bama's defense had a lot to do with the way they looked. Their tenacity under the boards was impressive. This was a good win for the Tide. Grant punched the right tickets the entire game. I believed his upping the defensive pressure when Bama has secured the lead was a stroke of genius. Tennessee looked unprepared for that type play when they were tired. Nice move by the Coach.
What they said:
“The fight, the heart, the character that we showed in the second half, that was the story today,” said Grant. “I was extremely proud of them, and happy that that effort resulted in a win.”
Vols coach Cuonzo Martin said, “Give those (Bama) guys credit. They protected the home court, made plays and played hard-nosed defense. They found a way to win.”
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releford, randolph, and lacey key the win
All of those steals off the press allowed Bama to shoot a red hot 64% from the floor. That's a lot better than the 27% made in the first half. While Alabama was stone cold in the first half, their defense was dead solid and kept the score in reach. Bama made only 6-28 shots in the first half after starting the game off with two three point baskets. If I had to pick a player of the game I'd go with Moussa Gueye. The big center shut down Jarnell Stokes from having a big night, and did so without a lot of help. The big sophomore entered the game with 12 ppg, and finished with only 6. Stokes became frustrated in the second half and Tennessee Coach Counzo Martin chose to sit during some key minutes. I think the biggest surprise about Gueye's ability to match Stokes quickness around the basket. He blocked two shots including one absolute face job.
Lacey had all but disappeared the last two games. He responded to Grants need for more aggression on offense with 15 points. More than just scoring his hard nosed play seemed to set a tone for some hard nosed play by the Tide. Releford had 15 points as well. Randolph has 12 but he kept the team together with is solid play when things turned against the Tide late in the game. Levi put up 12 shots and caused the Vol defense to pay attention to him. That helped Releford and Lacey to better shots. Turning toward the negative the Tide as out boarded 45-25 including 14 offensive rebounds. That big rebounding edge allowed Tennessee to keep it close. It was the worst effort off the glass after out boarding the nation's top rebounding team the game before. Give Tennessee a lot of credit for their toughness under the boards. They outfought the much smaller Tide in the paint all dayThe good: Alabama ended up shooting 43% after a horrible start. The defense was spot on, and Gueye help disrupt things in the middle. The Tide made 16-19 from the free throw line which made for making 3 less free throws. The Tide scored 16 points off of turnovers they caused. The bad: No offensive production on the inside by the Tide's two big men. In fairness, Jacobs did have a couple of nice baskets, but he is getting push around far to much. The ugly: I thought the Tide really had no bad areas today. The cut their turnovers down. The lack of rebounding was bad, but late in the game the Tide pulled down some important missed Tennessee shots. Cutting off those second opportunities made a difference.
Tennessee falls to 8-6.They may win a few games this season but they are the worst looking team I've seen all season. Bama's defense had a lot to do with the way they looked. Their tenacity under the boards was impressive. This was a good win for the Tide. Grant punched the right tickets the entire game. I believed his upping the defensive pressure when Bama has secured the lead was a stroke of genius. Tennessee looked unprepared for that type play when they were tired. Nice move by the Coach.
What they said:
“The fight, the heart, the character that we showed in the second half, that was the story today,” said Grant. “I was extremely proud of them, and happy that that effort resulted in a win.”
Vols coach Cuonzo Martin said, “Give those (Bama) guys credit. They protected the home court, made plays and played hard-nosed defense. They found a way to win.”
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