TIDE SHOOTS LIGHTS OUT IN WIN OVER RAGIN' CAJUNS

HOT SHOOTING WIN OVER Sun Belt OPPONENT...

   

 Alabama went into last night's contest a two-point underdog. The left a double-digit winner with no resemblance of the team who got shellacked by Dayton. Jack Nicklaus, the king of golf, once said that good putting covers up a multitude of sins. So does good shooting. That made 15-25 from downtown to help the Tide put a good Sun Belt team 105-93. When this season is over that is going to be a good win over a team that is likely to make the NCAA field. 

    For the night the Alabama hit 55% from the floor, 60% from the three-point line, and made 75% of their free throws. Those are all numbers that mean you should win a game. The only thing that Bama lacked was better rebounding. The Cajuns beat the Tide 40-30 on the boards. It's difficult to believe that Jimmie Taylor got zero rebounds, but he did record 3 blocked shots and at least a half-dozen pressures to cause misses. 
   
 

  I think Bama should be pretty happy with a win for the Cajuns. They are picked to win the Sun Belt Conference and have a legit first round NBA player in Shawn Long. They can shoot the lights out. They played a team that shot even better.  Hats off to the Tide from returning from the land of the walking dead. Whatever Avery Johnson did to prepare his team for Friday night's game worked. Let's hope he saved some for future games. I thought the biggest factor on the Tide's offense was shooting, of course. To get those shots, Johnson put his two point-guards on the floor at the same time. The result was 28 points and 13 assists from Coleman and Ingram. Ingram showed us why he was Mr. Basketball last season, and clearly was under ranked by the so-called experts. When you have a 6-5 point guard, who can handle the ball you've got a weapon. I like how Ingram can post low against smaller players. Ingram led the Tide with 7 rebounds for the night.

       

Shannon Hale made 5 three pointers. The Tide had 5 players in double figures. Shot of the game had to be Edwards shot from the corner. It was off balance but still managed to beat the shot clock for three. The Tide had over 80 points with ten minutes left, and they seemed to ease up a bit in the final quarter of the game. If Louisiana-Lafayette made a run, the Tide had an answer and stormed back. What a difference a couple of days can make for a team. It's going to be a wild season, and Bama gave some notice to the rest of the SEC they won't go down quietly. I'd give the Player of the Game nod to Justin Coleman. But a couple of other Tide players were equally deserving.