TIDE SHOWS NCAA THEY BELONG
JOHNSON BRINGS TIDE BACK TO RESPECTABILITY WITH WIN OVER LSU
Please pay attention SEC. Retin Obsahan might very well be the most valuable player in the league. He is deserving of a first team All-SEC vote. Please pay attention SEC. Avery Johnson is the Coach of Year in the SEC, and it isn't' even close. We all know that other teams, such as Kentucky win all those awards. This year should be different. When you ask what player in the SEC means more to his teams and compares well with other of the same position the name Retin Obasohan leaps to the front. If you don't, believe me, ask the LSU Tigers about Obasohan. Last night, in Baton Rouge, the senior point guard ran over, around, and through the Bengal Tigers on his way to a career-high 35 points. The Tigers simply had no answer to how to stop Obasohan. Whether it was knifing trough the paint to shoot layups or shooting bombs, the Tigers got to watch a great player destroy their team, and possible their NCAA dreams.
Obasahan didn't do it alone. Justin Coleman, the little man, dropped in 21 points. He was 5-8 from downtown. He also iced the game by making 4-5 free throws at the end when the Tigers were mounting a final comeback. It didn't happen. Coleman seems to be getting red hot at just the right time. Last night, he'd let one fly and was running downcourt knowing he'd made the basket. That downcourt run wasn't a rush to get back on defense; Justin felt he had just bottomed one.
What about Riley Norris? Here's a man that if all the people in the Bama Nation had to apologize to him for saying he was worthless, he would have to stand in line for hours just hear what those fans had to say. The man who "added nothing" to the team as one fan posted, got 16 rebounds. Not bad for a guy who doesn't have the hops or the size to do that. I'll tell you what he does have. He has best court sense on the floor. He knows who to box out, and he positions himself whee he thinks the missed shot is going to fall. He is the most pro-active rebounder I've seen in quite a while. Arthur Edwards dropped in 4 three points baskets. The most important one stopped an LSU 8 point lead, and stopped both the Tiger and momentum and hushed the crowd. After that, the Tigers were finished.
Jimmie Taylor didn't have his best offensive night, but he was so active trying to score, he kept Craig Victor and Ben Simmons occupied on defense. As each of those players was surrounding Taylor, Obashan was blasting through the Tigers perimeter.
The Tigers helped the Tide by making only 20-35 free throws. LSU started missing freebies and it spread like the plague up and down the bench. LSU got the benefit of a lot of questionable calls, but it didn't help. Simmons was only 10-19 from the line. 4 of those misses were the front end of one plus one. Bama, on the other hand, didn't get to shoot but 18. The made 15. Those free throws ended up making a big difference.
The Tide got outrebounded again, but only gave up nine offensive rebounds. That tenacity under the basket helped the Tide stay close. Bama also got what I call the "big boards." Those were the ones who slowed down the momentum and allowed Bama to dictate the pace of the game. The Tide has 14 turnovers which aren't terrible. Ironically, the Tigers had only five turnovers, but their ball protection didn't help them. Jimmie had four turnovers. Here's the deal. The Tide was throwing a lot of passes to him in traffic, and a couple of those were the fault of the passers and not Taylor. There are simply times when Tide guards to need to understand sometimes they need to know when not to throw the ball inside. Coach Johnson made is team play to the final buzzer. He was so involved in the last three minutes he looked like the energizer bunny. Great coaching on his part.
So this win opens up a realistic path to make the NCAA field. They aren't there yet. The Tide needs to win their last home games. Each of their remaining home games is against teams near the basement in the SEC. Keep in mind that Auburn and Mississippi State pulled off upsets last night against Arkansas and Vanderbilt respectively. All those teams are capable of winning in Tuscaloosa. I think that Bama has a chance to beat Georgia on the road. Kentucky will be tough in Rupp, but what an opportunity for the Tide. Just for the sake of discussion let's say that the Tide finished the SEC regular season with 19 wins. One win in the SEC Tournament will lock the Tide for a spot in the NCAA. Earn twenty wins in the regular season and then tack on couple SEC Tournament victories, and we are talking 8 or 9 seed. Beat Kentucky would be the cherry on the top of ice cream. We could end up with a 5 or 6 feed. There is a lot of optimism in the Tide Nation right now. Let's all remember what the coach said to his team in the 40 seconds of the game last night, "the game isn't over." We are close to securing a bid. But remember close is for horseshoes and nuclear war.
JOHNSON BRINGS TIDE BACK TO RESPECTABILITY WITH WIN OVER LSU
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| RETIN HAS CAREER HIGH 35 |
Obasahan didn't do it alone. Justin Coleman, the little man, dropped in 21 points. He was 5-8 from downtown. He also iced the game by making 4-5 free throws at the end when the Tigers were mounting a final comeback. It didn't happen. Coleman seems to be getting red hot at just the right time. Last night, he'd let one fly and was running downcourt knowing he'd made the basket. That downcourt run wasn't a rush to get back on defense; Justin felt he had just bottomed one.
What about Riley Norris? Here's a man that if all the people in the Bama Nation had to apologize to him for saying he was worthless, he would have to stand in line for hours just hear what those fans had to say. The man who "added nothing" to the team as one fan posted, got 16 rebounds. Not bad for a guy who doesn't have the hops or the size to do that. I'll tell you what he does have. He has best court sense on the floor. He knows who to box out, and he positions himself whee he thinks the missed shot is going to fall. He is the most pro-active rebounder I've seen in quite a while. Arthur Edwards dropped in 4 three points baskets. The most important one stopped an LSU 8 point lead, and stopped both the Tiger and momentum and hushed the crowd. After that, the Tigers were finished.
Jimmie Taylor didn't have his best offensive night, but he was so active trying to score, he kept Craig Victor and Ben Simmons occupied on defense. As each of those players was surrounding Taylor, Obashan was blasting through the Tigers perimeter.
The Tigers helped the Tide by making only 20-35 free throws. LSU started missing freebies and it spread like the plague up and down the bench. LSU got the benefit of a lot of questionable calls, but it didn't help. Simmons was only 10-19 from the line. 4 of those misses were the front end of one plus one. Bama, on the other hand, didn't get to shoot but 18. The made 15. Those free throws ended up making a big difference.
The Tide got outrebounded again, but only gave up nine offensive rebounds. That tenacity under the basket helped the Tide stay close. Bama also got what I call the "big boards." Those were the ones who slowed down the momentum and allowed Bama to dictate the pace of the game. The Tide has 14 turnovers which aren't terrible. Ironically, the Tigers had only five turnovers, but their ball protection didn't help them. Jimmie had four turnovers. Here's the deal. The Tide was throwing a lot of passes to him in traffic, and a couple of those were the fault of the passers and not Taylor. There are simply times when Tide guards to need to understand sometimes they need to know when not to throw the ball inside. Coach Johnson made is team play to the final buzzer. He was so involved in the last three minutes he looked like the energizer bunny. Great coaching on his part.
So this win opens up a realistic path to make the NCAA field. They aren't there yet. The Tide needs to win their last home games. Each of their remaining home games is against teams near the basement in the SEC. Keep in mind that Auburn and Mississippi State pulled off upsets last night against Arkansas and Vanderbilt respectively. All those teams are capable of winning in Tuscaloosa. I think that Bama has a chance to beat Georgia on the road. Kentucky will be tough in Rupp, but what an opportunity for the Tide. Just for the sake of discussion let's say that the Tide finished the SEC regular season with 19 wins. One win in the SEC Tournament will lock the Tide for a spot in the NCAA. Earn twenty wins in the regular season and then tack on couple SEC Tournament victories, and we are talking 8 or 9 seed. Beat Kentucky would be the cherry on the top of ice cream. We could end up with a 5 or 6 feed. There is a lot of optimism in the Tide Nation right now. Let's all remember what the coach said to his team in the 40 seconds of the game last night, "the game isn't over." We are close to securing a bid. But remember close is for horseshoes and nuclear war.
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