Bama must play well tonight

       Tonight we play Kentucky. We play them in Rupp Arena. We play them coming off a loss. That has to be the unholy trinity. The Tide, played perhaps its worst game of late, in their loss to Mississippi State. The NCAA is down to the crunch time. We have 16 wins. We have double digit losses already. I cannot envision a more difficult game to start another winning streak to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Avery Johnson has shown us that he can have his team ready to play after big losses. I can't help but wonder if the loss to Mississippi State was different. Had Alabama beaten State the Tide could travel to Lexington with house money so to speak. That may not be the case now. If Johnson has his team ready for tonight, it will speak volumes about his coaching ability and the resilience of this players.

      When you write a post about such a game and vise-like pressure the Tide must be feeling, it's hard to get a good feeling about tonight's game. If Alabama won tonight, most of the American basketball world would be stunned. It might be the greatest upset in Alabama basketball history. It will most certainly be the most unexpected. A win would almost guarantee a place in the NCAA field. It would set off waves of "what's wrong with Kentucky". It should set off a similar wave of what's right about Alabama.

    Losing the game will not kill Alabama's chances of post-season play. If Alabama loses and wins their last three games, and perhaps a game or two in the SEC Tournament we'll get an invitation to the NCAA. If we finish 20 or 21 and 13, it won't preclude a bid if things in other conferences fall our way. We would get a bid to the NIT and an opening home game based on high fan attendance this season. Don't knock the NIT. It is still a great Tournament, and the team needs to play all the games they can play. We may not win tonight but being competitive is important to the Selection Committee.  Bama needs to show the NCAA that they belong in the field.