Arkansas is a lot better than their record shows...

Taylor or Hall?

Will Kessens play better after his last game

     Once again the Tide plays an elimination game to make it to the NCAA. I'm sticking with my opinion that we must win our last two games, and then win one or two in SEC Tournament. That's possible. There are no great teams in the SEC. There a couple of good teams, a bunch of a little better than average, and a few dogs. This time, it's Arkansas.  The Hogs are another one of those teams with tons of talent who just haven't put it together yet.  They are a lot like Mississippi State. They have an excellent post player and then four other players who round out their starting lineup. None of those four are world beaters. They all have one thing in common. Each of them can fill it up from outside. If you have that gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach, you're right to feel it. The Razorbacks are only a 15-14, but they are on a three game winning streak. The Hogs have beaten Tennessee, LSU, and Missouri in succession.  They also beat Dayton earlier in the year. Both teams stand 8-8 in the SEC. 

    Wednesday night will see a lot of three-point shots. Avery Johnson wants the Tide to put up 30 per game.  Mike Anderson seems to want 30 each half. It's a rarity, but Alabama probably has the edge inside. Arkansas is going to run. Alabama is going to slow things down. Most of the games the Tide have won are ones they dictated the pace of play. Anderson is a disciple of Nolan Richardson. That means running on offense and pressing on defense. I think Alabama has good enough ball handlers to beat the press.

      Here's the question that Tide fans want to know. Who is going to help Obasohan?  Last game Arthur Edwards and Don'ta Hall stepped it up. The status of Riley Norris is still up in the air. I'd guess he has a broken little finger, but I haven't seen any reports of what the problem might be. The last game it appeared he had two fingers taped together of Gorilla Tape. Norris is an essential component. Without him, we lose outside shooting and a lot of rebounds. He's also the garbage man of this team. He gets the loose balls. He dives into 50/50 balls and gets the home crowd going.  Based on our play in the last three games it doesn't surprise me the line is -3. I think the game is a toss up unless Alabama can get back to their play before the Mississippi State game.  After winning the Auburn game, we were in some bracket projections, and in the last four out in others. A bid is there for the taking with a run of three games, maybe four. And of course, it depends on what a lot of other teams do.

     I guess the most obvious thing to say is tonight going to be good 'Bama or bad Bama. Conversely, the same can be said about Arkansas.

Keys to Winning

1. Alabama must win the boards. They need to keep the Hogs from running their fast break.
2. The Tide must defend the perimeter. That means contesting every three point shot, but it also means that as defenders run to the end of the floor they must also look for Arkansas players outside the three point line.
3.Obasohan, in his last season regular game needs to go out with a great game.
4. Hale, Edwards, Norris, and Coleman need to get some outside shots to fall.
5. I've given up on us making a high percentage of fouls shots, but it would be nice to make 70%.
6. Have some fun. If you can't have fun against Arkansas we are too uptight. This might be like shirts and skins.