Tide Stumbles Against Carleton 84-71

Sexton injury not serious

Jones out with concussion protocol

   

  

You'll never find a better sparring partner than adversity - Golda Meir. After setting the world on fire, the Crimson Tide stumbled. Young teams do that, and hopefully, a lesson is learned and you improve. For Alabama's younger players big time basketball just knocked the silly out of high school dreams. It happens to each of us. Unfortunately, athletes get to learn that before the world. Most of us learn the lesson and quietly go home and brood over what happened. In the greater scheme of a basketball season, it is best to learn this lesson when a game doesn't count. You can't make any lasting impressions about an exhibition game. Lick your wounds and come back to soothe the pain of a loss with a victory.

Carleton was a miserable 9-40 from three point land against Towson. The Ravens were on fire against Bama. The home standing team made 12 threes. A 25% shooting night against Towson turned into a 45% night against Bama. That isn't a world beater but it was good enough. Surprisingly, the Ravens controlled the offensive and defensive boards against a much bigger and more physical Tide. The Crimson opened up with both Hall and Giddens in the starting lineup. Okay, let's table that lineup for further discussion. The only weakness the Ravens showed was a poor night from the free throw line. They hit only 10-17. Bama was a lackluster 12-18 for 67%. Alabama shot only 38% for the night. Ouch, you won't win a lot of games anywhere throwing up bricks. The Tide was only 38% from behind the arc. The team shot 9-24. John Petty knocked down 4-7 from downtown and Braxton Key was 3-4. The remainder of the team was only 2-13. That is a double Ouch.


Bama got a scare when it appeared Collin Sexton was hurt. Johnson said the Sexton is fine and expects him to play tomorrow against the Univesity of Ottawa. It might assuage your fears when you understand that Carleton has won 13 of the last 15 Canadian National Championships. The Ravens were a perfect 19-0 for last season's regular season. Ask Wichita State how good they are? SEC and Alabama fans will get a chance to compare Vanderbilt and the Tide when Carleton takes on the Commodores next week.


The Tide played very poor defense and had 15 turnovers on offense. Sexton had 8 assists to lead both teams. All teams have off nights shooting. Bama just had one and now can move on. Johnson is not going to be happy with his offense but is going to be upset (and clearly so) with the rebounding. That is just effort and guts. The defense was pretty bad as well. The Tide has shown some problems with their man defense.