When everything is right for Alabama and Mark Sears, Grant Nelson goes under people’s skin, and Nate oats are shuffling amid the waves of explosive athletes and rim protectors. .
They are teams that perhaps should win the national championship.
When Alabama is good, they’re really good.
But here is the problem with the crimson tide. As of today, Auburn is better.
I will not dispute that. I will not deny that. Auburn94, the first No. 1-2 matchup for the Alabama 85 SEC was a statement from Tuscaloosa.
Auburn came as the second place team and was the first of each school to win this unique, in-state race, as a better coach, mentally tougher, more competent and emphasised first place. I left the national basketball title.
That was obvious on Saturday night. The first weekend of April is a long way to go, with all warnings applied to one tournament, but Auburn looks like a team who has the merchandise the whole time.
What about Alabama? Well, sometimes they do. Also, like on Saturday night, they appear to be doomed to be one of the nation’s biggest disappointments.
All that talent, all that speed, all the experience from a lot of people who played in the Final 4 last year, and they do… that? At home? Is there a ranking number one on the line? Against their biggest rival?
To be honest, it doesn’t look good.
Alabama fans point out the filming. That’s why Crimson Tide lost this game. Did you miss just 5-26 from the 3-point line, 70-27 from the floor, 9 free throws? It’s not going to accomplish that. And that’s not very distinctive for a team ranked second in offensive efficiency on Kenpom.com.
But how many of those mistakes really looked great? Are you the kind you rely on under normal circumstances to a very skilled shooter like Sears, Aden Holloway, and Chris Youngblood? Not much.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl dedicated their game plan to keep Alabama from getting a clean look from the three-point line. It’s not easy to say, but the Tigers did it and that’s how they controlled the game.
Auburn made Alabama seem almost panicked in the first half as there was no one there that Sears would normally carry the ball in his hand. So Auburn took a nine-point lead to halftime and pushed it to 59-45 with 13:43 left.
After that, for the stretch we got a good Alabama. There was a shot in it. Their defensive strength was picked up. Sears began to control the pace. And in about six minutes, Alabama erased the complete deficit.
But outside of that short stretch, Auburn did almost everything he wanted to do. And the Tigers did that on the road, when Pearl said it was the best vibe ESPN has experienced at the Coleman Coliseum.
Overall, Auburn may not have a better night throughout the season unless he cut down San Antonio nets on April 7th.
The only good news for Alabama is that there is still time and opportunity. Crimson Tide will play Auburn again on March 8th. Perhaps another time in the SEC tournament, hide the kids if this happens – have something even more important on the street.
If nothing else, Saturday showed Alabama the level he needed to reach this season if it’s just as realistic as being given the talent and experience for this roster. .
Maybe Duke is better than Auburn, or maybe he’ll suffer some kind of catastrophic injury that leads the tiger to break out of the mix. march.
But for now, they are the norm for college basketball. They proved that in Tuscaloosa. And unless Alabama wants to see the Hang A Banner of its rival, it needs to go up to Auburn’s level.
Alabama was quite short this time. Let’s see if anything changed when we meet again in three weeks.
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