Alabama Basketball Survives And Prevails Against Missouri
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Basketball prevailed against Missouri 57-54, but the Tide had to survive its own first half play to edge out the win.
Alabama Basketball had two problems Wednesday night. First, the Tide had to overcome itself in a dreadful first half of basketball. Surviving was the only option in the first half as the Tide shot 20.8 percent, including 16.7 percent on 2-12 three point shooting.
As if that was not bad enough, the Tide committed seven, 1st half turnovers and were out-rebounded by the Tigers, 23-18.
About that 23-18 rebound number – it matched the halftime score: Missouri 23 – Alabama 18.
If you tried to watch Wednesday’s game and became too morose to see it through, I feel your pain. As a remedy, I recommend reading this story about next season’s team.
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In January, when Alabama added to Missouri’s 3 year SEC road drought, only one word could describe the Tigers. Bad team – well, two words, but the key word was Bad.
Since then Missouri has improved. Going into Wednesday night, Missouri had won two out of its last three games, knocking off Arkansas and Vanderbilt. At 7-18 for the season, they are still a bad team.
Wednesday night in Columbia, for a half, Alabama was worse than a bad team. The only salvaging effort in those woeful 20 minutes were Bola Olaniyan’s eight rebounds and Dont’a Hall making three of four free throws.
The Tide missed 12 consecutive shots during that half of misery and went 11:38 without making a field goal.
Against any other team in the conference, even LSU, the Tide would have trailed by double digits at the half.
In the second half, the Tide shot 48.3 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the line. Alabama committed only four, second-half turnovers and out-rebounded Missouri 21-13.
Dazon Ingram took charge offensively in the second half, keying a 14-1 Tide run with back-to-back threes. Ingram also hit two shots at the foul line in the last seconds to seal the win.
Ingram finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Olaniyan was huge for the Tide, pulling in fourteen rebounds for the game. Dont’a Hall contributed six rebounds. Braxton Key, Jimmy Taylor and Riley Norris, each scored nine points for the Tide.
On Wednesday night in Columbia, Missouri the Crimson Tide survived its bad self and prevailed. Winning ugly beats the heck out of not winning. RTR
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Next up for the Crimson Tide, LSU in T-Town Saturday afternoon. To win the Tide should not need more points than Pistol Pete Maravich scored in Coleman in 1970.