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Alabama Basketball: Losing streak needs to end in regular season finale

By Mike Parham

TUCSON, AZ - DECEMBER 09: Head coach Avery Johnson of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on December 9, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. The Wildcats defeated the Crimson Tide 88-82. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - DECEMBER 09: Head coach Avery Johnson of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on December 9, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. The Wildcats defeated the Crimson Tide 88-82. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Alabama basketball team, losers of four straight, are looking to help their tournament hopes with a win at Texas A&M

The Alabama basketball team is having one of the worst finishes in the regular season in recent memory.  The Tide has gone from a tournament contender to a legitimate bubble team.

What makes this slump even more unbelievable, is the manner in which the Tide has been losing.  The Tide (17-13) have lost three of their last four games by double-digits and the three-point loss to Arkansas was double-digits until a late flurry of three-pointers.

All of this coming from a team that is currently 5-2 against ranked teams and boasting some of the best non-conference wins.  ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has Alabama as a 10-seed in his latest Bracketology.

However, for now, Alabama needs to focus on getting a win to finish the regular season on a good note.  That chance will come against a Texas A&M team who are looking to avenge an earlier loss to the Tide.

The last time the Tide faced off against the Aggies it got ugly in Tuscaloosa.  Texas A&M (19-11) was ranked No. 5 and got blown out by Alabama by 22 points. This is clearly a different Tide team, which isn’t a good thing.  The Tide are free-falling, and it seems that the Aggies will possess all the momentum in College Station.

For a team struggling with rebounding, Texas A&M could possibly be a headache for the Tide.  The Aggies are currently ranked as the No. 5 rebounding team in the country with 41.1 rebounds per game.

In their first meeting, the Tide relied on hot three-point shooting from John Petty.  Petty had 18-points and was 6-for-10 from the field. Shut down defense also helped the Tide run away with the win.  Alabama forced 12 turnovers and limited A&M to 30-percent shooting, 10-percent from behind the arc.  They will need to duplicate that defense to get another victory.

Where is Alabama’s offense………and Defense?

In all of Alabama’s four straight losses, they went on some embarrassing cold streaks.  None are comparable to their last game against Florida where the Tide missed 19 straight shots over the course of almost 15 minutes. Although Florida highly contested many shots, missed layups and bad shot selection again doomed the Tide.

The Tide, usually known as a tough defensive team, have allowed opposing players to have their way with scoring.  Florida’s Jalen Hudson tortured the Tide in Tuscaloosa, going for 27 points.

This is uncharted territory for the Tide, who usually have no problem preventing players from single-handedly beating them.  Luckily for the Tide, A&M doesn’t really have that type of player, but neither is Hudson.

This game should show what we will get from the Tide in the postseason, wherever that may be.

Next: Alabama Basketball: Has Avery lost the Tide team?

The SEC Tournament starts March 7 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.  The brackets aren’t set, so, Alabama’s opponent and game date is TBD.

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