Alabama basketball faces tough history in must-win at Vanderbilt

Alabama basketball has another must-win game Saturday, at a place that has stymied Crimson Tide teams for nearly 30 years.

Alabama basketball travels to Nashville Saturday night. The Crimson Tide must win. History will not be on the side of Avery Johnson’s team. The Alabama Crimson Tide has won only once in Nashville during the lifetimes of the Tide players.

More specifically, Alabama basketball has beaten Vanderbilt in Nashville once since 1990. It was a 58-54 victory in 2013. Alabama basketball fans generally believe Lexington is a tougher place to win than Nashville. The Tide record on the Cats home floor is slightly better since 1990 – two wins.

Among all the current SEC teams, the Crimson Tide does have its worst winning record against the Wildcats – just 26.3 percent. The overall record between the Tide and the Dores is dead even with 69 wins each. The Commodores have a big edge in the games in Nashville, 43-19.

The Crimson Tide futility in Nashville has led to only somewhat joking claims Memorial Gym is haunted. There are plenty of Kentucky and Tennessee fans who agree.

Memorial Gym opened in 1952 and has one of the oddest configurations in basketball. The playing floor is raised, purportedly planned to give the effect of games being played on a stage. That oddity requires team benches being at the ends of the court. Coaches long chafed at being so far physically removed from their players for half of each game. Given crowd noise, that impediment affected opposing coaches more. In recent seasons, coaches have been given some leeway to wander up the sides of the court.

Saturday night is a must-win for the Crimson Tide not just because of adding another precious win. A loss would severely damage the Tide’s NCAA hopes. In the current NCAA Net Ranking, Vanderbilt is No. 117. Alabama basketball cannot afford even a road loss against a team with such a poor ranking.

The Commodores are 9-13 on the season. They are 0-for-SEC, having lost all nine conference games. With the Crimson Tide currently ranked at No. 44 by the NCAA, first impressions suggest a comfortable Tide win. Alabama basketball is slightly favored. Expert opinions are mixed. College basketball guru Ken Pomeroy is predicting a narrow Tide win but Warren Nolan is predicting a narrow Crimson Tide loss.

Without even considering the current matchups between the players, one thing is in Vandy’s favor. Vanderbilt basketball, going back to Roy Skinner, has been known for playing smart basketball. Alabama basketball is also capable of playing smart games but for some reason, it usually does not play smart in Nashville. Hopefully, that will not happen again on Saturday night.

After Saturday’s game, next up for Alabama basketball is Mississippi State. The Bulldogs took a tough overtime loss to LSU in midweek, in Starkville.