Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide gifts Auburn a victory in Tuscaloosa

It was all good for Alabama basketball at halftime, then it was all bad as Auburn owned the second half in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama basketball lost in one of the worst ways imaginable Tuesday night, as a second-half collapse gifted Auburn a victory. The Crimson Tide played a strong first half, combining tough defense with efficient offense. The halftime lead was Alabama 34 – Auburn 23.

The Alabama basketball defense neutralized Auburn’s three-point game in the first half. The Tigers shot only 23 percent outside the arc and only 32 percent overall. Those Alabama basketball fans, well acclimated to sense trouble, saw two troubling signs. Despite a size advantage, rebounds were almost even at halftime. Donta Hall got only two first-half shots, one of them being an early, ill-advised perimeter jumper.

Credit goes to Auburn for fighting back in the second half. The same description cannot be applied to the Alabama Crimson Tide. In the first 13:26 of the second half, the Tide made three field goals. During that 13-plus minute span, it missed 10 shots and turned the ball over eight times. A 12-point lead of 35-23 went to a one-point deficit. In the entire second half, Donta Hall got one shot.

What happened? The answer is easy though it is hard to stomach. The Crimson Tide players cannot be blamed for failing to execute a bad plan. The problem was Avery Johnson was badly outcoached by Bruce Pearl. Avery’s second-half plan was to take advantage of the Tide’s size advantage and push the ball inside. As a general plan, it was a good one. How it was designed to happen was unfortunately flawed.

Alabama is bigger, but Auburn is quicker. Avery chose to attack the basket in half court sets, from the perimeter and off the dribble. The result was frequently forced, often off-balance shots in the paint, having little chance to go in the basket. Only once did Donta Hall roll off a pick for a catch and dunk. Most of the efforts were effectively one-on-one dribble penetrations allowing Auburn’s quicker defenders to harass the Tide shooters.

The offensive plan did not work. On the other end of the court, Auburn tried something similar. Only Auburn had a quickness advantage allowing it to get to the basket easily. Riley Norris had to sit because he could not defend the dribble penetration. He was not the only Tide defender who struggled.

The result was Auburn won while missing 18-of-25 three-point attempts. Shutting down Auburn’s rainbows is supposed to mean victory for their opponent. But not if the opponent shoots 35 percent in the second half and commits 11 turnovers. And not while Auburn also wins the rebound battle and makes layups.

Can the Crimson Tide still earn an NCAA bid? In our opinion, it will take a three-game winning streak. Maybe beating Arkansas and one SEC Tourney win, followed by a close loss, might be enough.

Despite the disappointing loss, at least Alabama basketball does not have Bruce Pearl as its coach. He is a good coach but …