Alabama Basketball: The points explosion against Maryland might signal Tide shooters have found their three-ball touch.
Alabama Basketball made 16, three-point shots against Maryland. The 16 makes accounted for exactly half of the Crimson Tide’s 96 points. What does the long-ball productivity mean for the Crimson Tide going forward in the NCAA Tournament?
Nate Oats has an opinion about John Petty’s turnaround.
"… hopefully this gets him on a roll here. He’s just been playing super hard. For whatever reason he wasn’t making shots. So he’s making shots now. That’s the John Petty we all know."
Petty made 4-of-9 threes against Maryland. Before the Big Dance began we reviewed the Tide’s three-point proficiency in recent games. Petty was at 31.3 percent for his last eight games, including 26.9 percent in the SEC Tournament. Against Iona, he was an anemic 20 percent. His 44.4 percent three-ball success against Maryland hopefully lifted him out of his slump.
An even bigger turn-around by Alex Reese has helped lead the Tide to two NCAA wins. Though Alex hit two important threes against LSU, he had shot 23.1 percent in the eight previous games. Alex has suddenly found his deep ball touch in the Big Dance. He was 2-for-2 against Iona and 3-for-5 against the Terrapins. His recent long-range shooting success may recede from his current 71 percent clip, but renewed confidence in his stroke could lead to continued success.
Josh Primo gave the Tide a boost, returning from injury for the Maryland game. He was 2-for-2 outside the arc. Jaden Shackelford who shot threes well against LSU was just 1-for-5 against the Gaels. Shack bounced back to 5-for-8 against Maryland. Jahvon Quinerly upped his already scorching pace of making threes in the two NCAA Tournament games. Quinerly was 46.2 percent outside the arc in the SEC Tournament. In the two Big Dance games, he is at 53.3 percent.
One Crimson Tide player who has not heated up from three-land is Herbert Jones. Jones made 1-of-2 three-point shots against Vanderbilt over a month ago. He has not made one since; missing 16, consecutive threes.
In 18, SEC regular-season games, the Tide made threes at 37.8 percent. In the two NCAA Tournament games, the made threes percentage is five points better, at 42.8 percent. Is that improved shooting sustainable for possibly four more games? Maybe so, but realistically, probably not. It’s not that the Crimson Tide lives and dies by threes. It has other ways to win. One of those ways is a tough defense, that with rare exceptions, does not falter.
What makes three-point baskets so important for Alabama Basketball is when they are going in with steady frequency, the Crimson Tide can beat any team in college basketball.
Herbert Jones watched most of the Maryland game due to foul trouble. It was announced this week, Jones is one of four finalists for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year award.