Crimson Red Sports

This is a huge game for the Tide. Wichita State is 10-0 & is ranked #11 in the country. Their RPI is 10.
They play at 8 pm on ESPNU. They have 4 starters scoring in double figures. They have a 6'9" & 6'8" inside big men, but they have 3 guards who can score, too.



 :popcorn2:



 :tinfoil: :tinfoil: :tinfoil:

10-0 is impressive but have they played any good teams?  Hopefully our boys will be able to take care of them tonight...

Their RPI is 10 which means they have played someone. They beat St. Louis (a solid team) and Tennessee, another solid team. They have victories against DePaul (Big East team) and BYU who are average to above average. I saw them play Tennessee and they are very resilient. UT was beating them on the boards before WSU rallied.


 :popcorn2:

Our program could take a huge step in the right direction with a win tonight.

BINGO!!! This game is gigantic.


 :popcorn2:

Wichita State was a Final 4 team in the NCAA Tournament last year.  You may recall they beat Bama in the NIT Championship Game in 2011, and Bama beat them the following season.

We beat them in the Puerto Rico Tip Off three years ago. My son was there.

Our starting 5 are:

Releford
Obasohan
Randolph
Jacobs
Taylor

And we're pre-empted by FGC and USF going to double OT.

It's on ESPN NEWS, 207 on Direct TV

Not looking good.  WS 16 Bama 6

Well, so far only Obasohan is doing anything. Taylor has a couple of rebounds, but that's it.
wichita State 14 Tide 6


 :wall:

Wichita State is well-organized, sets picks, has less than 10 turnovers a game, & seems to have a plan. On the other hand, Alabama is being Alabama.



 :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

Tide down 22-15. Key, Releford, Cooper, Jacobs, & Obasohan on the floor. 7:00 minutes left in half.

Sloppy game. Lots of defense and disorganization on both sides.

Bama has cut the lead to 2 and has the ball through great D.

Bama hustling and cuts the lead to 2. 26-24, WSU.

Obasohan & Randolph both have 7 points & Key has 4. We have shut them down the last few minutes and their 2 best players are on the bench with foul trouble.
 WSU  26  Tide 24


 :clap:

Releford warming up with 5 points. 29-29 with 1 minute left.



 #+

WSU 33-32 at the half.

Down by 1 at the half. The comeback had a lot to do with WSU's 3 best players on the bench for about the last 8 minutes. We'll need some hustle and poise to pull this out.

We are hanging in there, partly because their best scorer has been in foul trouble all night, but I'll take it.
WSU 47 Tide 46 with 10 minutes to go.


 :clap:

BREAKING NEWS!!!  Tide has been hitting 3's! Tide 52-51.

Bama hanging tough. Up by 1 with about 7 1/2 minutes left. Releford hitting 3's is huge.

Sudenly, Wichita State is looking sloppy with turnovers & missed shots. Tide playing good D and hitting some shots, including 3's.

Releford   17 points
Obasohan  7
Randolph   7
Cooper      9
Taylor  5 rebounds



 :popcorn:

Great pass from Releford to Jacobs for the SLAM!  56-56   5:30 left

Tie game about 4 minutes left.

 :popcorn2:

CRAP!! Obasohan could have passed off the ball but went on and missed a lay-up then WSU scores on an open dunk.


 :wall: :wall: :wall:

Great!! WSU misses a shot and their one guy out rebounds 3 Tide players under the basket. They shoot again and get ANOTHER rebound and finally scores.   WSU 69 Tide 66



 :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall:

Once again, we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. We just can not close a game, period. We missed 3 FT's at critical times.

Wichita State  72   Alabama 67  FINAL



 :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

The 2 big  differences in the game: Early killed us down low and they were superb at the foul line.

FIFY

 :(

True, Obasohan misses a layup, then attempts a too-long three pointer, etc.  Are you sure it was only 3 FGs?    ???

I have noticed another disturbing pattern with Alabama to go along with the poor rebounding, poor outside shooting (last night we shot good from 3 point area), excessive turnovers, poor passing, etc. We seem to fail to score/hit FT's/rebound at critical times in a game. We might play well, but then when we really need that one big rebound, one big FT, or one big shot, we fail. The coaches hot seat is getting warmer & warmer.


 :wall:

They had an opportunity to get a rebound late, but kept giving WS chances and they took advantage of it.  Also, how many free throws did Bama miss?

We played well last night and should have won the game. The difference was free throws (Bama 14-19, WSU 25-27) and rebounds (Bama 26, WSU 38).

Our team does not know how to win a close game. When we win we win easily. If we are in a tight game we lose 80% of the time. Since 2004 when Gottfried's team made the Final Eight we have been an NIT team. It is getting old. IMO CAG is on a short leash and he needs to get things turned around NOW! We have big games coming up at home vs Xavier and on the road at UCLA.

I am not giving up but I am very frustrated with our lack of success. We are no better now than in CAG first year.

Here is the game in a nutshell:

FT's:  Wichita State 25/27     Alabama 14/19
Rebounds: WS 38   Tide 26

There were a couple of positives for the Tide in the game. Alabama had only 9 turnovers in the game, 12 assists, and we shot a decent 35% from the 3 point line.


 :dog:

Excellent points and I am in full agreement.


 :think:

I really think something is going on behind the scene at Alabama. I hope Jamos reads this and fills us in if he has heard anything. The constant loss of players to transfers, the same pattern of problems with the team, etc.



 ???

I am somewhat surprised that so few posters have commented on last nights game or the program in general. I don't know if they have just given up on the program or too disappointed and frustrated to comment.



 ???

Santa has been busy.

This is a terrible thing to say, but I told Mrs, 2 near the end of the game when it was tied, "I hope we don't ship the bed like we normally do at the end of a close game". Maybe I jinxed them.

 :(

Santa is going to leave Coach Grant a lump of coal for Christmas if he doesn't do better.



(http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/839521_700b.jpg)

After the loss to Wichita State. our RPI went from around 100 to 131. It's getting very grim out there. Our next game is Saturday against Xavier, 8-3 with an RPI of 63. A week later we play UCLA who is currently 9-1 with a RPI of 27.



 :tinfoil:

I like Coach Grant and I really want to see him succeed at Bama.  He inherited a mess and struggling through the first couple of years was to be expected.  This is his team now though, and at best they're no better off than they were in '09-10 when he arrived.  Something needs to change, and fast, but I'm beginning to lose any hope of seeing that happen.

Gottfried's team beat Tennessee in Knoxville, 65-58, last night and led the entire game.  Would Bama be any worse off is he had stayed?

I have to say that I am really concerned about the direction of this program. While I didn't think that the team would be competing for NCs by now, I DID expect to be in contention for, and making, the Big Dance every year. I really believed CAG would be the one to get us to that next level, but now I am having my doubts. Players leaving, plus what seems to be some very uninspired play by the team, does not bode well for a program.

As is in most cases when Bama loses, most of us fans saddle up our horses, get a rope, and look for a tree with a big strong limb to use for the hanging. It is a tough time right now with this team as they should actually be celebrating this season rather than hanging their heads in disgust. They could have easily won all of the close games that they have lost.

CAG did the right thing in the off season byn putting together a very respectable schedule to enhance the team's chances of making it to the Big Dance this year. What has happened though is the team has not responded the way that they should have and now the strong schedule has become a nightmare for the team. To enjoy a strong schedule you have to win, not come close to winning.

What is the reason behind the team's performances this year? Is it poor coaching, lack of chemistry of the players, bad luck, or whatever else we all can think of. Everyone wants to blame the coaches and rightfully so but I'm not so sure all of the fault falls on them. There are times when the team looks unbeatable and in the blink of an eye they look like a team that lacks everything necessary to be successfull. This tells me that they know how to peform better but are not mentally strong enough to make it happen. In the past game how many bad passes were there, how many players lost dribbles, how many missed their free throws, how many stood around when Whichita State was getting their missed shot rebounds and putting the ball back in for an easy score. These are just some of the more noticeable things that we see in each game and I think most of this is the players fault for not executing the way they have been coached. What do you do with the players though, put them on the bench when you only have 9 scholarship players.

If I had to point a finger at the one thing that I think is their problem, it would be the lack of being mentally prepared. The teams that Bama has been losing to are not sand lot teams but they are very good tems and to beat them, Bama has to be hitting on all cylinders in every aspect of their game but as we all have witnessed, this is not happening.

I have to blame the coaches for not having a plan to handle the zone defense any better than what they do. Normally it takes good outside shooting and crisp passes, not lob passes and players dribbling the ball for 35 seconds until the shot clock is about to expire, to beat the zone. Bama seems to have no plan at all for the zone defense. Now they may have a plan, but the players aren't executing as they have been coached as we said above.

So for me to blame one or the other for this season, it isn't so easy. I personally think the coaches have got to demand more from the players and the players have got to respond to their demands. Will this happen, I don't know, but the veterans of this team will have to be the driving force to make it happen and there again, are they good enough leaders to do it.JMHO

I absolutely & totally disagree with this assertion. Yes, it's the fan's fault that the team is underperforming and the coach does not seem to have the answer. We have been watching the identical problems with this team for over 4 years now and only one thing has stayed consistent, and it's called Anthony Grant. He's the coach, he makes $2 mil a year, we have had a complete turnover in players in those 4+ years, yet it's not his fault? For over 4 years we have not been able to hit outside shots. For over 4 years we have not been able to rebound. For over 4 years the players have stood around watching the game instead of playing the game. For over 4 years the players spend way too much time dribbling around the perimeter until the shot clock is about to run off, then have to make a desperate shot. For over 4 years we have had too many turnovers. For over 4 years we have had problems passing the ball. For over 4 years our players have seemed uninspired and even confused late in the game. This is all telling me that the coaching is not dealing with this problem and is not able to deal with the problem. The clock is ticking on Coach Grant because being a perennial NIT team is completely unacceptable.


 :wall:

MD, whether you know it or not, you just agreed with what he posted beyond the first paragraph.  :lol2:

Not really, because he tried blaming the players to a degree. The players have constantly changed, but the results are the same. That's called coaching. I highlighted the first part because he was way off base in trying to put any blame on the fans or castigating the fans for being upset with the coaching. We have been more than patient with sub-par results. If this was the football team, there would be an angry mob outside the AD's office demanding the coach be fired. Imagine Tide football going 7-5, 6-6, 7-5, 8-4, & 7-5. What would the fan reaction be? Demanding results from someone making $2 mil a year does not seem unreasonable to me. Always start at the top when looking for the reason something is not working properly in business, government, athletics, or any other endeavor.


 :dog: