Alabama: post mortem

This was a Mark Fox win through-and-through.  I don't mean for that to sound negative.  It's simply a statement of fact.  Consider these numbers, all of which Fox is likely thrilled about:

1. Georgia held a 48-26 rebounding advantage(!).  Just complete domination on the boards.  Georgia had 19 offensive rebounds and Alabama had 18 defensive rebounds.  Amazing.
2. Georgia held a 32-18 free throw advantage.  Georgia made 26 free throws and Alabama took 18.  Some of that was padded by J.J.'s free throw parade at the end of game, of course...
3. Georgia attempted 15 3-point shots.  Had they hit their normal percentage, the game would have been a blowout.
4. Alabama took 26 3-point shots, 4 more than their average.  Shannon Hale - a 30% shooter from distance coming in - took 7.  Justin Coleman - a 27% shooter from distance - took 4.

Fox has never been concerned with style points.  He wants you to take difficult shots, he wants to limit you to one shot per possession, and he needs just enough offense to win.  For one day at least it worked to perfection:

• It's a shame that Senior Day occurred on the front end of spring break, but the folks that were there got loud for Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann.  They deserve it.  I'll write plenty more about them in the future, but they've helped put the program on a much firmer footing.
• Houston Kessler had 5 offensive rebounds??  Well done, son.
• In 2 minutes, E'Torrion Wilridge had a rebound and a beautiful assist into the post.  I have this feeling we'll be wondering in 2 or 3 years why we didn't see more of him during his freshman season.
• Derek Ogbeide is a completely different player now than he was three months ago.  If he has a summer like Yante Maten had last year, Georgia is going to be lethal in the paint.
• Maten - just awesome.  He needs to cut the turnovers a bit...and that's literally the only fair criticism I can lob his way at this point.
• Seriously, though.  Maten running the break - two points.  Maten trailing the break - 2 points.  He makes stuff happen.
• Mike Edwards needs to shoot 5,000,000 free throws this summer.  His ceiling is high, but he is going to be visiting the line more and more.  31% isn't even close to getting it done.
• With that said, Mike also needs to keep running the floor the way he has been.  He routinely beats the defense down the floor.
• Donta Hall was robbed.  That putback dunk was beautiful, and it was absolutely not an offensive foul.  The officiating was uneven yet again, and for once it felt like Georgia was the beneficiary of the bulk of the bad calls.
• The crowd was not huge, but after Maten's fast break dunk, they sure were loud.  It sounded like a sellout for a few minutes there.
• Georgia kept Alabama in the game with 15 turnovers, many of them practically unforced.  This has been a bugaboo for years, now, so I'm not holding my breath that it will get fixed...

Fun game.  That's all.  Put it in the rear view.  Everything is one game at a time right now.  The moment Georgia starts getting ahead of themselves, they'll get beat.  So credit to Mark Fox - he had them ready to play.  Let's hope we're saying the same thing Friday morning.

Game preview: Alabama

Let's hope Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann go out in style.

See you there.

Alabama: post mortem

True story:  as Cameron Forte took that pass, put the ball on the floor, and started driving, I yelled, "God, no!" so loudly I scared my dog into hiding.  I had to coax him back out after the game was over.

Half of me wonders how Georgia won that game, and the other half wonders why Alabama was even close.  At this point, these guys better go to the tournament to compensate me for all of the premature aging they've caused this season:

• Forgive me if I lacked confidence in the last seconds in Tuscaloosa.  Let's just say the basketball gods owed us this one...
• I guess we should start with Forte, who put together another fantastic stat line.  In just 21 minutes, he went for 8/10/1 with just a single turnover.  He's the kind of guy that's going to provide real, quality depth next season when everyone else is (hopefully) healthy.
• Of course, his shot (that, yes, went in) at the end of the first half was just terrible.
• Great game for Nemi, and it should have been even better.  Alabama had no answer for him down low to start the game, and if not for what seemed like a really fast 3-second call, he would have scored on Georgia's first three possessions.  I have no idea why Georgia stopped feeding him.  You think he wants to experience the big dance?
• Yante Maten brought the block party again, and none was bigger than the one with 1 second left.  Great job by Gaines of contesting without fouling, and an even better job by Maten of hustling back and throwing the shot out of bounds.  Even with time on the clock, the game was effectively over at that point.
• How frustrating was that first half?  Goergia held Alabama to 11 points at the under-4 media timeout, and they were only up 8 - a lead that evaporated almost immediately, I might add.  This team is allergic to double-digit leads, as the same thing happened in the second half.  I don't know what it is, but the Bulldogs just haven't figured out how to kick an opponent when they're down.
• I thought the back-to-back dunk (awesome) and 3-pointer might get Kenny going, but no such luck.  His defense remains dynamite, though.
• I won't even mention Georgia's free throws.  I will say it was nice to see the other team shoot themselves in the foot at the line for once.
• Normally I think Mark Fox's technicals are tactical.  This one was not.  It was a genuine outburst over a really, really bad no-call.
• The 3-on-1 break that ended with Forte getting his shot blocked was frustrating.  You absolutely have to get points there.
• Good job by Frazier getting to the rim.  Now he has to start finishing.
• The box score on this one is remarkably even.  Georgia made one more field goal, tied Alabama in rebounds, had one more assist, tied Alabama in blocks, turned it over two less times, and committed one more foul.  I guess that's to be expected in a 1-point game.
• If I have bad dreams tonight, they're likely to feature Charles Mann against the press.  Or spotting up at the 3-point line.  He went 7/8 from the free throw line, though, and his late game drives were courageous.
• By the way, that fifth foul on Marcus?  Should have been on Nemi...
• You have to figure Anthony Grant's seat is very, very hot right now.  After this loss, the NIT is probably the best-case scenario for Alabama unless they win the SEC Tournament (which they won't).

Great team win on the road.  Unfortunately there's very little time to enjoy it.  Georgia has made their bed, and now they must lie in it.  A win Wednesday night in a very, very difficult game in Oxford will all but punch the ticket.  A loss will have us on the edge of our seats until the last game of the season.

Game card: Alabama

Opponent:  Alabama
Record:  16-10 (6-7) 
Best player:  Levi Randolph
Line:  Alabama -3.5

Why Georgia will win:  Georgia seems to be at their best when their backs are against the wall.  J.J. Frazier should be back, and it's about time Marcus Thornton rounded into pre-concussion form.  Alabama hasn't exactly been unbeatable at home, and Georgia is 5-4 in true road games.

Why Georgia will lose:  The wheels really seem to be coming off for the Bulldogs right now.  With just two wins in their last six games, they face an Alabama team with something to play for.  Injuries have taken their toll on Georgia, and while they hung tough for a while, winning on the road in Tuscaloosa is probably too much to ask at this point.

What I think will happen:  Georgia actually matches up nicely with the Tide.  It won't matter.  Alabama wins 69-59, and things start to get really uncomfortable around Butts-Mehre.

Almost

The SEC looked like it was on the verge of another signature out-of-conference win last night, but Alabama couldn't quite hold on:

No. 11 Wichita State scored 13 of the game's final 14 points to hold off Alabama for a 53-52 victory. The Shockers (8-1) took the final lead on Darius Carter's slam with 11.9 seconds remaining, part of his game-high 16 points.

That would have been huge for the conference and for Anthony Grant, who may be coaching for his job this year.  He has the Tide playing pretty well, but blowing an 11-point lead that late in the game isn't a good look.

Any way you slice it, though, the SEC seems to be passing the eye test around the country this year.  Whether that's because the conference is better or because the rest of the country has regressed, well...I can't say for sure.

h/t ESPN