Opening Statement…
“That’s a big win. They played hard. They were ready to go. Coach Pearl had them ready to go. I thought their game plan was good early. They did a great job on Brandon. But I thought we had some different guys step up. Jaden Bradley played well tonight. Rylan Griffen was huge, hit some big shots, hit some free throws when we needed him to. I thought our guys showed some resilience to weather a bad shooting game from Brandon and have some other guys step up. I thought the timeout they called with six whatever it was to go in the game when we started to make a run, they came out of the timeout and Nimari took that charge, that was one of the biggest plays of the game. We’ve been on our guys about making tough plays. We’re gonna have to make them on the road. I thought our guys stepped up and made some tough plays there in the second half when we needed them. We knew this was gonna be a tough game. They’re not an easy team to play. They play hard. Our guys have been through some tough games. We’ve played Houston on the road. We’ve played Arkansas on the road. Different types of a team. Missouri on the road is a really good offensive team. This is a big rivalry game, and our guys stepped up and played well for us.”
Benny’s Breakdown: I know we shouldn’t be surprised anymore about how resilient this Alabama team is, but I keep finding myself a bit awestruck every time the Crimson Tide displays it. Alabama led the game for 10:11 compared to Auburn’s 24:56. The Tigers outrebounded, caused more turnovers and shot a better percentage at the free-throw line. All statistics which should indicate a victory were just footnotes as Alabama roared back to win a crucial game on the road in a place it had only won once in three trips during the Nate Oats era. It’s a win that great teams do throughout the year and repeat in March.
On having the bench step up with Brandon Miller having an off shooting night…
“Rylan led us in scoring. I thought Nimari played well. Nimari didn’t shoot it particularly well either, but he ended up leading up in blue-collar points and he made some effort plays. Not necessarily even just the bench, but Jaden Bradley was big there when we made a run late. To get the scoring out of him that we got was good. And then Brandon found other ways to impact the game. He’s still in double figures with 13. He got to the O boards. He got that tip-in that was big late after he got burned on the backdoor. But Rylan was huge. We don’t win this game without Rylan. And I really felt like he did the best job defensively on Wendell Green. I mean, Wendell Green can go get buckets as good as anyone in the country can, and I thought he was hurting Sears and Jaden Bradley a little bit, so we went with some more size and put Rylan on him. He had that one block and we tried to send him downhill to our bigs a little more. But he’s good. He may be the best guard we’ve seen all year. He’s really good.”
Benny’s Breakdown: Part of that resilience Nate Oats talked about in his opening statement is finding ways to win when things aren’t going to plan. Brandon Miller going 0-for-7 from 3-point range wasn’t in the game plan for Auburn, but it’s how the game shook out. Give credit to the Tigers for executing a great gameplan for stopping Miller. They knew they couldn’t keep him off the scoresheet, making Alabama beat them with someone else. The Crimson Tide did just that with Rylan Griffen and Jaden Bradley. Saturday’s classic chess match showcased the best of the in-state rivalry and left fans salivating for round two in a few weeks.
On the difference in handling the intensity, noise at Auburn compared to Oklahoma…
“I don’t know if noise was the issue at Oklahoma as much as it was the mindset going in. We played at Houston, and the noise didn’t rattle us. I don’t feel like the noise is gonna rattle any of our guys. I feel like it’s what’s our mindset going into the game. I feel like we didn’t take Oklahoma as seriously as we needed to for whatever reason. That’s why we didn’t play as hard as we needed to. There was no way we weren’t taking Auburn seriously. They’re a really good team, the biggest rivalry game and they’re competing for an SEC Championship. I know they’ve lost five of their last six, but they were right there, a couple weeks ago, at the top of this league. Our guys came ready to go. We didn’t do a great job in the first half with some stuff. I felt like some guys weren’t as locked in on the defensive end. Maybe not the effort but it was more executing the game plan as much as we needed to. I thought we did a lot better job there, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game.”
Benny’s Breakdown: It’s clear Alabama’s mulligan against Oklahoma served as the perfect wake-up call for the team. Since that blowout loss, Alabama has not only taken care of the teams it should beat, but show more fight when trailing or when a team takes it out of its rhythm. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide shot 29% from behind the arc, a major component of its offense. Instead of chucking up more ill-advised 3-pointers or playing isolation basketball, Alabama took what Auburn gave to them and made it work. The team became more aggressive in its pursuit of paint touches which wound up opening up perimeter shots late in the game.
On the maturity the team showed in being able to handle halfcourt late and get a win…
“Yeah, I think that was big that we were able to execute some sets late when it turns into a little bit more of a halfcourt game. And I did feel like we didn’t get out in the break – now, they did a great job not letting us out in the break. You’ve gotta give them tons of credit. But I felt like when we did get out in the break, we were able to kind of close the lead that they had, and then in the second half, when we opened it up, we were able to get some fastbreak points. But again, in the first half, we just fouled so much, and they were living at the free-throw line. It’s hard to play fast when the other team’s at the free-throw line all game, so we have to do a better job not fouling.”
Benny’s Breakdown: While there are many positives to take away from Saturday, there are still a few glaring issues. Alabama coughed the ball up 14 times, the most since the team’s road trip to Vanderbilt on Jan. 17, which allowed Auburn to outscore the Crimson Tide in points of turnovers, 17-9. Those turnovers also helped the Tigers get into their half-court sets easier as guards such as Wendell Green Jr. weaved through the Alabama defense en route to the basket. Those trips resulted in 26 free-throw attempts which allowed Auburn to keep a slight edge throughout the first half.
On his pride in the team’s response in a hostile environment; talk of Iron Bowl in recruiting…
“We talk about our schedule in general. We play in one of the best conferences in the country. We’re playing, what we feel like is, the toughest non-conference schedule in the country. So I feel like those other guys prepared for this, but yeah, this is the big rivalry game. Brandon came to a lot of Alabama football games. He understands the Iron Bowl rivalry in football. This is the equivalent to the Iron Bowl rivalry, it’s just in basketball. I think Brandon understood it. The guys hadn’t been involved in it yet, they should understand it after playing in the environment they played in today. It’s great. It’s what makes college basketball different than the NBA. You’re not gonna get this passion out of the fan base in an NBA game. I love the passion that their fans bring. Hopefully, our fans pack our arena out. Hopefully, there’s not one empty seat when they come back to Coleman and we have to play them at our place because I think that’s what makes college basketball so great.”
Benny’s Breakdown: During his Friday press conference, Nate Oats said the hype surrounding the game between Auburn and Alabama is “great for basketball in the state of Alabama.” The entire country got a good look at what he was talking about on Saturday as round one of the rivalry lived up to every expectation imaginable. Star players made big plays when they were called upon, there was physicality and animosity shown and even an unsung hero made an appearance or two in Alabama’s victory. The game showcased how great the rivalry is, but how its now must-see television when the two teams square off in whatever sport.
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