The sun won’t streak across the court inside of Hinkle Fieldhouse on Sunday night the way it did roughly a week before when Alabama basketball opened play in the NCAA tournament with a sloppy 68-55 victory over Iona.
The No. 2 seed Crimson Tide (26-6) is hoping that won't be the only noticeable difference in its return to the 9,100-seat gym this weekend as it tips off against No. 11 seed UCLA (20-9) on Sunday at 6:15 p.m. CT.
Heading into its opening game against Iona, the majority of Alabama’s team had not seen the movie “Hoosiers,” a sports film in which a high school basketball team pulls off a triumphant upset inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. Instead, the Tide found itself on the verge of winding up on the wrong side of a similar situation as it trailed the No. 15 Gaels midway into the second half before a late run turned things around for good.
Alabama made just 5 of its 16 shots from beyond the arc that afternoon, its lowest number of made 3s since a loss to Clemson in December when it went a dismal 3 of 22. When discussing the game against Iona on Sunday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats said he’d figured Hinkle Fieldhouse would be more of a “shooter’s gym” given its intimate setting as opposed to more cavernous arenas.
On the other hand, the Tide is used to playing inside a 15,316-seat Coleman Coliseum and certainly looked more at home during its 96-77 win against Maryland when it hit 16 of 33 shots from beyond the arc inside a 20,000-seat Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
During his Thursday-afternoon press conference, Oats downplayed any notion of a Hinkle hex. Alabama practiced inside a 70,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday but will get a chance to soak in Hinkle a second time on Friday before facing off against UCLA in the venue Sunday night.
“I think as long as the shooters are comfortable with it, Hinkle’s a great place to play,” Oats said. “I think it had more to do with first-game jitters than it did actual Hinkle. Hopefully being that it won’t be our first game we’ll get to making some shots again at Hinkle. I think it is good that we played there already. We’re going back. They should at least have a feel for the gym the second time around.”
It’s also worth noting that not all of Alabama’s players struggled during their opening game of the tournament. Point guard Jahvon Quinerly shot 5 of 7 from the floor, draining his lone 3-point attempt against Iona. Forward Alex Reese only took two shots but sunk them both from long range to help spur the Tide’s second-half run.
“I feel like it’s a preference for some people,” Quinerly said. “For me, honestly I do feel like the venue helps. It could be a better shooting night in a venue. I like playing at Hinkle. I’ve played there while I was at Villanova in the Big East, so I kind of have some experience there. I like shooting in that gym.”
One thing that’s helped Alabama wherever it has played is the support it has received from Tide fans in Indiana. Quinerly said he’s been impressed by the showing of crimson in the stands, stating it definitely provides a boost on the court.
“It did kind of surprise me, especially at Hinkle,” he said. “I looked up and it’s all red. It was literally all red when I looked up. That was great. Even at the SEC tournament, there were a lot of fans in there. I feel like their energy, the energy that they bring to the game, it feeds off on the program. When we hear those loud roars after a run, it only motivates us to keep going.”
Alabama is making its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2004 when it went on to advance to the Elite Eight, its deepest-ever run in the NCAA tournament.
The No. 2 seed Crimson Tide (26-6) is hoping that won't be the only noticeable difference in its return to the 9,100-seat gym this weekend as it tips off against No. 11 seed UCLA (20-9) on Sunday at 6:15 p.m. CT.
Heading into its opening game against Iona, the majority of Alabama’s team had not seen the movie “Hoosiers,” a sports film in which a high school basketball team pulls off a triumphant upset inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. Instead, the Tide found itself on the verge of winding up on the wrong side of a similar situation as it trailed the No. 15 Gaels midway into the second half before a late run turned things around for good.
Alabama made just 5 of its 16 shots from beyond the arc that afternoon, its lowest number of made 3s since a loss to Clemson in December when it went a dismal 3 of 22. When discussing the game against Iona on Sunday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats said he’d figured Hinkle Fieldhouse would be more of a “shooter’s gym” given its intimate setting as opposed to more cavernous arenas.
On the other hand, the Tide is used to playing inside a 15,316-seat Coleman Coliseum and certainly looked more at home during its 96-77 win against Maryland when it hit 16 of 33 shots from beyond the arc inside a 20,000-seat Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
During his Thursday-afternoon press conference, Oats downplayed any notion of a Hinkle hex. Alabama practiced inside a 70,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday but will get a chance to soak in Hinkle a second time on Friday before facing off against UCLA in the venue Sunday night.
“I think as long as the shooters are comfortable with it, Hinkle’s a great place to play,” Oats said. “I think it had more to do with first-game jitters than it did actual Hinkle. Hopefully being that it won’t be our first game we’ll get to making some shots again at Hinkle. I think it is good that we played there already. We’re going back. They should at least have a feel for the gym the second time around.”
It’s also worth noting that not all of Alabama’s players struggled during their opening game of the tournament. Point guard Jahvon Quinerly shot 5 of 7 from the floor, draining his lone 3-point attempt against Iona. Forward Alex Reese only took two shots but sunk them both from long range to help spur the Tide’s second-half run.
“I feel like it’s a preference for some people,” Quinerly said. “For me, honestly I do feel like the venue helps. It could be a better shooting night in a venue. I like playing at Hinkle. I’ve played there while I was at Villanova in the Big East, so I kind of have some experience there. I like shooting in that gym.”
One thing that’s helped Alabama wherever it has played is the support it has received from Tide fans in Indiana. Quinerly said he’s been impressed by the showing of crimson in the stands, stating it definitely provides a boost on the court.
“It did kind of surprise me, especially at Hinkle,” he said. “I looked up and it’s all red. It was literally all red when I looked up. That was great. Even at the SEC tournament, there were a lot of fans in there. I feel like their energy, the energy that they bring to the game, it feeds off on the program. When we hear those loud roars after a run, it only motivates us to keep going.”
Alabama is making its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2004 when it went on to advance to the Elite Eight, its deepest-ever run in the NCAA tournament.
