Re-watched the Tennessee game yesterday. Throwing a few additional thoughts in with this week's roster power rankings
— Missed layups negated what was an otherwise solid performance from Alabama in the frontcourt (went into player-specific stuff in the story). You would have liked to have seen some more O-boards, but Alabama followed the formula that got it victories against Houston and Texas A&M on the glass. Just didn't do enough on second-chance layups or at the free-throw line. 65.4% from the line is not going to cut it against an NCAA Tournament team and Alabama has to do a better job rewarding itself for good effort on the glass. This is still an elite rebounding team, especially on the defensive end, and that will help keep Alabama in games if it can turn that effort into points more efficiently.
— The defense has been super impressive in the last two games. Auburn and Florida are better offenses, but Tennessee is no joke on the offensive end and Alabama seems to have turned up the pressure, especially beyond the 3-point line and force turnovers. Labaron Philon was awesome and his steals led to a ton of points in transition and feeds into Alabama's tempo. I like for them to lean more into this high ball-pressure defense, with Philon leading the way.
— Alabama wasn't fully able to take advantage Saturday, but this is three straight games now where Alabama has forced two early fouls on the team's best guard. I think that's a microcosm of the Tide's improved ball movement and offensive flow. They're creating a lot more driving lines that are less crowded that forces a Ziegler, Hubbard or Oweh to defend Mark Sears/others one-on-one going downhill and the Tide guards recognize that and draw those quick fouls.
— I think Alabama has found a balance between being too cautious and too careless since the Auburn and Missouri games. Auburn taught them that good ball movement can't be sacrificed to not turn it over and Missouri did the opposite. Sears, Aden Holloway and Philon all look even more comfortable operating the offense and I loved some of the off-ball stuff they were able to do with Sears on Saturday
The ending and the missed free throws and layups are frustrating, but it shouldn't take away from a lot of positives against an elite Tennessee defense and I still feel good about where this team is at. Oats' job now is to harness those into another good performance against a really good Florida squad.
Roster power rankings:
alabama.rivals.com
— Missed layups negated what was an otherwise solid performance from Alabama in the frontcourt (went into player-specific stuff in the story). You would have liked to have seen some more O-boards, but Alabama followed the formula that got it victories against Houston and Texas A&M on the glass. Just didn't do enough on second-chance layups or at the free-throw line. 65.4% from the line is not going to cut it against an NCAA Tournament team and Alabama has to do a better job rewarding itself for good effort on the glass. This is still an elite rebounding team, especially on the defensive end, and that will help keep Alabama in games if it can turn that effort into points more efficiently.
— The defense has been super impressive in the last two games. Auburn and Florida are better offenses, but Tennessee is no joke on the offensive end and Alabama seems to have turned up the pressure, especially beyond the 3-point line and force turnovers. Labaron Philon was awesome and his steals led to a ton of points in transition and feeds into Alabama's tempo. I like for them to lean more into this high ball-pressure defense, with Philon leading the way.
— Alabama wasn't fully able to take advantage Saturday, but this is three straight games now where Alabama has forced two early fouls on the team's best guard. I think that's a microcosm of the Tide's improved ball movement and offensive flow. They're creating a lot more driving lines that are less crowded that forces a Ziegler, Hubbard or Oweh to defend Mark Sears/others one-on-one going downhill and the Tide guards recognize that and draw those quick fouls.
— I think Alabama has found a balance between being too cautious and too careless since the Auburn and Missouri games. Auburn taught them that good ball movement can't be sacrificed to not turn it over and Missouri did the opposite. Sears, Aden Holloway and Philon all look even more comfortable operating the offense and I loved some of the off-ball stuff they were able to do with Sears on Saturday
The ending and the missed free throws and layups are frustrating, but it shouldn't take away from a lot of positives against an elite Tennessee defense and I still feel good about where this team is at. Oats' job now is to harness those into another good performance against a really good Florida squad.
Roster power rankings:
Ranking Alabama’s roster with two games left in SEC play
Latest roster power rankings ahead of Tide's final two SEC matchups.
