re: Ole Miss 80 @ Alabama 79 Final - SECN

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I think they are all pretty close to being horrible matchups for Alabama... Duke, no chance against that front line.. Michigan, same...Arizona, I watched them demoralize us in the 2nd half, but I thought it had as much to do with the fact that they just outclassed us at every position with the exception of the PG and that was pretty close to being a push because Bradley is just so good at being a general on the court. I guess I would have to choose UF, just because we possibly have a few positions where we could logically say we are better than them.

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duke i could see a chance. double boozer and make sure evans is covered on the scramble then hope for the best, pretty simple. their D is great but thankfully bama has the offense needed for it. florida is ofcourse tough but their issues should be obvious to any non casual who doesnt think in the same hyperbolic vein of retardation that is jimmy dykes, as vandy just displayed. uconn sure, houston yea, and michigan has a scary frontcourt but really the only one i would prefer bama not to play is zona. they have the fewest cracks to expose and are the only one with a backcourt on par with ours. their only slight issues are good but not great shooting and maybe a lack of a truly elite playmaker. they really piss me off.

It was already pretty infuriating that we lost, but seeing Florida get put out just makes it even more maddening. They had a golden opportunity to win this whole thing and they completely blew it to a 4-14 squad.

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I think they are all pretty close to being horrible matchups for Alabama... Duke, no chance against that front line.. Michigan, same...Arizona, I watched them demoralize us in the 2nd half, but I thought it had as much to do with the fact that they just outclassed us at every position with the exception of the PG and that was pretty close to being a push because Bradley is just so good at being a general on the court. I guess I would have to choose UF, just because we possibly have a few positions where we could logically say we are better than them.

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We disagree on what I’m about to say as well, but I’m somewhat hoping Michigan since they have to play tomorrow and have been in some close games in their tourney. Hoping a team like UGA who is on plenty of rest, has a defensive center, and can get hot from 3 might could surprise them in round 2.

I just don’t see much of a path for us getting through the 1 seed this year, but miracles can happen.

This team should win most games if the other team scores 80 or less. But they took advantage of stopping and popping from around 10 feet while driving the lane. Our guys were content stopping the drive for the layup went they had uncontested jump shots. They were dangerous with those shots. I have not seen the shot chart but I wouldnt be surprised if 50 of their points were inside the paint.

What do we have to do to get a team as well oiled as Arizona.

St. John’s is laying the wood to UConn right now.

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Got to fire Brian Adams and hopefully Oats can get a real defensive coach in the college ranks. Can't keep pulling guys from a league where defense is an afterthought.

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The problem with defensive coaches from the NBA is not that they’re bad defensively but the immense quality of the players forces a more conservative approach.

That is the crux of why I think we struggle on defense lately. I don’t think we should go about it like Nolan Richardson but you have to mix defenses and extend to three quarters more in college. You can’t press in the NBA because the average center is probably as good of a ball handler as the average college team’s point guard. You have to concede things by playing percentages because the best scorers can get to their spots too easily.

An NBA scorer can blow by most men so you dare them to pull up. Cracker Jacks on a college team know they aren’t blowing by you and are looking for those pull up jumpers.

That is the crux of our problems. You can’t apply NBA logic to defending the average college player.

Adding onto my point. Alabama's style of playing bend but don't break defense of basketball would probably be a bit more successful if the team rebounded well from all 5 positions. We allow way too many second shots for a team that isn't trying to play passing lanes or aggressively pursue blocks.

So we concede too many offensive boards, we don't play the passing lanes, we don't try to block shots, we don't mix in full court pressure to force ball handling mistakes from the opponent. That is exactly what I'd do if I were on an NBA bench. Your opponents will cook your arse if you extend your defense, get too greedy with guessing where the ball is going, etc.

However, college doesn't have many NBA caliber players much less ones that would drop in and be elite from day 1 in the association. The calculations for risk are different and playing it out like an NBA squad is a recipe for being an inert force.

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They are beatable. They aren’t even as good as last year.

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This is generally true, just not for this Bama team. We can’t hold them to less than 20+ in rebounding disadvantage and we don’t pressure the ball enough to get turnovers that would give us extra possessions without needing a rebound. We can’t exploit their weaknesses the way others can.

ETA: our 2023 Bama team would absolutely have a shot against this FL team, and maybe would be favored. 2026 Bama can’t rebound or defend

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Adding onto my point. Alabama's style of playing bend but don't break defense of basketball would probably be a bit more successful if the team rebounded well from all 5 positions. We allow way too many second shots for a team that isn't trying to play passing lanes or aggressively pursue blocks.

So we concede too many offensive boards, we don't play the passing lanes, we don't try to block shots, we don't mix in full court pressure to force ball handling mistakes from the opponent. That is exactly what I'd do if I were on an NBA bench. Your opponents will cook your arse if you extend your defense, get too greedy with guessing where the ball is going, etc.

However, college doesn't have many NBA caliber players much less ones that would drop in and be elite from day 1 in the association. The calculations for risk are different and playing it out like an NBA squad is a recipe for being an inert force.

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Your points are true, I would also add that the college game has a bit of a cheat code that the NBA doesn't have. There is no defensive 3 second rule. As a college coach, your entire defense should somehow revolve around that exception to a certain degree.