re: tOfficial Alabama Basketball Thread | Now Accepting Transfers l #BuckleUp

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Despite being without two of its top players against an Oregon team that has been ranked as high as No. 15 nationally, Alabama had the ball in the final minute with a chance to either tie the game or cut the Ducks' lead to one.

Norris missed a 3-pointer from the wing and the Tide ended up losing, 72-68, but this was the latest impressive performance for Avery Johnson's Alabama team that was picked to finish second-to-last in the SEC during the preseason.

The Tide enters it Christmas break 7-3. It got its first win over a ranked team since January 2011 after 21 straight losses against ranked opponents. A win over then-No. 17 Notre Dame in its next game gave the Tide consecutive wins over ranked teams for the first time since 2006. And Alabama led by as much as 12 against Oregon Monday night, even without injured point guard Dazon Ingram and forward Shannon Hale.

"When I look at where we are with the roster that we have, I'm awfully proud of them," Johnson said.

Oregon, which improved to 10-2 with the win over Alabama, entered Monday scoring 77.5 points per game and shooting 45.8 percent from the field.

The Tide held the Ducks to 9 of 28 (32 percent) from the field and 1 of 7 on 3-pointers in building a 38-26 halftime lead after limiting five of its previous six opponents to 64 points or less.

"We played award-winning defense in the first half against a good team, and we did the same thing during the first half [of a 64-45 loss to Xavier Nov. 26]," Johnson said.

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"Because we don't have a 30-point consistent scorer — we have to do it as a team offensively — so that means we have to screen and everybody's got to know the play," Johnson said. "We drew up a play in the timeout. Four guys knew it, and one guy didn't. For us, we have to be all five guys on a string on the floor for us to be successful. We did a much better job of that in the first half, and not so much in the second half."

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Johnson told the team after the game Monday night, "If you'd have told me June 1 at the start of our summer skill work, individual workouts that we'd be 7-3 going into Christmas break, I'll take it."

"It's a tough loss, and I hate losing, but we shouldn't keep our heads down," Norris said. "We played tough tonight, I thought, and we'll be ready when we come back from Christmas Break."

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The past regime could have been 3-7, 2-8 or even 1-9 at this point with this schedule and I wouldn't have been all that shocked to be perfectly honest.

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We drew up a play in the timeout. Four guys knew it, and one guy didn't. For us, we have to be all five guys on a string on the floor for us to be successful.

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