re: Tide Hoops | 25-12 (13-5)

I think every player today is an MVP. All Bama players showed great defense in the second half.

The best player in today’s game was Nelson. Those of you who have read my comments will know that I believed him. He hasn't played well for two games in a row, but I thought he would play well today and he showed what he's capable of.
He scored a huge goal in the second half and what he did best today was the defense.

Griffen performance was also amazing. He destroyed Davis in man-to-man defense. He also scored whenever we needed it.

Estrada also did well. Although he is shorter than Ingram, he really did his best to defend Ingram. Estrada scoring method was very difficult, but his skills were top notch.

Sears didn't have his best game today, but Sears is Sears. Every time he needed to score, he ended up scoring.

Stevenson didn't score today, but he really did his best to defend. Stevenson defense resulted in Bacot 3rd foul.

Pringle and Mo.D also played really hard on defense today. Bacot is one of the best centers in the NCAA. Please understand even if Pringle and Mo.D have some shortcomings.

I would like to praise the team defense when Walters and Stevenson played together in the second half. They played really well defensively. Walters and Stevenson continue to learn and develop.

Wague is probably the worst player today, but he should do well in the next game.

I really missed Wrightsell. But more important than basketball is health. I hope he comes back healthy.

A few days ago, I said that we can only win if we play bold defense. It's a sagging defense. I told him that even if Cadeau hits 2-3 3-pointers, he should continue to play sagging defense. Although we were anxious in the first half, we achieved a good result in the second half. I'm so glad.

Before the tournament started I said this. I said I don't mind losing to Charleston, Grand Canyon and St. Mary's, but I absolutely hate losing to UNC. How many of us expected we would go to the Elite 8? This is really a better result than expected. I'm really very happy.