Game Thread: LSU at Alabama (8 p.m. on SEC Network)

Catching UK at the wrong time -- 3 game losing streak. However, if we can forget where we are and what the name is on the jersey -- and just play basketball -- we will win. Not so easy to do that at Rupp....

RTR91 said:

The tournament remains about matchups. So there's no telling how this team will do once the tournament starts.

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I don’t see why people can’t understand this. College basketball in general, but especially the tournament is all about matchups. For us to make a run we need to avoid slow paced teams that have good size and play physical in the paint.

I would much rather play Villanova, Xavier, even Carolina, or Duke rather than a team like Virginia in the tournament because of UVA’s style and pace of play. Hopefully we can play our way up to a 6 seed and we can be in really good position to make a run.

Jimmy Dykes compared us to South Carolina last year based on how they made their run in the tournament.

LSU missed some decent shots but Bama's defense made the game. LSU had only 54 points with under 3 minutes to go in the game.

TIDE-HSV said:

Not to rain on any parades, but we're not likely to keep up an almost 50% 3 pt effort. Of course, we've had some pretty abysmal trey games lately...

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I'll take between 30-50 percent on any given nights. As long we're not taking bad shots, I'm okay with it.

This team is growing each game.. getting better on defense. We have to do better job of being consistent on offense.. and it'll come. WE play better without Sexton. I've been saying that for the last few games. If we can break the scoring drought we seem to get into each game, we will be very dangerous... and hard to beat.

BamaMike05 said:

I don’t see why people can’t understand this. College basketball in general, but especially the tournament is all about matchups. For us to make a run we need to avoid slow paced teams that have good size and play physical in the paint.

I would much rather play Villanova, Xavier, even Carolina, or Duke rather than a team like Virginia in the tournament because of UVA’s style and pace of play. Hopefully we can play our way up to a 6 seed and we can be in really good position to make a run.

Jimmy Dykes compared us to South Carolina last year based on how they made their run in the tournament.

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All we have to do is look at our Elite 8 run under Gottfried. We were the 8 seed that year, won a buzzer beater game in the first round against Southern Illinois but then had very favorable matchups with #1 Stanford, then Syracuse in the Sweet 16. We met the worst possible matchup in the Elite 8 with UConn, who did everything well that year and won the title.

JustNeedMe81 said:

This team is growing each game.. getting better on defense. We have to do better job of being consistent on offense.. and it'll come. WE play better without Sexton. I've been saying that for the last few games. If we can break the scoring drought we seem to get into each game, we will be very dangerous... and hard to beat.

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I think we play well in spurts with him off the floor in our half court offense, but we need his energy, ability to get to the rim, and create his own shot when the shot clock is winding down. He is the type of player that is a game changer in the tournament. His speed and acceleration is off the charts and we are at our best when we are running.

We have learned how to play without him. I just don’t think that we are a better team without him. That’s just my opinion though. I’m not saying you’re wrong.


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Man, if only we could play every game either at home or on the road against a ranked team. Last night was as complete a performance as we could have had. Everyone contributed and Sexton played within himself, especially once he got in foul trouble. I said we needed to play big, and Hall looked like a man against boys all night. I love this team's style of play and I think we are athletically a matchup nightmare for most teams in the country. This isn't an overreaction, I know we can still lose to anyone on any given night, but this is the most dangerous we've been in decades.

Best part, hhis team is gelling better than any other team we've had that I can remember. I've said for a couple of weeks that our spot in the tourney has been all but guaranteed, but the way we are playing keeps putting us in better seeding shape than I expected we could get. I can't wait to see us against UK. I'm sure the atmosphere will be tournament like. Hopefully we can storm in, get a huge win, and keep moving up the bracket.

"We have learned how to play without him. I just don’t think that we are a better team without him. That’s just my opinion though. I’m not saying you’re wrong."

This ^^^

We aren't a better team without him, but it's gratifying that we are as good of a team without him. The thing is, Sexton is the only person we have that can create his own shot at any moment of the game. Petty is better off the ball, Jones isn't a dangerous enough perimeter shooter, AJ Jr is more of a facilitator, and Ingram isn't as shifty with the ball. Sexton is the guy that if the game is on the line, you want an iso in his hands. With that said, the team relies on that too much when he's on the floor and it overshadows the natural talent of the rest of our roster. I will wholeheartedly agree that we have a better flowing offense when he's on the bench, but in no way are we a better holistic team.

BamaHoosier said:

"We have learned how to play without him. I just don’t think that we are a better team without him. That’s just my opinion though. I’m not saying you’re wrong."

This ^^^

We aren't a better team without him, but it's gratifying that we are as good of a team without him. The thing is, Sexton is the only person we have that can create his own shot at any moment of the game. Petty is better off the ball, Jones isn't a dangerous enough perimeter shooter, AJ Jr is more of a facilitator, and Ingram isn't as shifty with the ball. Sexton is the guy that if the game is on the line, you want an iso in his hands. With that said, the team relies on that too much when he's on the floor and it overshadows the natural talent of the rest of our roster. I will wholeheartedly agree that we have a better flowing offense when he's on the bench, but in no way are we a better holistic team.

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I haven't watched but a couple games. Does Sexton get away from the game plan? Or do the other players feed him the ball too much?

We need to get these next 2 games on the road so we can have the same confidence about playing in an unfamiliar gym as opposed the friendly confines of Coleman.

If we make the tourney, it would be good to have a strong belief we can win anywhere.

Ledsteplin said:

I haven't watched but a couple games. Does Sexton get away from the game plan? Or do the other players feed him the ball too much?

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Just my observations, I've seen him penetrate and dish.....penetrate and finish.....and yes at times try to do a little too much. Yes, there are times the team gives the ball back to him rather quickly . It is however something that's common with lottery pick players . I've watched Young on Oklahoma all year and Sexton is a much better all around player and team player imo. You'll have to take the good with the bad . I think the biggest factor is we have a talented team that can and has proven that it can play together and offset any of those moments as they did earlier in the season.

It's easy to forget that this team has been in flux until recently. It was very young to begin with, then Key and Norris were out to begin the season, Norris came back, then went out for the season, Key came back, Sexton was out or less than 100% for about 4 games, Hall the same. So, it may be that their familiarity with one another is just now reaching a comfort level. As everyone can see, Hall and Key, two of the oldest players, are really coming on.

Great win. Really turned up the defensive pressure and offensive tempo in the second half. At this point it's likely we win 1 of the next 2 games @Kentucky and @AU..

If this keeps happening I won’t watch another basketball game this year. Roll Tide! Got Kentucky next. I want to beat them so badly.


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