Bama Game Thread: MBB Bama vs Vols - 3.1 3p CT - ESPN

[CrimsonTitles]

I think a lot of the frustrations are more about the fact that Auburn is having a better season, and as a result, many of our fans are not able to enjoy what we are accomplishing. Right now I believe if Auburn was 18 and 11, most of our fans would be over the moon happy

Personally, I don’t understand, but at the same time I know it’s probably somewhat true

I personally wouldn't want to be in Auburn's shoes. It looks great now, but it's only March 4th. What kind of adversity has Auburn faced that's going to prepare them for the tournament? That's not to say they're going to do poorly, but how much better could they realistically get? I'd much rather be in our situation where we've shown a lot of promise, but also have more room to grow. We have the highest ceiling of any team in the country, so I don't really think there's anything to be down about. I recall some of our fans having a meltdown when we went into our slump last year, but we ended up making a final 4 run. This team is better than last year, so I kinda like the spot we are in. All the pressure will be on Auburn, and we will slightly fall under the radar, at least as much as a 1/2 seed can.

At the beginning of the year, I thought it was championship or bust, but with Mallette and Wrightsell sitting out and likely returning next season, I don't see that as the case anymore. There was a point where I thought we might lose everyone except maybe Mo D, but looking at the mock drafts and knowing we probably get Mallette/Wrightsell back, we could be pretty loaded next year also.

 

[BAMARICH]

I personally wouldn't want to be in Auburn's shoes. It looks great now, but it's only March 4th. What kind of adversity has Auburn faced that's going to prepare them for the tournament? That's not to say they're going to do poorly, but how much better could they realistically get? I'd much rather be in our situation where we've shown a lot of promise, but also have more room to grow. We have the highest ceiling of any team in the country, so I don't really think there's anything to be down about. I recall some of our fans having a meltdown when we went into our slump last year, but we ended up making a final 4 run. This team is better than last year, so I kinda like the spot we are in. All the pressure will be on Auburn, and we will slightly fall under the radar, at least as much as a 1/2 seed can.

Adversity-wise, I think they've faced plenty. As the #1, they get everyone's best shot and Broome's injury issues have factored into this season. I agree 100% that their ceiling is closer to where they're playing right now, but it's going to take a really good team to take them down in the NCAA's unless they have a night where everything goes off the rails.

 

[CajunCrimson]

College basketball isn’t like football in that you can only approach it as “championship or bust”.

It requires you to win six games in a row against different types of competition. There are so many intangible. So many potential matchup combinations. Winning a college basketball championship is incredibly hard

That’s why coaches like Roy Williams and Bob Knight only have three each I believe after coaching decades.

To me, the benchmark is to get to the sweet 16 every year. After that, it tends to lie more in fate and destiny.

 

[BamaMoon]

I personally wouldn't want to be in Auburn's shoes. It looks great now, but it's only March 4th. What kind of adversity has Auburn faced that's going to prepare them for the tournament? That's not to say they're going to do poorly, but how much better could they realistically get? I'd much rather be in our situation where we've shown a lot of promise, but also have more room to grow. We have the highest ceiling of any team in the country, so I don't really think there's anything to be down about. I recall some of our fans having a meltdown when we went into our slump last year, but we ended up making a final 4 run. This team is better than last year, so I kinda like the spot we are in. All the pressure will be on Auburn, and we will slightly fall under the radar, at least as much as a 1/2 seed can.

I haven't watched AU enough to know if they can win on a down night. The games I've watched when they got challenged they didn't shoot the 3 very well. When they shoot the 3 ball, like they did against us in T-town, they look unbeatable.

It's been a while ago, but when they lost at Duke, they had an off night shooting from distance (after a very hot start). The question is how good is Duke? They look great against the ACC right now, but what would they be in the SEC this year?

Since that game, except the UF loss, they've played incredibly well. So how will they fare in a game when they struggle? I know we are dying to find out! For me, I hope it's in MM!

I know this, though. God help us if AU wins a NC in basketball. We'll never hear the end of it!

 

[CrimsonTitles]

Adversity-wise, I think they've faced plenty. As the #1, they get everyone's best shot and Broome's injury issues have factored into this season. I agree 100% that their ceiling is closer to where they're playing right now, but it's going to take a really good team to take them down in the NCAA's unless they have a night where everything goes off the rails.

They've won almost every game comfortably. There's zero adversity to be found in that. There's a reason teams with 0 or only a few losses don't always fare as well in the tournament as one would expect. Championship teams are not forged through winning comfortably. They're forged through the fire of uncomfortable losses

 

[CrimsonTitles]

College basketball isn’t like football in that you can only approach it as “championship or bust”.

It requires you to win six games in a row against different types of competition. There are so many intangible. So many potential matchup combinations. Winning a college basketball championship is incredibly hard

That’s why coaches like Roy Williams and Bob Knight only have three each I believe after coaching decades.

To me, the benchmark is to get to the sweet 16 every year. After that, it tends to lie more in fate and destiny.

I only meant championship or bust as in we were literally going to have 1-2 players return, and next year was going to be a down year, so it would be extremely upsetting if we didn't win because that was our chance. That is not the case anymore. There's a chance we could be as loaded as this year, depending on who returns and who we pick up in the portal.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I think a lot of the frustrations are more about the fact that Auburn is having a better season, and as a result, many of our fans are not able to enjoy what we are accomplishing. Right now I believe if Auburn was 18 and 11, most of our fans would be over the moon happy

Personally, I don’t understand, but at the same time I know it’s probably somewhat true

It is frustrating, yes. But I would have the same uneasy feeling if Auburn were to switch places with say, UK in this year's standings. That is to say, we have done very poorly against the rest of the top third of the league. Some of that is due to bad scheduling breaks, some is not.

We really need to take care of home court tomorrow night. And then, we will see how AU plays with the SEC championship all sewn up and little to play for beyond state pride (which admittedly always goes a long way down there). If we beat UF, we should end up with a double bye in the SECT. Depending on how that shakes out, we could very well win the whole thing. And then we are a 1 seed, 2 seed at worst (seeding may be determined no matter what we do in the SECT anyway), and the NCAAT is what its all about anyway. It's a whole new season.

 

[BAMARICH]

They've won almost every game comfortably. There's zero adversity to be found in that. There's a reason teams with 0 or only a few losses don't always fare as well in the tournament as one would expect. Championship teams are not forged through winning comfortably. They're forged through the fire of uncomfortable losses

Well welcome the adversity per last night!

 

[CrimsonTitles]

Well welcome the adversity per last night!

Maybe. Is it adversity if they had nothing left to play for? I guess only time will tell. If we go in there and boat race them too, then that tells me the focus wasn't there. We're more than capable of beating them at their place fair and square, but for them to lose 2 in a row when they've only losy twice all year would be indicative of a focus issue. If their head isn't there bc they've locked everything up, then I don't know if that's going to provide the type of adversity I'm talking about.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

How great would it be if the barn got paired up against Bryant in the tournament and lost?