‘Bama has got to shoot the ball well from the outside to win a couple of games in the tournament, which they will need to do in order to make the NCAA field. Charvez Davis got it done on Saturday against Georgia sinking five of 1o trifectas. He needs to hit around three or four per game and he must get some help from Trevor Releford from the outside as well as Andrew Steele and Tony Mitchell. Three point shooting makes JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell so much more effective from the inside. Davis and Releford, in my opinion, are the keys to the Tide’s success in this tournament at the Georgia Dome.
Alabama plays the winner of AU-Georgia. I think Auburn stands a good chance of knocking off Georgia in the first round at noon Thursday on the SEC Network. The Tigers have proved to be the most resilient team in the SEC. They came back from a 42-28 deficit at LSU Saturday to win by nine. They have proved to be a pretty special bunch with all they’ve been through. Guys like Kenny Gabriel, Earnest Ross and Rob Chubb have really excelled. But it’s been a collective effort by a group loaded with heart. It’s extemely impressive what Tony Barbee has done with this team. Four and 12 doesn’t look that good on paper, but losing their leading scorer, Frankie Sullivan, having another key player leave the team and with everyone saying the cupboard is totally bare, the Tigers have hung in there and won four more games in conference than most people thought they would. Coming back from 20 down to beat State, beating South Carolina on the road, down 18 to Ole Miss and coming back and winning, it’s been an impressive last half of the season for the Tigers.
So I see the Tigers knocking Georgia out of the NCAA tournament picture and playing the Tide in the second round. Just like the heart and the hustle of this team. Tigers play Tide at noon on Friday, and, from what I’ve seen in basketball, it’s so hard to beat a team three times. The Tide must win their second round game to have a shot at the tourney. The Tide has better talent, but can they beat a relentless Auburn team three times? They barely escaped in Tuscaloosa. I’ll give a slight edge to Alabama, but I’m not totally sure of this pick. It’ll be a war. Auburn will have to beat Georgia, which won’t be easy, but for some reason, the way they are playing, I think they’ll get it done.
If Alabama beats Auburn or if Auburn beats Alabama they’ll most likely be playing Kentucky in the semifinals and Ky is playing well. After beating Tenn on Sunday in Knoxville, the Wildcats have a lot of momentum. I’m not a big fan of Calipari, but he seems to get the most out of the young teams he coaches. It’s not out of the question for ‘Bama to beat Kentucky, but it’ll take some prolific outside shooting to do that. I’ve come to the conclusion that your guards are the key to postseason success. Alabama will get after you on defense and can shut teams down. They just need to make shots. Kentucky has developed some weapons through the course of the season and they seem to be peaking right now. Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb are all stellar freshmen. They are freshmen, but they’ve been through the 16 game schedule finishing 10-6 and now have seasoning. It’ll be hard for the Tide to knock them off. It would be extremely hard for the Tigers to knock them off. Alabama is just going to have to get after it on defense. That’s been their calling card all year. Still like Kentucky to make the finals and face Florida. I wish I could pick Vandy to make the finals, and I’m not ruling it out, but Florida is playing so well on both ends of the floor. They get after you on defense without fouling and Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton and Chandler Parsons can light it up from the outside. Parsons is a terrific player, a next level player. He’s something special. The inside guys Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin are good and feed off the outside guys. Mississippi State is a darkhorse in that side of the bracket. They could knock off Vandy and then knock off Florida and make it to the championship game. There is a lot of talent on that team and they have to win the tourney to get in the NCAA field so they will be focused.
If Alabama wins their first two games in the tourney, I think they’re in. But that requires beating a tough Auburn or a desperate Georgia team and then beating Kentucky. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it’s going to be hard. I think Davis and Releford are the keys to the Tide. They’ll play defense, but can they score enough on the offensive end? They have to shoot the ball well in Atlanta. Davis needs to do what he did Saturday against Georgia and Releford, Steele and Mitchell will have to make some shots, too. Green will have to be a scorer and stay out of foul trouble. It’s a major challenge.
Like Florida and Kentucky at this point to play for the title with Kentucky winning it. But I give State a shot to make it and I’m not ruling out Tide and Vandy.
In C-USA tourney in El Paso, Blazers looking to improve their seeding in the NCAA tourney. I think they’re in. But it would be nice to win at least a couple of games. They face the winner of East Carolina-Central Florida on Thursday at noon on CBS College Sports Network. They should be OK there, though they need to be ready to play. Then they would probably face the winner of Memphis-Southern Miss on Friday at 3 p.m. on CBS College Sports. Memphis-Southern Miss will be a huge game as both teams probably need to win the tourney to make it to the NCAAs. Either one of those teams would be a hard out for the Blazers. The Blazers have lost 11 straight to Memphis, so it’s time they beat them. They’ve just got to get over that mental hurdle. I think beating Southern Miss on the road helped the Blazers’ confidence a lot. Again, guard play is critical for Blazers. Aaron Johnson will show up; he always does. Jamarr Sanders is like Charvez Davis; he’s a streaky shooter. He needs to be on from the outside. Preston Purifoy is shooting 46 percent from three though he only played eight minutes Saturday against East Carolina which surprised me. I think Mike Davis needs Purifoy in there more. Dexter Fields needs to be more consistent with his shot. Cameron Moore is getting back to his form. He’s stellar. He’s getting a lot of help from Ovie Soko, particularly on the boards, and Anthony Criswell is doing a good job as well on the inside.
The Blazers have a shot in El Paso. They are predicted by Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm, the national bracketologists, as a 12 seed and playing UConn in the first round. They could improve their seeding with a couple of victories in the tournament. A conference tourney title would be even better.
Should be a great week of basketball. I know everyone is very much looking forward to it. Hopefully, our local teams will shine. ‘Bama probably needs to win a couple, Auburn has to win the tourney and UAB probably doesn’t have to win a game, though a run would improve their seeding in the NCAA’s.
(Charvez Davis, left, and Jamarr Sanders have to shoot the ball well for Tide and Blazers to excel in their respective tournaments.)