‘We’re not afraid of anybody.’ Potential UK opponents enter SEC Tournament fearless.
Coming into the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Alabama Coach Nate Oats asked his players a pointed question.
“Who are we scared of in the league?” he asked. “... Their answer to me was, ‘We’re not afraid of anybody.’”
This led Oats to conclude, “So, let’s go in like we’re not afraid of anybody.”
Alabama plays its first game in the SEC Tournament in Thursday’s second round. The Tide plays Tennessee with the winner advancing to play Kentucky in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Oats cited history to bolster the claim that Alabama should fear no opponent in Nashville. That includes UK, which won the regular-season championship.
Alabama beat three of the top four seeds in the regular season: 83-64 over second-seeded Auburn, 88-82 over third-seeded LSU and 90-69 over fourth-seeded Mississippi State.
The exception was Kentucky. To which, Oats said, “We played Kentucky really tough. It was a two-possession game with about a minute to go. At Kentucky.”
Kentucky led Alabama 66-62 with 3:22 left. UK ultimately won 76-67.
Oats acknowledged that Alabama finished the regular-season poorly. The Tide lost 87-79 at home to Vanderbilt, then scored a season-low 50 points in a 19-point loss at Missouri.
“Obviously, not the ideal way to close the season ... ,” Oats said. “Our thing is when we’re playing well, we can play with anybody in this league. So, we’ve just got to get back to where we were playing well.”
Alabama, 16-15 overall and 8-10 in the SEC, has made three-point shots a basis for its offense. The Tide ranks third nationally with an average of 10.8 three-pointers per game.
When asked how dependent Alabama was on three-point shots, Oats smiled. “Fairly dependent,” he said in a deadpan tone. “When we hit a lot of threes, we win games. When we’re not making them, we’ve struggled a little bit.”
Alabama set SEC records by making 22 of 59 three-point shots in beating Auburn on Jan. 15.
Oats agreed that three-pointers can give any team a puncher’s chance against a higher-ranked opponent. He cited how his Buffalo team beat Arizona in Boise, Idaho, by making 15 of 30 three-point shots.
“Trading threes for twos, it definitely gives you a shot against anybody,” Oats said. “You can also shoot yourself out of a game, too. Teams I’ve coached in the past have tended to shoot themselves into games.”
Vols vs. Tide
Of course, Kentucky is familiar with its other possible opponent on Friday. Tennessee rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat UK 81-73 in the final week of the regular season.
Tennessee then lost a home game to Auburn 85-63 to finish the regular season.
“I was disappointed in the way we responded after the Kentucky game,” Coach Rick Barnes said. “But, the last couple days in practice, the focus has been good. Now, we’ll see when the lights come on.”
Both Alabama and Tennessee saw Tide guard Herbert Jones as a key player in Thursday’s game.
Jones broke his left wrist in a game at LSU on Jan. 29. He missed three games, and has played with a cast on his left arm. This resulted in Jones, a left-hander, shooting free throws right-handed since returning to action.
“He’s shot better from the free-throw line right-handed than he was with his left hand,” Oats said.
Before the injury, Jones made 62.5 percent of his free throws shooting left-handed (55 of 88). Since he began shooting right-handed, he’s made 10 of 16 (62.6 percent).
“He’s getting more and more able to do stuff as we’ve gone along,” Oats said. “His cast has been reduced. We’ve gone with a smaller one.
“We may go without it tomorrow. We’re not sure. He’s going to see how it feels.”
Jones’ broken wrist isn’t the only injury Alabama has had to overcome. Guard John Petty injured his right elbow earlier in the season.
Plus, two highly regarded freshmen tore anterior cruciate ligaments last summer.
