Nate Oats took his Alabama squad to New York City to face 5th-ranked St. John’s in a heavyweight battle at basketball mecca Madison Square Garden. It lived up to the billing, as both teams played with
March-like intensity for the full 40 minutes, and in the end Alabama prevailed by a score of 103-96.
Alabama got the tip and started off in fine fashion with a three by Houston Mallette, a welcome sight in a game where they were going to have to shoot it well in order to have a chance to win. It was quickly apparent that the Johnnies had a significant physical advantage in the paint, but Alabama managed to trade blows with them using speed and the elite three point shooting that Nate Oats has lauded all offseason.
Aden Holloway started the game and cooked on offense while also showing some great effort on the defensive end. His size will always be a limiting factor for him, but his quickness and hands can be a pain to deal with in on-ball situations. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was hot from three in the opening half, and it was much needed. Labaron Philon played his usual perimeter defense but couldn’t get much going on offense early in the contest. .
Down low, it’s clear that Aiden Sherrell is going to be the indispensable piece. Noah Williamson just doesn’t have the quickness to keep up with better bigs, and nobody else in the rotation has the size needed to bang in the paint. Taylor Bol Bowen offsets it with speed on the offensive end though, and is going to present a mismatch on the perimeter for a lot of power forwards. The pick-and-roll action with Bol Bowen and Philon shows plenty of promise.
Collins Onyejiaka didn’t enter until Sherrell picked up his second foul with six minutes left before the break and didn’t stay for long. Perhaps he will be able to use his considerable frame and athleticism to contribute later in the season, but he’s not quite ready at this stage. Oats’ lack of confidence in his other options was evident when he put Sherrell back in with a couple of minutes left before the break. It paid off with a three from Aiden, but he then picked up a critical third foul. The officiating in this one was interesting to say the least, as Alabama went into the locker room with 16 fouls to only 6 for the Johnnies.
Philon finally got rolling late, and Holloway finished off his hot first half with a buzzer beater from the corner for a nine point Alabama lead at 53-44. Aden led all scorers with 17 at the break. Three pointers were the difference, as Alabama knocked down 8-of-20 and St. John’s only 1-of-7. The aggressive perimeter defense from the Tide was just as impactful as the makes. At this stage it sure seems that playing at a breakneck pace and shooting a ton of transition threes while running the opponent off the arc is going to be how this squad lives and dies.
Onyejiaka started the second half with Sherrell in foul trouble, and immediately gave up two bunnies to close the gap. Fortunately Houston Mallette was fouled on a three on the other end and made all three, and Oats immediately inserted Sherrell back into the game. He immediately paid dividends with a bucket in the post and a couple of offensive boards, but that didn’t keep St. John’s from putting a run together to pull within two shortly after the half.
Alabama’s guards just kept balling out though, and in short order a Wrightsell three had the Tide leading by 11 with just over 15 minutes to play. Sadly, he then came up limping in a fashion that would suggest reinjury to his achilles, which was terrifying. Fortunately he was able to re-enter the game later.
Both teams continued to battle. St. John’s guard Ian Jackson seemingly tried to take the game over in the second half. He took seven shots in the first eight minutes of action and made four, including a three point play to draw St. John’s within seven, and four minutes later St. John’s had their first lead of the half. Alabama bounced back to lead by four with four minutes left.
Holloway fouled out of the game with three minutes to play, and half of Alabama’s team was in foul trouble when he left. Philon was one of those guys with four, but he stepped up and took the game over. He scored seven consecutive points on a rare midrange jumper, two free throws, and a three from the wing to salt the game away.
It’s long been said that guard play is the key in March, and if that’s the case then you have to like this team’s chances to make a run. Most people chalked this game up to a likely loss considering the strength of the opponent and the venue, but the Tide simply were not going to lose. The 11am road starts have been tough at times in the Oats era, but not even that could deny Alabama on this day.
You will undoubtedly be watching football for the rest of the afternoon, but what a way to start the day.
We’re damn good, folks. Again.
Roll Tide.
