There’s been a lot of noise around the Alabama basketball program recently. Of course, everyone in the country has an opinion on Charles Bediako getting a TRO to be able to play for the Tide this season, but there’s also been a lot of doom and gloom around the product on the court as well. And for justifiable reasons – the Tide has now lost back-to-back conference home games to unranked opponents (although Texas and Tennessee are both tournament quality teams, in my opinion) for the first time since
Nate Oats’ debut season in 2020.
I will say though, I think everyone needs to pump the brakes on the pessimism just a little bit. Whatever you may think about Chuck being able to play, the reality of it is that he is exactly what this team desperately needed at the five. And honestly, he played really well the other night. People will meme about it, but he looked like he’s been playing professional basketball. He moved really well, understood where he needed to be, his positioning on rebounds was mostly great, and he can dunk! A big man who can dunk the basketball – what a novel concept!
Anyway, the main reason this team is struggling right now is that they haven’t been able to put together a finished product in a while. Injuries are absolutely killing this season. It sounds like Aden Holloway will return tonight, but Amari Allen is listed as doubtful. I’m telling you, if we can get everyone healthy at the same time, and Chuck is able to keep playing – which I believe he will (where’s Erik when you need him!?!?!) – this team has a Final Four ceiling.
For now, the team just needs to keep on building. Focus on one game at a time. And try not to lose a third straight conference home game.
How to Watch
What: Missouri 14-6 (4-3 SEC) at #23 Alabama (13-6, 3-3 SEC)
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, AL
When: 7:00 PM CST
TV: SEC Network
Line: Alabama -10
Dennis Gates and his Missouri Tigers come to town tonight, and – much like Texas at the time – they find themselves smack-dab on the NCAA Tournament bubble looking for a signature road win to add to the resume. A deep (57th in the country in Bench Minutes) and experienced (33rd in D1 experience) squad, they aren’t quite the guard-oriented team we’ve seen under Gates during his time in Colombia. Typically, the Tigers rely on a healthy volume of threes and aggressive perimeter defense, but this year’s group is bigger and more deliberately focused on the paint on both ends of the court.
Since SEC play started, they also only participate in close games. All seven of their conference matchups have been decided by less than 10 points, including their most recent victory over Oklahoma this past weekend, where they hit a pair of buzzer beaters to tie in regulation and then win the game in overtime. This group knows how to compete and grind out wins. They’ll stay in any fight.
Three Keys to Victory
- Overcome Adversity. So, the theme of this article so far – Alabama hasn’t done a great job overcoming adversity to this point in the season, whether it be injury-related or on the court. Meanwhile, Mizzou has basically relied on their ability to do so to hang around in the NCAA Tournament discussion. This is a real gut check game for this Tide Hoops team. I think they will be fine as guys get healthier and are able to build more chemistry. But at a certain point, injuries can’t be a crutch to fall back on either.
- Challenge Mark Mitchell. The 6’9, 230-pound post for Missouri, Mark Mitchell, has been the rock for the Tigers this year. He’s working on an All-SEC type of season with 17.7 PPG on 55.6%/28.6%/68.4% to go along with 5.5 RPG and 3.2 APG – a truly impressive number for a four. Standing alongside seven-footer Shawn Phillips in the paint gives the Tigers a two towers combo that is a tough match-up for teams that lack size. Good thing Alabama doesn’t lack for size anymore, right Chuck?
- Get the Shots Falling. This Oats-led Alabama team – almost more so than any before it, save 2022 – is reliant on getting shots to fall. Bediako being back in the fold helps alleviate some of this pressure, but we’re still talking about a team that is top five in the country in Three Point Rate. And they simply haven’t been very good at it since the calendar turned to 2026. Alabama is 13th in the SEC in 3P% in conference play. That’s just not going to cut it. I know we like for all of our guys to be able to stretch the floor, but Alabama needs to be more efficient when doing so, and letting Bol Bowen and London Jemison keep throwing up bricks is killing the offense. Even Labaron Philon takes at least one or two ill-advised perimeter shots a game. Aden Holloway returning tonight is obviously huge in this regard, and hopefully Latrell Wrightsell can get back to form sooner rather than later. But the shooting simply has to be better.
It’s another critical game in Tuscaloosa tonight. A loss here before heading to Gainesville this weekend could put this team on a slippery slope. Hopefully, we’ll be able to enjoy some Holloway-Bediako PnR action tonight, that could be a lot of fun. I’m going to go ahead and make this the Game Thread for tonight as well, since it’s being published so late (see Josh for refunds), so if you can’t make it to Coleman, join us here.
Roll Tide, folks.
