Bama fades late again, drops third straight

[jbcarol]

A 76-73 loss to Arkansas saw three missed free throws in the closing 28 seconds when the Crimson Tide trailed by just three

Loss was Alabama's third straight with two regular-season games left

Arkansas moved to 20-9, 9-7 with the win

"When you lose, yeah, you move on to the next one but I'm very, very disappointed in our overall effort," coach Avery Johnson said. "I'm very disappointed in myself."

The Tide (17-12, 8-8 SEC) had all the momentum midway through the second half when a pair of John Petty free throws made it 53-49. The crowd was warming up to the game right when Arkansas seized momentum.

Going seven minutes without a field goal allowed the Razorbacks to take the final lead with a 9-0 run.

"We were being careless," Petty said. "Bad defensive plays. Slips. Our ball movement wasn't there today. All correctable errors."

Braxton Key's 16 points led Alabama while Sexton added 15.

Key said the 9-0 Razorback run "got in our head."

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said the key in that moment was getting his starters rest during the spurt. That allowed the first wave to come back rested for the final push.

Alabama was again out-rebounded 36-28 while the Hogs held a 21-16 edge in points off turnovers.

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell‏ @Michael_Carvell

The 3-pointer: Alabama basketball 'Not there yet' after 76-73 loss to Arkansas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Although the University of Alabama made 11 3-pointers, its postseason resume took another hit with Arkansas wrestling away a 76-73 victory at Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

It was the third straight loss for the Crimson Tide (17-12, 8-8 SEC), which has gone from hoping to secure a top-four seeding in the upcoming SEC Tournament in St. Louis to falling back to [mid pack].

It obviously didn't due [sic] much for its NCAA Tournament prospects either.

"I'm very, very disappointed," Coach Avery Johnson said. "We're not there yet."

Although Alabama was able to take 57-56 lead on two free throws with 6:53 remaining, it was during a 7-minute stretch in which the Crimson Tide didn't make a shot from the field.

The veteran Razorbacks (20-9, 9-7 SEC) — led by senior guard Daryl Macon with 17 points, senior guard Jayled Barford with 11 and senior forward Dustin Thomas with 10 (with two underclassmen also reaching double figures) — didn't have that problem.

[jbcarol]

Cecil Hurt
‏ @CecilHurt
15h15 hours ago

FINAL: Arkansas 76, @Alabamambb 73. Crimson Tide falls to 17-12 overall, 8-8 SEC with third straight loss.

Avery Johnson: "I'm the one who should have the bull's-eye on me. I'm responsible for it."

[pghawg1]

  Didn't see anything in the article about the Hogs beating his Alabama coached team just that his team had their heads in a fog. He should give credit where credit is due, looks to me the Hogs went down there and beat them.   

[BoarEd]

  Didn't see anything in the article about the Hogs beating his Alabama coached team just that his team had their heads in a fog. He should give credit where credit is due, looks to me the Hogs went down there and beat them.   

Exactly. The difference was substitution patterns Mike used to get his starting 5 in the game together for the final 4 minutes or whatever it was. Arkansas just has a better team and it was evident.

It's funny though how commentators were trying to say all night that Alabama had mismatches all over the floor and after the loss nobody wants to give Hogs credit. It was Alabama's miscues, not Arkansas's good game-plan and execution. Mike threw a lot of matchup zone against Alabama last night too. Anderson did a good job coaching that game last night, despite what the negahogs may say.

Also, lol at slobbering on Alabama's junk when everyone in the country knows they just played an inelligible player. They are caught up in this cheating scandal and everyone wants to just give them a free pass.

[tennesseehogwild]

I thought defensively, the Hogs made both Sexton and Hall relatively invisible for most of the night. If Sexton doesn't get a couple of phantom foul calls we might not have had to sweat it in the end. I personally thought our guys did a great job defensively on those two.

[incHOGnito]

Exactly. The difference was substitution patterns Mike used to get his starting 5 in the game together for the final 4 minutes or whatever it was. Arkansas just has a better team and it was evident.

It's funny though how commentators were trying to say all night that Alabama had mismatches all over the floor and after the loss nobody wants to give Hogs credit. It was Alabama's miscues, not Arkansas's good game-plan and execution. Mike threw a lot of matchup zone against Alabama last night too. Anderson did a good job coaching that game last night, despite what the negahogs may say.

Also, lol at slobbering on Alabama's junk when everyone in the country knows they just played an inelligible player. They are caught up in this cheating scandal and everyone wants to just give them a free pass.

In fairness, Dari Nokah on the SEC Network gave credit to Mike for his game plan and the Hogs for execution.