TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tuesday night was supposed to be about James “Beetle” Bolden. The Alabama basketball senior did his part, recording a season-high 24 points on a career-best seven 3s in what figured to be his final game inside Coleman Coliseum.
However, instead of a celebration, Bolden’s big night came in what will be the finishing blow to the Crimson Tide’s NCAA Tournament hopes. A listless Alabama effort led to an 87-79 loss to last-place Vanderbilt as the Crimson Tide (16-14, 8-9 in the SEC) allowed the Commodores (10-20, 2-15) to leave Tuscaloosa with just its second conference win in the last two years.
“I felt we needed a lot better effort than what we gave,” Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats said. “I’m frustrated. As a guy who is responsible for this whole program, I obviously didn’t do a good job of getting these guys ready to play because we didn’t give an effort that demanded a win tonight.”
Bolden’s 24 points were accompanied by a team-high 30 points from Kira Lewis Jr., while Jaden Shackelford chipped in 18 points. Outside of that, Alabama tallied just two other made field goals on the night. On top of that, the Crimson allowed Vanderbilt to shoot 56 percent on the night, including 54 percent (15 of 28) from beyond the arc as Saban Lee torched Alabama with a season-high 38 points and 6 made 3s.
“Just like Coach said, we didn’t all come together as a collective group to bring max effort and play hard,” Bolden said. “We got spurts throughout the game. It showed where we played hard we jumped out on top of them and cut the lead. The times we didn’t play hard it showed when they got rolling on offense as well.”
Before the game, Oats spoke optimistically to his players, reminding them that if they finished the regular season with two wins, a 10-8 record in league play could put them in a good position to make the tournament. That is no longer an option as the head coach said Tuesday’s defeat likely “buried” any possibility of his team earning an at-large bid to the Big Dance.
Alabama entered the night at No. 42 in the NET rankings and boasted the No. 17 strength of schedule. None of that seems to matter. Tuesday’s game is currently classified as a Quadrant 4 loss. Perhaps more importantly, it serves as the Crimson Tide’s fourth conference defeat inside Coleman.
Oats tried to warn his players heading into the matchup, reading them the bible verse Proverbs 16:18 which states “'Pride cometh before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” However, Tuesday night’s performance featured the same frustrating tendencies that have doomed Alabama all season.
“We’re capable of beating teams, and then we’re capable of losing to Vanderbilt who’s the worst,” Oats said. “That’s to me consistency, effort, and we’ve got to get that changed. Effort and all that stuff falls on the head coach, and I’ve got to change the culture here, and we’re working on it. It’s obviously not changed enough.
“I’m as disappointed as the fans are. I know they’re super disappointed. I’m not going to sleep well at night. We’ve got a lot of players who are just as disappointed as we are, and they need to make some changes.”
Alabama will wrap up its regular-season schedule at Missouri on Saturday before taking part in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., next week. While the Crimson Tide will almost certainly need to win the conference tournament in order to make the NCAA Tournament, Oats said he’ll be more focused more on the effort and fight his team demonstrates over the coming week.
“That’s really all I’m going to care about for the next two games is who gives us an effort that demands a win,” he said. “If we lose because we can’t make an open 3 or we just can’t convert or they hit a bunch of tough 3s, you go home and live with it. That’s sports, sometimes you get outplayed.
“When the other team plays harder than you, that’s when I can’t sleep at night… We’re going to have to get everybody on the team that’s in the games to give us everything they have for these next whatever it is, two, three, four, however many games we can scrape. And you’re really going to find out the character of some of the guys on this team.”
WestGate Luxury Condos - To be any closer, you'd need a ticket
Andrew Bone, of BamaInsider.com, is a real estate broker in the state of Alabama.
Contact Andrew Bone for all of your real estate needs; buyers, sellers, investors, developers. Property management; BoneHomeTours.com Call 205-531-5577 or click here
