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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama is about to enter a bit of a basketball Twilight Zone where players play on an island, spectators are situated below court level and team benches are located behind the basket. Built in 1952, Memorial Gymnasium has long been home to the Vanderbilt Commodores. For Alabama, it’s served as more of a house of horrors.
Since 1990, Alabama has beaten Vanderbilt just twice inside Memorial with its most recent triumph coming in a 58-54 victory during the 2012-13 season. Over that span, the Commodores have 14 home wins against the Crimson Tide, including a 76-75 victory last season in which they stormed out to a 10-point lead at the half before holding off a late run from Alabama.
“It’s hard to play in when you come out and you sleepwalk like we did the entire first half,” Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. “And just think that we were some kind of rock band because we had some high recruiting class and that we could just walk into Nashville and we’re going to show up and they’re going to fall over. We finally woke up in the last 10 minutes of the game, and it was too late.”
Johnson doesn’t believe in any kind of hex over the Crimson Tide when it enters Memorial. Instead, he’s more concerned with his team’s leadership as it makes the trip to Nashville, Tenn.
“You better be mentally focused,” Johnson said. “We talked a lot about having the right mindset. You’ve got to have the right mindset. You’ve got to be ready to play.
“Mental toughness doesn’t show up when you dunk on somebody. Mental toughness shows up when you’re 6-3 and you’ve got to box out a 6-10 guy. Mental toughness shows up — if you turn the ball over, are you going to get back on defense? Mental toughness shows up on the free-throw line — are you going to box out or are you going to stand there with your hands on your hip? It shows up a lot of ways, and that’s why when we’re playing these games in the SEC, no matter what the team’s record is, that’s where the mental toughness shows up.”
Johnson said Alabama has a leadership advisory board made up of Riley Norris, Avery Johnson Jr., Dazon Ingram, Herbert Jones and Donta Hall who provide a veteran presence to the team. That leadership will be crucial for Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt, considering the quirky configuration of Memorial.
Because benches are located behind the basket, it limits the amount of space coaches are able to roam during the game. When Alabama is shooting on the opposite side of the court, players could be outside of earshot from Johnson’s coaching.
“We’re just going to have to talk to guys,” guard John Petty Jr. said. “We’re out there with each other, and we see what’s going on. So we see something that we feel is going to work or is going to help, we just need to communicate with each other.”
Alabama (14-8, 5-4 in the SEC) enters Saturday’s game looking for consecutive wins for the first time since beginning conference play. According to VegasInsider.com, the Crimson Tide is a 3.5-point favorite over Vanderbilt (9-13, 0-9) as the Commodores are in the midst of a 10-game losing streak.
Alabama’s record is identical to where it was at this point in the season last year. That’s encouraging, considering the Crimson Tide advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. Last year’s tournament run included a five-game losing streak to close out the regular season. With nine games remaining this season, Alabama’s looking for an easier road to the Big Dance.
Alabama currently ranks No. 44 in the NET rankings used to determine the NCAA Tournament field. The Crimson Tide is 2-5 against Quadrant 1 teams and 6-1 against Quadrant 2 teams.
“I think this month is way more important (than March),” Petty said. “This month you build and fill out your resume to get into the tournament. Last year, we didn’t do too well around this month, but we still made it. It just so happened the second round we caught the No. 1 seed which so happened to go and finish it. If you build your resume good enough, you might have a better chance of making it further in the tournament.”
Alabama and Vanderbilt will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
