Alabama Basketball survives Missouri, advances to 8-5 in the SEC

Want a short summary? The Tide dug itself into a hole by hitting only 2 of their first 20 shots of the game, and scoring all of 18 points in the first half. A combination of similarly poor shooting from Missouri and some late game heroics from Dazon Ingram got just enough points to squeak out a win.

It was an ugly, low scoring affair rife with turnovers, airballs, and people rolling across the floor. Alabama had a horrid game on offense, but survived due to the fact that Missouri was just a little bit worse.

As a team, Alabama shot 35.8% from the floor and 25% from three-point range, while Missouri was 34% and 21.1%, respectively. Alabama nabbed two more rebounds than Missouri, but also gave away two more turnovers. The two were almost identical from the free throw line, hitting 14-21 and 16-23 for Alabama and Missou.

Dazon Ingram was the only Alabama player to hit double digits, scoring 18 on the night—most during the last stretch of the game. He had 9 rebounds, which was only one away from adding another double-double to his belt this season. He also dropped his turnover count a little, committing only two all game.

Braxton Key, Riley Norris, and Jimmie Taylor(!) all tied for second on the team with 9 points each. Key also led the team in both assists and turnovers, with 3 and 4, respectively.

Bola Olaniyan led the team with 14 rebounds and 2 steals, but only managed two points in all of his playing time. Donta Hall scored all four of his points off of free throws, and Avery Johnson Jr. got six points off the bench, including one ridiculous circus shot.

I think that “discombobulated” is the best word to describe what we saw tonight. It was a weak performance from the Tide, but fortunately it was against possibly the worst team in the SEC.

The silver lining is that Dazon Ingram finally showed some of the shooting confidence we saw from him early this season, and he gained it at just the time that the Tide needed someone to turn to. Hopefully, he can continue to be that person in crunch time that Alabama has lacked all season.

Alabama HAS to keep winning to have any shot at an NCAA tournament bid. They survived this one by the skin of their teeth, but they survived, nonetheless. One game at a time.

Buckle up, and Roll Tide