Alabama climbs out of hole, in NCAA conversation

Alabama players, including Jimmie Taylor (10), celebrate after an NCAA college basketball game against Aurubn on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama won 65-57. (Vasha Hunt/AL.com via AP)
Alabama players, including Jimmie Taylor (10), celebrate after an NCAA college basketball game against Aurubn on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama won 65-57. (Vasha Hunt/AL.com via AP)

Alabama could have stayed buried after its 1-5 SEC start under first-year coach Avery Johnson.

The Crimson Tide fell to a half-game out of the SEC cellar on Jan. 23 following a 72-70 home loss to LSU. It was their sixth loss in nine games following a five-game winning streak that featured victories over Wichita State, Notre Dame and Clemson.

Instead of collapsing, the Crimson Tide began establishing a strong defensive identity in February as Johnson, the longtime NBA assistant and head coach, continued to put his stamp on the program.

The Crimson Tide (17-11, 8-8 SEC) host Arkansas (15-14, 8-8) on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Alabama went 6-2 in February, starting with a five-game winning streak and is now projected to make the NCAA Tournament field with one week remaining in the regular season.

"The main thing is, who would have ever thought we would be in the NCAA conversation?" Johnson said on the SEC Network following Saturday's 67-59 victory over Auburn. "So it's kind of neat for our guys."

Alabama did not play particularly well against its arch-rival, shooting 38.9 percent (21 of 54) from the field and making only 17 of 29 free throws (58.6 percent) in the victory over Auburn.

What the Crimson Tide did in that game was right out of the Johnson playbook. They defended pretty well, won the rebounding battle and scrapped back from a 10-point second-half deficit.

"Avery has done a tremendous job in his first year of getting those guys to play unselfish and have some guys really step up," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said.

Alabama had consistently underachieved in six seasons under Anthony Grant, with one NCAA Tournament berth in 2012 that produced a 68-67 loss to Creighton as a No. 9 seed.

This year's Crimson Tide rallied back from the poor league start to post SEC road victories at Mississippi State, Florida and LSU in succession as part of a five-game winning streak.

"I think there wasn't a lot of expectation they were going to be a really good team, and they're right on the cusp of getting in the NCAA Tournament," Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland said.

"They're just defending at such a high level," Florida Coach Mike White said. "What makes them really good? Why were they great against us? What I was most impressed with was they took us out of so many things we were trying to do offensively. ... They did a good job of limiting Dorrian Finney-Smith's touches, keeping pressure on the basketball. They blew certain actions up just by knowing what was coming."

Alabama ranks third in the SEC by limiting opponents to 67.1 points per game.

The development of key players like Retin Obasohan, Shannon Hale, Jimmie Taylor and Riley Norris has helped Alabama gain strength down the stretch. Obasohan has led the team in scoring in 11 of the past 12 games and is sixth in the SEC with 17.3 points per game.

"Obviously I think their defense is very impressive," Georgia Coach Mark Fox said. "Then he's got some pieces there, like Jimmie Taylor, who I think has elite ability. Avery's put all these guys together and has them playing in a way that gives them a chance to win."

Johnson, a 16-year NBA veteran and the 2006 NBA Coach of the Year with the Dallas Mavericks, said he made a couple of lineup moves after the 1-5 start in conference play that helped trigger the turnaround.

"I think part of it is inserting Riley Norris into the starting lineup for us at the 3 position and moving Arthur Edwards from 3 to 2," Johnson said. "Just to give us a little bit more depth and size on the perimeter. It helped out with our defense.

"Those guys can all make shots. So when some of our big guys draw a lot of attention or Retin draws a lot of attention it gives us guys that can take and make shots and spread the floor for us. It's given us a lot more versatility defensively to switch and trap and do all the different things we like to do."

The Crimson Tide is fifth in the SEC in field goal defense, allowing opponents 40.4 percent shooting per game. They rank third in three-point defense, holding opponents to 32.1 percent shooting.

"I think we've been able to overachieve so far this year, and have had success winning against teams with high RPI, and our strength of schedule, I think, is 29th at this point in the season," Johnson said. "There are a lot of positives with our team. We've beaten four top 25 teams, so I think we've got a pretty good resume, and I'm just awfully proud of how some of our guys have mentally gotten better, and others like Retin Obasohan have just taken off."

Sports on 03/01/2016

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