Tide has much to celebrate, but it doesn’t share SEC title – al.com
Published: Saturday, March 05, 2011, 11:02 PM Updated: Saturday, March 05, 2011, 11:10 PM
TUSCALOOSA – Though invitations to the Big Dance that is the NCAA tournament won’t go out for another week, a little dance took place Saturday afternoon on the Coleman Coliseum floor.
With the pep band blaring the fight song followed by “Party Like a Rock Star,” Alabama players huddled jubilantly and busted out some slick moves previously unseen as they celebrated a 65-57 victory over Georgia.
“We were just happy to get the win,” senior guard Charvez Davis said of the celebration. “We were undefeated at home. It was just good for all the guys to be around. We did it for all the seniors.”
Indeed, it was Senior Day, and the Crimson Tide (20-10, 12-4 in the Southeastern Conference) finished the regular season with a 16-0 record at home.
The victory kept Alabama in the running for a share of the SEC regular-season championship and prevented the Tide from fading from the NCAA tournament conversation.
But Florida (13-3) won 86-76 Saturday night at Vanderbilt to keep the SEC title to itself.
Davis was a key to the Tide’s victory. Breaking out of a perimeter-shooting slump, he sank 5 of 10 shots from 3-point range and finished with 17 points. He made 4 of 6 long shots in the second half to draw Georgia (20-10, 9-7) out of a zone defense, which opened things up inside for the Tide.
“I didn’t know he could shoot that well,” Georgia guard Travis Leslie said.
Despite playing only 24 minutes because of foul trouble, JaMychal Green finished with 19 points and nine rebounds as he bounced back from a 5-of-19 shooting performance Tuesday in a 78-51 loss at Florida.
“He wore us out inside,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “He whooped us.”
Fellow Alabama forward Tony Mitchell added 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Assistant coach John Brannen and video coordinator James Kane prepared Davis for the game by showing him a video that contrasted missed shots from the perimeter with shots that he made.
“It was a big difference,” said Davis, who had made only 3 of 21 perimeter shots in the previous five games. “I just didn’t follow through.”
Davis’ splits are dramatic. He has made 42 percent of his 3-point shots in victories and 17 percent in losses. He has made 47 percent at home and 17 percent away from Coleman Coliseum.
“I have much confidence at home,” Davis said. “On the road, it’s all mental. I just have to have the right mindset.”
Alabama coach Anthony Grant was pleased with his team’s mindset Saturday. The Tide had lost its previous two games.
“We were out of rhythm as a team for the last two or three games,” Grant said. “We needed to get that back. The focus needed to go from the offensive end to the defensive end. Today, our guys understood the game would be won on the defensive end.”
The Tide, which improved to 15-2 in games in which it has held opponents to less than 60 points, fell behind 13-5 but surged ahead with an 18-4 run over the next nine minutes and led 27-21 at halftime. Georgia closed to within one point twice early in the second half, but Davis made three of his 3-pointers during a four-minute span to help break the game open. Alabama went on to open an 11-point lead. The Bulldogs cut their deficit to five points in the final minute, but the Tide held on.
After the game, Grant addressed Alabama’s fourth consecutive sellout crowd and its fifth of the season.
“They’ve given us a big-time advantage in this building,” Grant said later. “I couldn’t ask for anything more from them. A lot of times when, quite frankly, we were fatigued, just the environment, the noise, the excitement in the building carried our guys through.”
Now it’s on to the SEC tournament in Atlanta, where Alabama will play at noon CST Friday after a first-round bye. Talk will continue about the Tide’s NCAA tournament credentials. It came into Saturday’s game ranked No. 90 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), according to Warren Nolan.com.
“I think we’re worthy, but it’s not in our hands,” Green said. “We’ve got to just take it one game at a time.”