Alabama Basketball Living and Dying By Three Point Shooting
We've all heard the phrase "you live and die by the three-pointer" when it comes to basketball.
The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team is a perfect example of this, and they don't hesitate on the opportunity to pull the trigger on triples.
We saw them put on an absolute clinic in their 105-75 win over the LSU Tigers, a game in which they hit an SEC-record by hitting 23 3-point shots.
But how much success can be achieved from this play-style in the long run, or when you matchup against a tough opponent?
Coach Oats team sits with a 14-4 record, and Saturday's loss to No. 24 Oklahoma shined a light on what happens when the 3-point production isn't there.
In a post-game interview, Oats talked about his team's performance after suffering a loss.
“I told our guys: if we can learn from it, it will end up helping us in the long run. But we can go one of two ways: we can learn from it, come back and play a lot better the next game, or it can send us into a tailspin.”
For reference, here's the three-point percentage in all four of the team's losses
- Stanford: 24.1%
- Clemson: 13.6%
- Western Kentucky: 26.9%
- Oklahoma: 35.7%
To put things in perspective, according to NCAA College Men's Basketball statistics, Alabama is ranked 78th in the country with a measly 35.98% from beyond the arc this year.
The last few weeks we've seen teams like Mississippi State, Kentucky and Oklahoma stifle Bama's sharp shooters, forcing them to drive the lane for layups or other mid-range shots. It seems as if the formula to stopping this high octane has been found.
John Petty has usually been the one to count on when the team needs a big time shot from deep, however Petty seems to be the only one pulling his weight.
Alex Reese is shooting 25.3% from three-point land, despite being classified as a three-point specialist.
As the season draws closer and closer to an end the pressure will be on for this team to make a higher percentage of shots.
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