From the Sideline — Alabama Drops Another Close Game on the Road

First of all, I love snow.

However, having now seen it at least six times over the past seven weeks, I’ve had enough.

The latest snow-bound journey for me was in Lexington, where Alabama had an all-too-familiar refrain. Much like no less than a dozen of the Tide’s 18 losses to date, Anthony Grant’s team put themselves in position for a chance to win heading into the final media timeout, but couldn’t close the deal.

From the first game of the regular season in Dallas, to Tuesday’s loss in Lexington, it has been really tough to see this squad do enough good things to have a shot, only to see it slip away.

With 5:11 to play, Alabama was within one of the Wildcats. But the Tide would muster just one more point the rest of the way, as Kentucky got the 55-48 win.

It was eerily similar to the UCLA game in Los Angeles, where Trevor Releford made back-to-back steals and buckets to turn a five-point deficit into a tie game, only to see the Bruins reel off eight straight to close it out.

When you play this Kentucky team, you expect to get outrebounded.

When you play ANY Kentucky team, you expect to see them shoot more free throws.

Both occurred Tuesday, and in numbers that were too sizable to overcome. The Cats had a decisive 41-27 advantage on the glass, and made seven more free throws than Alabama attempted.

From a team standpoint, the Tide failed to win a regular season game away from Coleman Coliseum, which obviously isn’t what you want.

However, from a professional standpoint, it hasn’t been anywhere near as miserable an experience as one might think.

Despite the struggles and disappointment over their lack of success, Coach Grant, his staff, and the players have been great to deal with – never taking out their frustrations for even a moment with those of us that travel with them.

And while I’ve seen more than my share of snow and late-game heartbreak, as a broadcaster, it’s hard to complain about a season that started at an NBA arena (American Airlines in Dallas), and also included stops along the way at Madison Square Garden, Pauley Pavilion, and Rupp Arena.

I’m a lucky man.