Southeast Conference leader Alabama hopes to get back on track when he hits the road again to face South Carolina on Tuesday night in Columbia, SC
Both teams are coming out of defeats last weekend, with No. 10 Crimson Tide (15-5, 10-1 SEC) losing the 88-85 decision at No. 18 Missouri and the Gamecocks (5-7, 3-5) losing 75-59 at home to the state of Mississippi.
The loss to Mizzou interrupted Tide’s ten-game winning streak at the conference, which was interrupted by a 66-61 defeat at the time. 24 Oklahoma at the SEC / Big 12 Challenge on January 30.
The setback for the Tigers did not take Tide out of the lead of the conference, but tightened the race. Missouri (13-3, 6-3) is in the middle of a game against LSU, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas for second place.
“We are in a dog fight now for the league title and they have the tiebreaker,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said of Missouri. “We are busy in these last seven games. We have to play much better on Tuesday against South Carolina than (against Missouri). We have to start the game much better, for sure.”
Tide fell behind in early Missouri and lost 22 points with just over 13 minutes left before staging a furious high that ended with a short basket. Herbert Jones missed a tray and had his attempt under the basket in the next possession of Bama’s ball blocked in the final seconds with low tide by one point.
After Xavier Pinson hit two free throws to give Mizzou a three-point lead with 4.2 seconds remaining, Jaden Shackelford’s 3-point draw was wrong on the buzzer.
Shackelford’s error left him with just two points out of 3 in his last 11 attempts in the last two games, but Oats is confident that the long-distance threat he normally needs will recover.
“I think he is a very good sniper and I think the law on averages will generate a very fast average and he will start,” said Oats. “We really have to make Herb healthy.”
Jones is playing with a hand injury while carrying a larger load with reserve Jordan Bruner with a knee injury. Bruner is expected to return at the end of this season.
“Obviously he will help us,” said Oats. “We were playing very well. Our best basketball was probably when he fell. If we can bring him back in a few weeks, I think he will help us a lot.”
The Gamecocks appeared to be back in the game when they won 72-66 in Florida last week, but coach Frank Martin lamented his lack of resistance in the loss to the state of Mississippi.
“It is disappointing that we cannot play two good games in a row,” he said. “It is a roller coaster now and it is really disappointing.”
Gamecocks hit just 31.1 percent and Bulldogs beat South Carolina 46-30.
“We didn’t make enough shots,” said Martin, “and we were not determined to deal with the physicality of the game.”
– Field-level media