According to the database at TeamRankings.com, the team has a 5.4 percent chance to get a bid and a 0.6 percent chance to win the SEC Tournament. Barring one of the most improbable conference tournament wins in history, Alabama will not be attending the Big Dance.
But the season is far from over, and Alabama fans have at least one more chance for celebration. on tuesday night, Alabama could still beat Auburn.
“It’s a big rivalry,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. “Auburn’s coming off a great win on the road at Georgia. I’ve been really impressed with the way their team is playing both offensively and defensively. Tough defeat for us last game, but I think our guys are prepared to move on to get ready to play at Auburn. Like I said before, this is a rivalry game. Means a lot, obviously, to our guys and I’m sure, to their team, any time our teams get together. Looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.”
To beat the Tigers in Auburn Arena, Alabama will have to bounce back from its devastating loss to the Commodores, when the Crimson Tide gave up a 15-5 run in the last 4:20 of play.
“My concern was that I felt like we needed to be better defensively,” Grant said. “Vanderbilt is a very talented offensive team. We didn’t do what we needed to do to be able to win that game from a defensive standpoint.”
Starting point guard Ricky Tarrant remains unavailable as he recovers from a leg injury. Grant ruled the junior out of Tuesday night’s game, but stopped short of ruling him out for the season.
With Tarrant out, Alabama will look to junior guard redshirt Retin Obasohan to take on some of the load. In the two games after Tarrant’s injury, Obasohan scored in double-digits for only the second and third times this season, before missing the next two games with a hand injury. Obasohan returned to the court against Vanderbilt and again scored double-digits, recording 10 points on 4-9 shooting.
“Like I said, I’m just trying to do whatever I can do to help the team win,” Obasohan said. “Right now, that means concentrating on Auburn and going down there to get a win.”
Obasohan said the team’s recent losses have come down to a lack of team energy, rather than a lack of talent or tactical acumen.
“It’s a decision,” he said. “Each and every player has to make up their mind to get on the same page and do whatever it takes to come out and end the game victorious.”
