No. 4 Alabama fumbled on its last dime and will head back to Coleman Coliseum looking for an in-conference rebound. A few days after their biggest loss of the season to Oklahoma (24 points), the Crimson Tide (18-3, 8-0) is back in conference play against Southeastern Conference’s Vanderbilt.
Two weeks earlier, the Tide stopped the Commodores on the road in an emotional victory. Head coach Nate Oates acknowledged that the team was not playing to its potential in the follow-up to Missouri and hosting Mississippi State. It reached Alabama on Saturday against the Sooners, having subsequently dropped two spots in the Associated Press poll.
Meanwhile, the Commodores (10-11, 3-5) have lost three of their last four, including a home loss to Kentucky and a six-point road loss to Texas A&M. Oats and co. Not going to panic, but will still be looking for a fast start with tipoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
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pregame
–Seven-foot Vanderbilt fifth-year senior Liam Robbins is making his return against the Tide. He last played on January 14 against Arkansas before being sidelined with a bone bruise and foot sprain. Robbins averaged 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
– Alabama’s usual starting five of Mark Sears, Jaden Bradley, Brandon Miller, Noah Clooney and Charles Bediaco. It would be up to the latter three to stop Robins, who did not play in a 12-point Tide win on January 17.
More Tide Hoops: Alabama guard says Tide felt ‘untouchable’ before beating No. 2 team in Oklahoma
SKARBINSKI: Don’t be mad at Bama. It’s not football and it’s not a march.
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. follow him on twitter @nic_a_alvarez or email him [email protected],
