By Chris DePew
TideFans.com staff
March 10, 2017
Braxton Key’s second act in the SEC tournament went much smoother than his first, as the freshman forward scored 18 points to lift fifth-seeded Alabama past No. 4 South Carolina 64-53 in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
What did we learn today?: Riley Norris is officially a Gamecock killer. Held scoreless for the first 27-plus minutes, he scored two layups in 20 seconds to move Bama from a one-point deficit to a lead it held the rest of the game. Add in a couple of clutch 3-pointers and suddenly Alabama was going to the semifinals for the first time since 2013. Norris’ 12 points and five rebounds stand alongside his 11-point, 14 rebound game in last month’s four-overtime win in Columbia and his eight 3-pointers in a 27-point outburst at Coleman Coliseum back in January 2016 to hand South Carolina its first loss that season.
What was the best part of the game?: National basketball writers and the broadcast crew may have hated it, but USC’s poor shooting was a thing of beauty for Crimson Tide fans. Conference player of the year Sindarious Thornwell was limited to 16 points and P.J. Dozier added 15, but they needed 25 combined field goal attempts just to make 10. Two other Gamecock starters were held scoreless, including double-digit scorer Duane Notice. For Bama to compete and win against NCAA tournament-caliber teams, it has to play an ugly, grinding style and dominate the boards. Sure enough the Tide outrebounded South Carolina 43-28 and held a 16-6 edge in second chance points.
Who was the star?: Before transferring prior to his senior year, Key was Tennessee’s Mr. Basketball at Nashville’s Christ Presbyterian Academy. He didn’t exactly have a bad game in Thursday’s return to the Music City, but another three-point game wasn’t going to cut it. He got back on track by making six of his eight field goals and was 2-for-3 from long range. The rest of his game didn’t suffer either, as he added seven rebounds and three assists.
What were the biggest concerns?: Long after the books are closed on this season’s team, a lingering memory will be the brutally ineffective attempts at inbounding the ball under the basket. Time and again the Tide has to lob the ball deep into the backcourt just to maintain possession, wasting valuable seconds. It is a significant part of a larger problem, namely that Bama struggles to score on set plays out of clock stoppages. Whether it is improper execution or insufficient creativity, solving that issue needs to be a priority in the offseason for coach Avery Johnson.
What’s next?: Regular season champion and defacto home team Kentucky awaits in the semifinals. Tipoff Saturday is at noon Central on ESPN.
Follow Chris DePew on Twitter @TideFansChris