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Men's Basketball
Tide Upsets 17th-Ranked Notre Dame
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Avery Johnson is quickly catching the eyes of the nation as his young men in Crimson and White have knocked off their second top-25 team in three days. Last night the boys from Bama took down 17th-ranked Notre Dame 74-73 at the AdvoCare Invitational Tournament in Orlando, Florida. It was senior guard Retin Obasohan with a last-second layup to ice the game for the Tide. He was also tied as Alabama's high-scorer with 19 points.
Besides Obasohan, junior Shannon Hales had 19 points on the night. Graduate transfer Arthur Edwards scored his career-high in the contest pouring in 15 points. Leading the team in rebounds was junior forward Michael Kessens with nine, as well as scoring eight points. Key reserve man Riley Norris was injured in the first half of the game and was unable to return to action. Starters Dazon Ingram and Jimmie Taylor fouled out of the game near the end of the game.
The Crimson Tide travels to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for a Friday, December 4th contest with Southern Miss. Game time is 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
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Alabama Football
Saban Calls Florida A Dangerous Team
Alabama head coach Nick Saban disagrees somewhat with many of the assessments of the Florida Gators' offense, and more accurately their ability to move the ball and score. In Sunday's media teleconference Saban said that Florida was "a dangerous team," according to AL.com. He warns about taking their offense lightly.
Saban said, "They still have a lot of good players. I think they've shown an ability to run the ball. They have a very good back. They've got a great receiver. This is a good football team and I don't see them struggling. They played against a very good Florida State team, had the ball in the red zone a couple of times and didn't score or that game would have gone right down to the wire. We have a lot of respect for Florida and their offense."
The Florida offense really isn't at the top of the heap nationally in the offensive department. Their passing game is 74th in country, while their running game is 104th. They will be going up against an Alabama defense that is ranked second in the nation, allowing 264.6 yards per game.
The players of whom Saban was referring is receiver Demarcus Robinson and running back Kelvin Taylor. Robinson leads the Gator receivers in receptions with 36 catches for 416 yards. Taylor has 627 yards on 167 carries. Saban had recruited Taylor out of high school and knows his capabilities.
Saban commented, "We thought Kelvin was a fantastic player in high school and one of the top backs in the country and certainly somebody that would fit nicely into our style of play. He certainly hasn't disappointed, in terms of the production he's had this year and the way he's competed and the way he's played. He's everything and more than I thought he'd be. I'd love to have him here."
Alabama and Florida play for the SEC Championship this Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia. Game time is 3 p.m. CT.
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Bama Big Favorite Over Florida
The second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide have opened as 17-point favorites over the Florida Gators in this Saturday's Southeastern Conference Championship game, according to OddsShark.com. Bama opened as a 12-point favorite with VegasInsider but jumped to 17.5 points. 5Dimes has the Tide at 17.5.
This will be the fifth trip for the Crimson Tide to the SEC Championship game under head coach Nick Saban. Game time is 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, December 5th. CBS will broadcast the game live.
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Associated Press College Football Poll
The Alabama Crimson Tide are number two this week in the A.P. Poll. There are a total of four SEC teams in the poll, with Bama the highest. The SEC teams in this week's poll are ALABAMA (2), Ole Miss (16), Florida (18) and LSU (23).
Four other teams from the Southeastern Conference also received votes. They are Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi State.
These are the teams receiving votes that Alabama has faced this season: Ole Miss (16), Florida (18-will face this week), LSU (23), Wisconsin (25), Arkansas (29), Tennessee (31) and Mississippi State (35).
Here are the Top 25 teams in the nation:
1 Clemson
2 ALABAMA
3 Oklahoma
4 Iowa
5 Michigan State
6 Ohio State
7 Stanford
8 North Carolina
9 Notre Dame
10 Florida State
11 TCU
12 Baylor
13 Northwestern
14 Oklahoma State
15 Oregon
16 Ole Miss
17 Houston
18 Florida
19 Michigan
20 Temple
21 Utah
22 Navy
23 LSU
24 USC
25 Wisconsin
Others: Georgia, Western Kentucky, BYU, Arkansas, South Florida, Tennessee, Michigan, Washington State, UCLA, Mississippi State, San Diego State, Arkansas State, Toledo, West Virginia
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Coaches Poll
The Alabama Crimson Tide is ranked 2nd in this week's Coaches Poll. Four SEC teams made the poll. They are ALABAMA (2), Florida (15), Ole Miss (17) and LSU (23).
Here are the Top 25 teams in the country:
1 Clemson
2 ALABAMA
3 Iowa
4 Oklahoma
5 Michigan State
6 Ohio State
7 Stanford8 North Carolina
9 Notre Dame
10 TCU
12 Baylor
13 Northwestern
14 Oklahoma State
15 Florida
16 Oregon
17 Ole Miss
18 Houston
19 Michigan
20 Utah
21 Temple
22 Navy
23 LSU
24 USC
25 Wisconsin
