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Alabama Men's Basketball
Season Ends For the Crimson Tide
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Falls 72-54 To Creighton In NIT
Alabama Forward Donta Hall
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Kent Gidley
The 2015-16 Basketball season officially ended for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team (18-15) last night with a 72-54 loss to Creighton in the opening round of the 2016 National Invitational Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska.
Alabama head coach AVERY JOHNSON ends his first season with the Tide with a winning record, post season play and has matched the record for the most wins by a first-year head basketball coach at the University of Alabama with Wimp Sanderson (1980-81). Add to that the fact that he led Bama to wins over four AP Top-25 teams, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since 2003-04, and you have quite a first year resume.
"You have to give Creighton the credit," Johnson stated. "Creighton has a great coach and veteran players, so they know what they're doing. It was not our best night. We didn't have the energy that we had when we beat a good Ole Miss team in the SEC Tournament. We struggled a little bit at the end of the year, which is why we didn't get in the NCAA Tournament.
"Overall I am proud of our guys. We had 18 wins in our first year and we are changing the culture. We want to become a perennial NCAA Tournament team and I think we've taken a step in the right direction. We set attendance records for average per game attendance (13,110 per game). We beat four ranked teams and won some games this program hadn't won in a very long time. We had a lot to celebrate this year, but we still have a ways to go."
"You have to give Creighton the credit," Johnson stated. "Creighton has a great coach and veteran players, so they know what they're doing. It was not our best night. We didn't have the energy that we had when we beat a good Ole Miss team in the SEC Tournament. We struggled a little bit at the end of the year, which is why we didn't get in the NCAA Tournament.
"Overall I am proud of our guys. We had 18 wins in our first year and we are changing the culture. We want to become a perennial NCAA Tournament team and I think we've taken a step in the right direction. We set attendance records for average per game attendance (13,110 per game). We beat four ranked teams and won some games this program hadn't won in a very long time. We had a lot to celebrate this year, but we still have a ways to go."
Alabama sophomore JUSTIN COLEMAN led the Tide with 18 points on the night. He was one of only two players for Bama to score in double-figures in the contest.
Alabama's leading scorer during the season, RETIN OBASOHAN, was the only other Tide player in double-figures with 13 points. Like the last few games, Obasohan didn't score until well into the game. In fact, last night he didn't even attempt a shot until the 6:02 mark. His first points of the game, and only two points of the first half, came on two free throws. Obasohan ends the season with 580 points on the year, 12th-best in school history. This was the last game in the crimson and white for the young man.
SHANNON HALE scored nine for the Tide, followed by DONTA HALL with five points, RILEY NORRIS with three and then JIMMIE TAYLOR, ARTHUR EDWARDS and MICHAEL KESSENS pumped in two points each.
Freshman Donta Hall brought down a team-leading eight rebounds and had five blocked shots on the night.
The Crimson Tide shot just 17-of-60 from the field (28 percent). In contrast the Blue Jays were 29-of-60 (48 percent) on the night. Coleman sank four of his nine attempts from three-point land, but overall Bama was just 8-of-31 from behind the arc. Creighton led in rebounding also, 45-32.
The Crimson Tide shot just 17-of-60 from the field (28 percent). In contrast the Blue Jays were 29-of-60 (48 percent) on the night. Coleman sank four of his nine attempts from three-point land, but overall Bama was just 8-of-31 from behind the arc. Creighton led in rebounding also, 45-32.
Alabama Guard Riley Norris
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Kent Gidley
Alabama Guard Arthur Edwards
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Kent Gidley
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SEC Gymnastics Championships To Be Broadcast Live
It has been announced that ESPNU and SEC Network are producing the SEC Gymnastics Championship live
on television for the first time ever on Saturday, March 19th. A new
scoring interface adjusted for the quad-meet format, new graphics and a
real-time stream of each individual apparatus will be implemented.
Meg Aronowitz, ESPN Coordinating Producer stated, "We've learned a great deal televising regular-season gymnastics
live for the past two-years, and have seen some incredible opportunities
for growth of the sport on television. The biggest hurdle in producing the sport live, and specifically the SEC Championship, is scoring, and we believe the
graphics interface we’ve developed makes that challenge obsolete."
ESPN has carried the SEC Gymnastics Championship since back in 2010, but the afternoon sessions at 2 p.m. on ESPNU and the evening session at 6 p.m. on SEC Network on March 19th will be the first time the tournament is live in its entirety on national television.
ESPN has carried the SEC Gymnastics Championship since 2010. The
afternoon session (2p.m., ESPNU) and the evening session (6 p.m. SEC
Network) airings on March 19 mark the first time the tournament has been broadcast in its entirety. Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson
Clarke and Courtney Kupets will provide commentary.
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Swimming & Diving Championships Begin Today
Competition begins today for the Alabama swimming and diving team at the women's NCAA Championships on the campus of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets in Atlanta, Georgia. The Tide will get things started off with the 800 freestyle relay, scheduled to get underway at 5 p.m. CT. It's the only even scheduled to today.
The first full day of competition will be tomorrow. Preliminaries will start at 9 a.m. CT and the finals are scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.
Seven swimmers will be involved in competition for UA. Competing in individual events will be senior EMMA SAUNDERS, junior BRIDGET BLOOD, sophomore MIA NONNENBERG and freshman MARIAN YURCHISHIN.
Competing in relays for the Crimson Tide are CAROLINE KORST, TEMARIE TOMLEY and HANNAH MUSSER.
Saunders commented, "I'm really excited for NCAAs. We have a really good group
of girls going, seven of us, and hopefully it will be really good."
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Bama Baseball Goes Down To Southern Miss
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team gave up a season-high 15 hits last night to lose to Southern Miss 9-2 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Those 15 hits led to tying a season-high nine big runs to crush the Tide.
Alabama baseball head coach MITCH GASPARD said, "Southern Miss has a really good club and they played really well tonight. They outplayed us, particularly from the middle of the game on. Their
offense was really good tonight, and we didn't have an answer for them."
The Tide's starting pitcher, MIKE OCZYPOK, picked up his first loss on the season (2-1) after allowing six runs on eight hits as well as one walk. Relieving Oczypok were RAY CASTILLO, ZAC ROGERS and TYLER ADAMS allowing a combines three runs on seven hits and only one strikeout.
CHANDLER AVANT led Alabama's hitting effort with a double, RBI and a scored run going 2-for-3 at the plate.
Alabama faces the LSU Tigers to begin Southeastern Conference play in Baton Rouge in a three-game weekend series. First game is at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, with a 6:30 p.m. CT start time for Saturday and then will close out the series with a 1 p.m. CT start time on Sunday.
