The Georgia Bulldogs delivered a devastating blow to Alabama’s NCAA tournament chances with a 60-55 win in Tuscaloosa.
With Yante Maten out due to injury, it was once again the JJ Frazier show for Mark Fox’s team.
Frazier scored 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting and put the Bulldogs on his back down the stretch.
No other Georgia player scored in double-figures, with Juwan Parker being the team’s second leading scorer with nine points.
The Crimson Tide got out to a slow start, which proved to be the difference in the game. Alabama didn’t hit double-digits until 9:02 remaining in the first half when Ar’Mond Davis knocked down a three.
Davis led the team in scoring with 17 points while Braxton Key added 16.
Blake’s Analysis:
This loss likely burst Alabama’s NCAA tournament bubble.
Yes, the Crimson Tide would still technically have a chance if they win their last three regular season games and make a deep run in the SEC tournament.
But this loss certainly makes the road even tougher.
The Crimson Tide’s biggest weaknesses have been well-documented. When they struggle to score, they really struggle to score. Some issues come from silly turnovers, some issues come from bad shot selection.
Those problems should be alleviated next season when players like Collin Sexton and John Petty enter the mix (and the young players on this team are a year older), but it definitely hasn’t been pretty at times on the offensive end of the floor this season.
Of course, there was another issue in this particular game: Alabama couldn’t stop Frazier. There are lots of dynamic scorers in this league, but Frazier might be the player that is most impossible to guard when he’s at his best.
He knew what it would take to score a road win with Maten on the sidelines, and he delivered.
This win won’t put Georgia in the NCAA conversation just yet, but with Frazier playing at this level, anything is possible in the team’s last three regular season games (vs. LSU, vs. Auburn, vs. Arkansas).
I said in last week’s mailbag (over at the old home of BlakeLovellSports.com) that the Bulldogs were the team that could make a sleeper run in the SEC tournament.
That was before Maten went out with his injury.
Even if Maten is out when the team hits Nashville in a few weeks, Frazier’s incredible play could still be enough to fuel Georgia to a deep run.