[Cactus Jack]

Cacti,  you probably watched the Alabama-Ole Miss game. Did the Rebels give future Alabama opponents a blueprint on how to beat 'Bama or did the Crimson Tide just play bad?  I was thinking maybe they were looking ahead to Kentucky. Sometimes that happens. How did Ole Miss have success in Tuscaloosa?

Alabama didn't play well. Ole Miss had a good game plan, but I don't know how well they could replicate it if they had to use it to beat them two more times, especially with Alabama having more time to adjust. Moreover, I don't know that there are more than a handful of teams basically built to be able to count on throwing sand in the gears of that type of offense.

Beard primarily plays "No Middle". After Texas Tech and Baylor went to back-to-back (excluding COVID) Championship games in 2019 and 2021, it got really popular. Tons of high schools run it now. There's ways to beat it, and teams have adapted more now that some of the concepts those teams have reincorporated aren't as novel and everyone sees it more at earlier levels.

At it's best, it's really anticipatory, strong help-defense that banks on your rotations and ability to close-out. If you (have the time to) prep well, or if you just have players who excel at blow-bys, it's going to be much easier; same for if you are above-average at prep or have physical guards who can play through contact and get to the cup or kick to shooters who know how to find space (depending on what's open). Same if the officials don't let your defenders get very physical or if you can pass through their first rotation and get their bigs out of position while yours get and-ones.

If you are playing against it as Alabama, it's going to be a problem when you play Nelson (who is primarily going to spot up, pull up, or pass (in that order) before he tries to go all the way to the rim, especially against help, and he finishes with 9 points and 5 turnovers.

Unless we're going to give big minutes to Butler, Oweh, Williams, Garrison, and a defender I've not seen on our roster, I don't know that the Alabama/Ole Miss game is going to be a good comparison though. I'd say it's more likely that Pope has to play a line-up where he's stealing minutes and/or uses some "punches", but I doubt we're ripping more than that from the tape.

For Ole Miss, Dia played really well, but I don't know that Kentucky has a 6'9, 250 big-4/undersized 5 that's going to go for 23 and 19. He was the only Ole Miss starter who didn't have three steals-- most of those steals turned into points-- literally stealing possessions in what they hoped to be a game full of low margins and high leverage possessions.

Kentucky just isn't going to turn Alabama over 21 times (at least like the school who still hasn't changed their overtly racist mascot did); if we see 21 Tide turnovers, the game will be in the 110's. Also, if the 'Cats can count on holding Sears to 11, I'd think fans will jump for joy. I really liked Philon most of their games I've watched, but he definitely didn't have his best outing in this one either-- he's not the kind of player that's going to get enough credit for what he actually brings to the team.

All that to say, Ole Miss did have a blueprint, but it's not one that many teams can replicate and even running it perfectly, their personnel still depended on Alabama not winning the 3 point lottery or hitting some 8-0 or 10-2 runs that could take them out of what they were trying to do. Basically, Ole Miss played Final Four level defense and counted on not being burnt by what's probably first weekend offense. If I'm Auburn, Houston, UConn, Gonzaga, or Illinois, there's probably more that I can take from that one than if I'm a Kentucky, Duke, or Michigan.