John Calipari gives his team another big compliment following Alabama win

The scouting report for Alabama was pretty easy: contest the three. The Crimson Tide rank in the top ten nationally in three-point attempts, with 29.7 per game coming into today’s game. They shot a season-low 3-30 (10%) from the outside in the 66-55 loss to the Cats thanks to a combination of impressive perimeter defense and flat-out misses. They weren’t much better inside the arc, shooting 18-64 (28.1%) overall, another season low.

For the most part, John Calipari was pleased with how his team shut down the Tide, who were No. 8 in KenPom‘s offensive efficiency rankings coming in.

“We were really talking about, we’re going to make them take tough twos,” Cal said after the game. “Let’s get out on them and make them take tough twos. We don’t want to open up our stance and give them layups. But we did it some. A couple of guys, they just can’t keep retreating. They open and the guy goes and shoots a layup. And they got a couple of those. But all in all, we kept them from being able to do that. And they missed some open threes. And it wasn’t their night to make threes.”

On his postgame radio show, Calipari heaped more praise on his guys for sticking to the game plan despite a rocky start. The Crimson Tide sprinted out to a 9-1 lead, but the Cats didn’t buckle, tying the game at the 8:55 mark in the first half. At one point in the second half, they led by as many as 17.

“This may be the best team I’ve ever had that locks into a game plan and pulls it off,” Cal said.

That’s yet another bold statement about this group, which Cal said earlier in the week hasn’t had a bad practice yet this season. TyTy Washington also credited the Cats’ focus and preparation in his postgame remarks.

“Ever since that Kansas game, our preparation and stuff, we’ve just been dialed in, locked in,” Washington said. “We just know at the end of the day, we’ve got to come out and give everybody our best fight because at the end of the day you know they’re going to come out and try and go crazy just because of who they’re playing against. Every team, they’re going to try to give us their best shot.

“We are very confident heading into the game and once we’re in the game, we’re not playing to lose. We’re playing to win the game. So just staying confident. We know basketball is a game of runs so once they make their run, it’s important for us to just stay together and fight through adversity and pull through.”

File this under “Things You Love To See With March Just Around The Corner.”