Maryland coach Kevin Willard was either flattering Alabama or teasing them before their NCAA Tournament second round game late Saturday night at Legacy Arena.
No. 8 seed Maryland (22-12) and No. 1 seed Alabama (30-5) play on TBS at 9:40 p.m. The winner advances to the round of 16 in Louisville next week.
“The strange thing about this group is, I think this is the most talented squad I've seen in college basketball since the 1993-94 Kentucky team,” Willard said Friday.
Kentucky coach Rick Pitino coached Walter McCarthy, Tony Delk, and Travis Ford. Willard coached the Boston Celtics and Louisville under Pitino.
Alabama as Good as Rick Pitino's Kentucky Teams “Antoine Walker, Walter McCarthy, this squad reminds me of that team with the length, athleticism, how unselfish they play,” Willard remarked.
That Kentucky team lost to Marquette, 75-63, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 27-7, 12-4 SEC. Kentucky is two seeded behind Alabama. Maryland is two seeds behind Marquette.
“I'm more worried about Alabama's roster than the crowd,” Willard remarked. Although Alabama is 50 miles away, his squad will visit tonight.
Willard must revisit Kentucky's 1993-94 roster. No Antoine Walker. He was a 1994-95 rookie. Willard may have confused seasons.
In 1994-95, the Wildcats improved to 28-5 and reached the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament. 14-2 SEC champions. North Carolina's 74-61 win in Birmingham eliminated Kentucky from the Final Four.
Kentucky and Pitino won again in 1996. Willard was right about the rosters in any year. Kentucky's mid-1990s team was deep and athletic like Alabama's.
Kentucky and Pitino won again in 1996. Willard was right about the rosters in any year. Kentucky's mid-1990s team was deep and athletic like Alabama's.
Freshman guard/forward Brandon Miller leads the Tide in scoring and rebounding with 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. Junior guard Mark Sears averages 12.6, 2.6 assists.
Noah Clowney, a 6-foot-10 freshman forward, scores 10.1 and rebounds 7.9. Seven Alabama players have 25+ 3-pointers. Miller has 103 on 39 percent shooting, followed by Sears with 69 on 35 percent.
Quinerly has 41 at 34%. Alabama defends. Alabama allows 28 percent 3-pointers, third in the country. Alabama's 10 3-pointers per game rank ninth in the nation, and opponents may rush to keep up.