Alabama Prepares For Big Opportunity Against Georgia

Georgia at Alabama
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Coleman Coliseum
Records: Alabama 16-10, 6-7 SEC; Georgia 16-9, 7-6 SEC
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 95.3 The Bear

How big was Alabama’s win last Tuesday night at Auburn after a few days of reflection?

At least for Crimson Tide coach Anthony Grant, it doesn’t mean much anymore.

Instead, his mind is on Georgia and, likely, the opportunity the Bulldogs provide for his Alabama team Saturday night at Coleman Coliseum.

According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm, Georgia enters the contest as one of three SEC teams the Crimson Tide has left on its regular-season schedule that are currently projected to make the NCAA tournament field. But the Bulldogs have struggled of late, dropping two consecutive home games to Auburn and South Carolina, which both rank near the bottom of the SEC standings.

Georgia will also likely be without starting sophomore guard J.J. Frazier – who is averaging 10.3 points per game and 3.3 assists per game – due to a concussion and a hairline fracture in his hand. His likely replacement, fellow sophomore Juwan Parker, is also questionable with an Achilles injury.

“Obviously, he's a very important part of their team,” Grant said of Frazier. “You look at their team, they have all five starters averaging double figures and he's been one of those guys. He's a key part of what they do. We're going to prepare as if he's playing, but we don't know his status as of now.”

Still, Alabama won’t be at full strength, either.

Grant confirmed Friday that starting point guard Ricky Tarrant will miss his seventh straight game due to a lower leg. Tarrant, Alabama’s second-leading scorer this season at 13.1 points per game, has not appeared in a game since he re-aggravated the injury in the second half of the Crimson Tide’s loss against Florida on Jan. 27.

Levi Randolph and Retin Obasohan are two of Alabama’s key contributors who have been forced to step up in Tarrant’s absence.

“We're just trying to do the things that Coach asks us to do,” said Randolph, who is eighth in the SEC in scoring at 15.0 points per game. “We're trying to stay consistent. We have a lot of great players on this team so we trust in everybody and we're just trying to play together.”

Obasohan, a redshirt junior from Antwerp, Belgium, has played in four of the six games, including three starts, since Tarrant has been out. During that stretch, Obasohan has averaged 12.3 points per game, up significantly from his season average of 4.1 points.

When asked if and how his game has improved during Tarrant’s absence, Obasohan played down his impact.

“It’s not about me individually. It’s always about the team, and that’s always what we want to do – it’s the team first,” he said. “We just come in every day, do what we’re asked to do and go out there and execute it to the best of our abilities.”

Watch the video of Friday’s press conference below: