Alabama basketball unveils secret weapon at end of UT loss that could help in NCAA Tournament

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With a couple minutes left in the Alabama basketball team's 68-59 loss at Tennessee Wednesday, the Crimson Tide unveiled something it's hardy showed − or needed to show − in a last-ditch effort to make a comeback: the full-court press.

It didn't help. By the time coach Nate Oats called for 94-foot pressure, Tennessee's defense had already done more than enough to win the game. But as the Crimson Tide turns toward the remainder of the SEC schedule and the postseason to follow, it could prove to be a more valuable weapon than it was on Wednesday.

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"It's a full-court man press. We work on that a little bit in practice," said freshman guard Jaden Bradley. "We've got a lot of guys on our team that can defend, so it's something we might have to start using more to start speeding teams up and not let them get into their offense so easily."

Alabama (22-4, 12-1 SEC) has been dominant enough with its half-court defense this season to position itself as the nation's No. 1-ranked team entering the loss to UT. But the Crimson Tide's roster is perfectly constructed for full-court pressure, with its combination of athleticism, length and depth. A more extensive use of its press would test physical stamina and typically comes with the downside of a few extra fouls. But with the depth on the bench that UA coach Nate Oats has to work with, fatigue and fouls would be of little concern.

"We haven't needed it. ... When you get down, you've got to go to it. And we do have enough depth. We can go smaller and quicker at (center)," Oats said. "Or you can put a rim protector like Charles (Bediako) back there. Hopefully we won't need to go to it too much. We haven't been down like that late in a game much this year. But if we need to, we can do it."

Oats, plainly enough, considers the press more of a tool to cut into a deficit than to build a lead.

But when the Crimson Tide reaches tournament play and inevitably plays to tighter scores, full-court pressure just might be a weapon for a team that has plenty of them already.

Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.