There was no joy in Tuscaloosa Tuesday night. Alabama basketball took its worst loss of the season, 87-79 to the SEC also-ran, Vanderbilt Commodores. Vanderbilt won just its second SEC game in two seasons. It could not have come at a worse time for the Crimson Tide.
Barring a highly improbable SEC Tournament Championship, any post-season play for Alabama basketball will be in the NIT. Now at 16-14, the Tide might not even get an NIT home game.
How the disappointing loss occurred is the Commodores made 15-of-28 shots outside the arc, for 53.6 percent. Saben Lee, who was nearly unstoppable for the Dores, scored 34 points, including 6-of-7 on threes.