A 25-point performance by Scotty Pippen Jr. powered Vanderbilt to an upset win over Alabama in the SEC tournament Thursday night.
The two-time first-team All-SEC talent made headlines coming into the game when he called the sixth-seeded Crimson Tide a “very beatable team” following Vandy’s first round win against Georgia.
After backing up his pre-game trash talk with another standout performance, Pippen Jr. revealed after the game that his comments apparently did more than just fire up Alabama’s fans and players.
“Before the game, one of the ’Bama coaches said that, ‘You asked for it so you’re gonna get it,’ or something like that,” he said. “So, it’s kind of good to get back at him and get the win.”
When asked about Pippen Jr.’s remarks, Alabama coach Nate Oats said he “didn’t know anything about that.”
“That’s [not] something we want our assistants doing, is talking to the other players before the game,” Oats said. “That’s probably not the smartest thing to be doing.”
Though the alleged remarks have not been confirmed, the 11th-seeded Commodores did what they needed to do to keep their March Madness dreams alive by defeating their conference foe.
Up next for Vanderbilt is a meeting against coach John Calipari and No. 3 Kentucky, who entered the tournament as the odds on favorite to win it all.
