Good morning West Alabama. It is Wednesday, January 15, 2025. This is the 15th day of the year with 350 days remaining in the year.

Wednesday Morning Observations:

There are just two undefeated teams remaining in Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball play and neither are named the University of Alabama. The 4th ranked Tide stumbled and bumbled its way to an embarrassing 74-64 upset by #21 Ole Miss in front of a sellout crowd at Coleman Coliseum last night.

Tide Head Coach Nate Oats summed up the fiasco well, "Ole Miss came to play, and we did not." Bama looked more like they were playing a pickup game at the park than a matchup between two top 25 college teams on national television.

Ball security for the Tide was just a rumor and shot selection was just a case of throwing the ball up and hoping it would go in. The nation's highest scoring team struggled to score 65 points against an aggressive and intimidating Reb defense.

Oats was correct saying his team played defense well enough to win but on the offensive end of the court it was another story altogether. The Rebs lead the SEC in turning opponents over and they increased those statistics dramatically last night, forcing 21 Tide turnovers. Well, some of the turnovers were forced, others came from simply horrible ball handling.

Mississippi looked like the better, more dominant team for most of the ballgame. Alabama looked like they were looking for the tag number of the bus that hit them.

It doesn't get any easier Saturday when Alabama visits 8th ranked Kentucky in an 11:00am contest at Rupp Arena.

The question being asked this morning is, "Has Bama been eating rat poison or are they just that bad?"

(Opinions expressed in Morning Briefing are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the ownership, management, staff or sponsors of Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.)


Weather:

Models are beginning to trend in forecasting some type of wintry precipitation in Alabama next week. Some models show it happening Tuesday and Wednesday while others forecast a longer Tuesday through Thursday event. At this point, the risk ranges from Limited north of a Tuscaloosa to Reform line, to Elevated between Tuscaloosa and Demopolis and Significant from just north of Demopolis to the south.

What is not known at this point is if the wintry precipitation will be snow, sleet or freezing rain. Some models show at least one inch of wintry precipitation possible.

There is an Excessive Cold Rist for all of West Alabama from Sunday through mid-next week.

Stay tuned to Operation Storm Watch on all Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa radio stations and/or click on TuscaloosaThread.com for later updates.

Read More: Increasing Possibility of a Winter Storm to Impact Alabama Soon

The Forecast:

Today
Sunny, with a high near 55. Calm wind.

Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 59. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 30. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night

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Topping the News:

Search Expands but No Luck So Far
There has been no luck so far in the intense search for a missing Marion County woman in Walker County. Multiple agencies are involved in the search.Law enforcement brought in K9s and ATVs in their search for around Exit 22 on I-22 in Walker County yesterday.  39-year-old Chastity Terry has not been seen since she showed up on a Love’s truck stop’s security camera in Jasper last Friday. Hamilton Police Chief Jordon Carter says no evidence has been found so far.Terry’s is thought to have been traveling with Charles Williams Jr. to buy drugs in Birmingham. He is in jail of drug charges.

Authorities are not certain if Terry, who sometimes goes by the last name of Galbreath, was in the car with Williams or had exited and was walking.


 

Bryant High Student Arrest for Handgun Possession

A 15-year-old was arrested at Paul Bryant High yesterday and charged with illegal possession of a gun on school property. The school resource officer made the arrest without incident after being informed that a student possessed a firearm.

Read More: 15-Year-Old Student Brings Gun to Tuscaloosa’s Bryant High


 

Groundbreaking Tuscaloosan Dies at 80

Dr. Archie Wade, the first black faculty member at the University of Alabama has passed away at the age of 80. Dr. Wade was a Stillman College graduate and was the school’s first player to be drafted by Major League Baseball and played with the St. Louis Cardinals organization before returning to Stillman to coach basketball and baseball.

Read More: University of Alabama Mourns Death of Its First Black Faculty Member


 

West End Shooting Sends Victim to Hospital

Last night a shooting at the Exxon gas station at the corner of 15th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in West End sent one person to DCH Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Tuscaloosa Police confirmed the incident took place around 11:00pm. 29-year-old Jermaine Lockett was taken into custody. He is charged with attempted murder, tampering with physical evidence and illegally possessing a firearm.

Read More: Tuscaloosa Man Charged With Attempted Murder for Tuesday Shooting

Read More: Man Shot in West Tuscaloosa Tuesday Night, Suspect Apprehended


 

Former Crimson Tide and NFL Star Arrested

Former Alabama and NFL defensive lineman, Marcell Dareus, has been arrested in Hoover on domestic violence charges. Per AL.com, the 34-year-old turned himself in to the Jefferson County Jail at 2:32 p.m. Monday. Dareus was later released after posting a $36,000 bond.

Read More: Former Alabama DL Arrested For Domestic Violence


 

More Music Coming to Tuscaloosa River Market

Thanks to a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) a full half-year of live music is coming this spring and summer to the facility on the banks of the Black Warrior River.

The ASCA awarded the River Market $5,200 as part of its $1.2 million Harvesting Heritage program, which funds public events throughout the state.

Read More: Grant to Extend Music Season at TRM


 

Tuberville Prods Defense Secretary Nominee on DEI/Woke Military

During yesterday’s Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, Alabama Senior Republican U-S Senator Tommy Tuberville alleged the U-S military, and the military academies need redirection because they are 'hotbeds' for left wing, woke and DEI politics.

During the discussion, Sen. Tuberville asked Hegseth about his plan to improve military recruitment numbers, which have been in steep decline the last four years. Tuberville claims politization of the military has damaged recruitment. Hegseth told the committee military readiness should outweigh politics.


 

Alabama's Big 10 Mayors Huddle in Tuscaloosa

Alabama's Big Ten mayors were in Tuscaloosa Sunday through Tuesday, and they had crime on their mind - what to do about it. Chief among the discussion were public safety initiatives and crime fighting technology.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox repeated his oft stated problem with the criminal justice system. He believes the biggest problem is not arresting criminals but keeping in jail once they are there.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department also briefed the mayors on their state-of-the-art crime lab operations and how they are using drones in public safety operations.

The mayor also discussed how online sales are negatively impacting municipal sales taxes and how that is hurting funding for roads, public safety and schools.

The state's Big Ten Mayor's organization meet regularly to discuss common problems and solutions.



Topping Sports News:

Bad Night Spells Defeat for Bama Men's Basketball

Tide Coach Nate Oats has been concerned about his basketball team's propensity for turnovers, especially unforced turnovers. His worry was justified last night at Coleman Coliseum as his 4th ranked team Alabama Squad (14-3 overall3-1 SEC) were humbled by #21 Ole Miss 74-64. 

Oats summed up the disastrous game, "We only had 11 assists to 21 turnovers. Defensively, we had some mistakes and should've been better, but we lost this game on the offensive end. We lost the game with our turnovers, our lack of effort on the offensive glass, guys that we count on to get offensive rebounds came through with nothing for us tonight. We got to do a better job making sure our guys, mentally, are ready to go and understand how tough these games are every night in the SEC."  

Bama is at 8th ranked Kentucky for an 11:00am game Saturday.

Read More: Alabama Basketball Takes First SEC Loss Against Ole Miss

Read More: Nate Oats After Alabama Loss To Ole Miss

Read More: Ole Miss HC Chris Beard Following 74-64 Victory over Alabama Tuesday


 

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Have a Happy Hump Day!!

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