BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama front star Brandon Millerwho is recovering from a groin injury, failed to score for the first time this season when he beat the Crimson Tide Texas A&M Corpus Christi 96-75 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.
Miller, who averaged 19.7 points per game, the highest on the team, played only 19 minutes and missed all five goals. He played an average of 33.2 minutes per game while in the league.
A projected lottery pick, Miller has 5 bounces, 3 assists and 3 redirects.
Alabama coach Nate Oats said Miller injured his groin during his win over the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship match on Sunday.
Oats said: “It’s great to be able to give a 96 point and Brandon doesn’t score any. “…We tried to get him to play for a limited number of minutes. We were able to keep him under 20. Hopefully he can get a lot of rehabilitation today and tomorrow and look more like him on Saturday.”
For his part, Miller downplayed the severity of the injury. When asked if that was the reason he was benched for the duration of the game, he said, “If that’s what you want to call it… we can do like So.”
“I feel like I’m just there to support my team,” he added.
Miller said the wound “is getting better day by day.”
When asked if he wants to fight maryland on Saturday, he replied, “Of course.”
Texas A&M Corpus Christi coach Steve Lutz joked on Wednesday that the Islanders would need Miller to be sick for them to stop him.
“I mean, he doesn’t score, you know, I don’t know that you can credit our defense so much,” Lutz said on Thursday. “Maybe he had a bad night. I really don’t know. I know I’ve seen him on tape and he’s really, really good. Um, so for us, the same thing. each other completed the work that we did with him was a feather of our hat.
“But I don’t expect that to happen again to be honest with you.”
Miller downplayed the seriousness of the threats he said he received for his alleged involvement in the murders of his former teammate Darius Miles and another man, who was charged for the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris on January 15.
During the trial last month, a police officer testified that Miles texted Miller asking him to bring a gun to Miles early in the morning when the shooting occurred. Miller has not been charged and the university has described Miller as a cooperating witness, not a suspect.
Oats said Wednesday that an armed security guard had been assigned to protect Miller because of the threats.
Whether it’s social media or email, Miller said he’s received threats “through all platforms” and he has forwarded them to the university for resolution.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Miller said. “I send it to the right people and then they process it.”
When asked how he kept his focus, he simply said: “I rely on my teammates.”
