Alabama Defeats Arkansas 79-68
By Tony Breland
Alabama and Head Coach Anthony Grant picked up a big win on Thursday night in Fayettville. The Crimson Tide defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 79-68 to improve to 18-9 (7-6 in SEC). Alabama has set themselves up for an exciting finish to their conference schedule.
Trevor Lacey went to the bench early with an ankle sprain after having scored eight points. “We don’t know anything more than that he sprained his right ankle,” Coach Grant said in his postgame comments. “Our medical staff will update us tomorrow.”
Rodney Cooper and Andrew Steele stepped up for the Crimson Tide on both sides of the ball. Rodney Cooper started the game on the Alabama bench, but would make a major impact for the Tide. Cooper led Alabama with 17 points on 8-13 shooting. He was 1-3 from behind the three-point line. Andrew Steele was second in scoring for the Tide with 15 points. Steele continued to show why he is such a great player; he is great at the fundamentals. He also added three assists and six rebounds.
The Crimson Tide’s chemistry has played a major role in the past several games. It was hard to watch this group of guys lose to LSU on the road. But, since that game, the Crimson Tide has pieced together several great games.
Nick Jacobs had a big game after missing the last game vs. Tennessee with an injury. Jacobs dominated in the paint for most of the game. Nick Jacobs totaled 14 points on 5-5 shooting. He also added four rebounds including two on the offensive side. Alabama forwards Carl Engstrom and Moussa Gueye both played, but neither scored tonight.
BJ Young led the Razorbacks with 21 points and five assists. He was one of the only bright spots on Arkansas’ offense.
It was an all-around effort for the Tide tonight. Alabama erased an early Arkansas lead with a 24-8 run to end the second half. The Crimson Tide dominated on defense in the second half as well. Arkansas was held scoreless for almost five minutes to start the second half.
Thursday night’s win gives Alabama their first win at Arkansas in seven years. Anthony Grant has his team in a great position to finish out the season. Alabama’s next big test will come Saturday at home vs. Mississippi State. With only three games remaining, the Tide could easily finish with 20 wins on the year heading into the conference tournament. The win also gives Alabama a major confidence boost. This team has shown that they can win without JaMychal Green. Although Green should return to game action in the next several games, Alabama can get it done without him.
In regard to the SEC Tournament, the top four teams get a bye in the first round. Currently Alabama is tied with LSU and Tennessee at fourth at 7-6 in conference play. A bye in the first round would be huge for the Tide.
The last couple weeks have been very interesting for the Tide. Starting with a horrible loss to LSU in Baton Rouge and now winning in Fayetteville in dominant fashion. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact JaMychal Green will make in his return. Hopefully his time off the floor has taught him a lesson.