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Alabama Basketball: Tide’s second win of the season could be important later

By Ronald Evans

TULSA, OKLAHOMA - MARCH 22: Head coach Nate Oats of the Buffalo Bulls yells from the sidelines during the first half of the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Arizona State Sun Devils at BOK Center on March 22, 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
TULSA, OKLAHOMA - MARCH 22: Head coach Nate Oats of the Buffalo Bulls yells from the sidelines during the first half of the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Arizona State Sun Devils at BOK Center on March 22, 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Alabama basketball took down Furman Tuesday night for its second win of the season. The Paladins are a likely NCAA Tourney team.

The fact Alabama basketball beat Furman Tuesday night will not mean much to some Crimson Tide fans. There was little interest in the game as evidenced by the small crowd in Coleman Coliseum. Unknown to casual basketball fans is the fact Furman was in the Top 25 much of last season.

As Nate Oats works to build Alabama basketball into a consistent winner, every win is big. With a roster, thinned by injuries and one transfer sitting out the season, Oats does not have a complete roster of talent.

Deficiencies were obvious in the Tide’s previous outing. The road game to Rhode Island had a few bright spots but those were dimmed by excessive turnovers, poor perimeter shooting and lack of finishing at the rim. The result was a 14-point loss to the Rams.

Much of practice since the loss was spent on limiting turnovers. On Tuesday night there was no sign any of the turnover practice helped. After making 22 turnovers at Rhode Island, the Crimson Tide did exactly the same against Furman. With Tuesday’s turnovers, the Crimson Tide is averaging 19.5 per game.

As Nate Oats said earlier this week, that number of turnovers will not work against North Carolina. Yes, for those out of the loop, the Tar Heels are next. After North Carolina, Alabama basketball will face either Michigan or Iowa State. Fair warning, it could get ugly in the Bahamas.

Alabama basketball fans will need considerable patience to follow Oats’ first Tide team. It will improve as the season plays out. Players will learn how to play in the style Oats prefers. The head coach will learn more about how to best use his roster.

Beating Furman 81-73, while committing 22 turnovers is pretty impressive. The Crimson Tide was led in scoring by freshman guard, Jaden Shackelford. He scored 25 points on only 12 shots, helped by going 8-for-10 at the foul line. Kira Lewis Jr. added 19 points and John Petty Jr. had 16 points. Lewis was also the leading rebounder for the Crimson Tide with seven.

Oats was not pleased with the turnovers. He was pleased with the team’s mentality, not letting the turnovers affect immediate defensive pressure.

The Tide will go back to work on the turnovers. Nate Oats said,

"The goal isn’t to be the fastest team in the country, that’s never been my goal. The goal is to be the most efficient. The turnovers are killing our efficiency."

Next. Our thanks to Tua. dark

The Crimson Tide will play three games in the Bahamas to close out the November schedule. The next home game is versus Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 6.

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