Alabama Basketball: What we learned from tough loss to Missouri

Alabama basketball suffered a heartbreaker on Saturday.

After an undefeated SEC season, Alabama basketball finally lost a game to a conference foe. It happened in heartbreaking fashion after an amazing comeback against the Missouri Tigers. After fighting in the final minutes to make it a close game, Alabama had three quality chances to take the lead or tie the game towards the end. They missed all three and lost by one possession.

While it hurts to lose in this fashion, we still learned plenty from the loss. Here are the top takeaways from Saturday.

Alabama needs Jordan Bruner

The interior defense is what plagued Alabama in this game. They gave up way too many points in the paint, and they were constantly mismatched in the post. This is not much of a surprise. Alabama lost their two bigs this season, Alex Tchikou went down before the season began, and Bruner has been unavailable for a while now. With players like Reese and Rojas taking more minutes, the defense has been inconsistent.

Tchikou won’t be available this year, but Bruner will be back soon. If he played in this game, Alabama basketball would have probably won. Once the NCAA Tournament rolls around, the Tide need Bruner to succeed.

This team has so much grit

Alabama was off to a slow start, and things weren’t much better to start the second half. Nothing was working on either side of the floor. However, the Tide bounced back and made this a one-point game down the stretch.

Most teams would have given up after such a bad start. Alabama showed grit and determination, and that will matter in the postseason. After this performance, it is safe to say that Alabama will be able to win against any opponent. They might not win every game, but they are tough enough to face any test.

Shots have to fall to guarantee a win

The issue with teams that rely on the three is that they have volatile outcomes. Thankfully, Alabama basketball is tough in the paint and improving on defense. That will keep them in any game. However, games where shots don’t fall have turned into nailbiters. If the Tide want to guarantee a win, they need at least an average night from the perimeter.

This is a devastating loss, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Alabama’s future this season.