Alabama Basketball: Searching for form, Tide overcomes slow start

Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide ties school record 16 SEC wins after a slow start against Georgia.

The Georgia Bulldogs roared out to a 14-point lead before Nate Oats’ Alabama Basketball team got going. The Crimson Tide cut Georgia’s lead to six at the half and took an early second-half lead it never relinquished. The 89-79 Alabama Basketball victory pushed its SEC record to 16-2, tying the most SEC wins for Alabama ever.

While the Bulldogs were making half of their first-half threes, the Crimson Tide struggled outside the arc. The Tide took 12 first-half threes and made only two for 16.7 percent. At the half, Herbert Jones and Jahvon Quinerly had combined for two points and eight turnovers. The Tide also had zero points from the foul line, missing its two attempts.

The second half was a different game. Jones and Quinerly came alive and shots began falling. The Crimson Tide shot 63.3 percent in the second half, including 80 percent from outside the arc. Five Alabama basketball players finished with double-digit points, led by Jahvon Quinerly with 18 points. John Petty Jr. had 15 points and Jaden Shackelford added 14 points. Alabama Basketball doubled the Bulldogs on the glass in the second half, pulling down 24 rebounds to 12 for Georgia.

Turnovers were a Tide weakness with 22 for the team. A big reason why the Tide overcame the turnover total was the Bulldogs were guilty of giving up the ball 20 times.

An always candid Nate Oats shared his observations after the game.

"Georgia really came ready to play. I thought at the start of the game, they were a lot more ready than we were.We can’t afford in Nashville to come out like we did tonight.To go 16-2, tied for the best record in SEC history at #Alabama, it shows a lot about what this team is made of. I’m proud of the guys. We’ve gotta get back playing better, more like the second half than the first half going into Nashville."

The Alabama Crimson Tide will play in Nashville on Friday, against the winner of the Mississippi State vs. Kentucky game. Oats calculated the Crimson Tide defensive effort was acceptable for about “28 minutes” against the Bulldogs. That length of lapse will not be acceptable in tournament play.

Defensive lapses and too many turnovers frustrate Crimson Tide fans. Any concern is tempered by the Tide’s ability to explode offensively. Offensive production was evident in the second half Saturday as the Tide scored 59 points.

Oats also gave new injury information on the recovery of Jordan Bruner. He said Bruner hurt his ‘other’ knee, two weeks after having knee surgery, which required a second knee surgery.