Alabama suffered its second straight SEC loss on Saturday night, following up a tough six-point loss to undefeated Vanderbilt on the road on Wednesday by falling by four at home to previously winless in the SEC Texas by four.
Alabama came out with little energy and effort on both ends of the court, looking discombobulated on offense against a Texas team that had been bad on that end of the floor this season. But worse yet, as has typically been the case this year, was Alabama's effort on the defensive end and on the glass.
The Tide allowed far too many open looks from three, and the 'Horns made them pay. When Texas missed, Alabama didn't do a good enough job of clearing rebounds. Texas won the glass by 10.
It was a frustrating night in Coleman, and one that will likely have long-range repercussions for this team.
The four most important observations from Alabama's loss to Texas
1. Poor decisions by Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway late were costly
Against all odds, Alabama had a legitimate chance to win the game at the end.
Trailing by four, Taylor Bol Bowen connected on a three-pointer to cut the Texas lead to just 86-85. Following a defensive stand and a rebound by Amari Allen, Alabama had a chance to take the lead with under one minute to play.
Labaron Philon decided to settle for a lightly contested three-pointer instead of attacking the rim. His attack is what led to the kickout three for Bol Bowen on the previous possession. Instead, Philon's shot missed, and after a scramble for the ball, Texas ended up with a run-out layup by Tramon Mark to push the lead back to three.
Philon has been struggling from three recently, hitting just four of his last 16 attempts. As lethal as he has been in the paint this year, him not attacking there to try and score or get to the free throw line was baffling.
On the next possession, Aden Holloway did the exact opposite, despite being a 47% three-point shooter on the season and connecting on his two most recent attempts. Holloway attacked the rim, but got his shot rejected from behind, leading to Texas free throws that made it a two-possession game. Alabama never had the ball again down just one possession.
2. Second half free throw shooting really hurt Alabama
Alabama missed eight free throws for the game, seven of which came in the second half. Holloway, normally one of the most reliable in the country at the charity stripe, had two crucial misses.
With a chance to tie or take the lead, Holloway missed the front end of a one-and-one with 6:16 to play. On the next possession, with the same opportunity, Holloway tied the game but missed the second foul shot to take the lead.
A few minutes later, trailing by three, London Jemison got fouled at the rim and nearly converted an and-one. He stepped to the line and missed both. This came shortly after Jemison had a chance to tie the game, but he couldn't convert a wide-open alley-oop.
Allen missed a free throw with under two minutes to play on an and-one opportunity that, had it gone down, Bol Bowen's three-pointer to cut the lead to one would have tied the game. Perhaps Philon doesn't settle for that three-pointer with the game tied. Perhaps he does.
In a close game, free throws can make a huge difference. Alabama's seven misses at the line certainly did that.
3. Taylor Bol Bowen brought the effort when most didn't
There weren't a lot of positives to take away from this game, but I can't ignore the effort that Taylor Bol Bowen played with. Especially when Nate Oats and so many fans have been so critical of him this season.
He brought it tonight against Texas. It didn't end up mattering, but it will make a difference down the road if he brings that level of energy and effort on a nightly basis.
He finished with his first double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He made the clutch three to give the Crimson Tide a chance down the stretch. And he blocked a couple of shots for good measure. He was the MVP for Alabama tonight, albeit in a losing effort.
4. This kind of loss will have repercussions
You can't drop games at home if you want a chance to win an SEC Championship. You especially can't do it against mediocre teams. Texas came into Saturday night's contest ranked 53rd in KenPom. A borderline Top 50 team can't come to your home floor and beat you like that. They especially can't come to your home floor and beat you because they played harder than you did.
And that's exactly what happened to Alabama tonight. Texas played harder. They wanted it more. They deserved to walk out of Coleman Coliseum with the win.
And this game could be the one we look back on that ultimately costs the Crimson Tide a chance at winning the SEC. Maybe drops them a seed line in March. This loss was much more impactful than the Vanderbilt loss on Wednesday.
Oats has a lot of work to do to get the ship righted. Alabama has back-to-back road games next on the docket, at Mississippi State and Oklahoma. If they don't play better than that, they may be staring down the barrel of a disastrous 1-4 start in the league.