4 gritty observations as Alabama basketball guts out a pivotal win over Texas A&M

In what effectively felt like a must-win game at home following a blowout loss to Florida on Sunday, Alabama basketball dug deep to gut out a 100-97 win over Texas A&M, which came to Coleman on Wednesday night in first place in the SEC.

It was dicey, and Texas A&M's "Bucky Ball" style certainly caused some problems, but Alabama made the plays it had to make down the stretch to pull out a critical victory.

A big shot by Latrell Wrightsell, and some crafty finishes at the rim by Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway in the closing minutes helped the Crimson Tide earn a massive win.

The most important observations from Alabama's win over Texas A&M

1. Alabama's guards were clutch down the stretch

After getting bullied in Gainesville on Sunday, Alabama's guards responded against Texas A&M at home. Alabama cut the turnovers down from 18 against Florida to just six on Wednesday night despite the consistent full-court pressure from the Aggies.

And it was big-time shot-making by the trio of Philon, Holloway, and Wrightsell down the stretch that won the game.

Philon was clearly hampered in the second half after a collision with Rylan Griffen. He had limited burst in the second half, but still relentlessly attacked the basket and came up with a couple of clutch threes to boost.

Trailing by one with 1:11 to play, Wrightsell splashed a three that put the Crimson Tide up by two. After a stop on the other end, Holloway made a circus shot plus a foul to put Alabama up by four in what was effectively the game-winning basket:

Holloway led the way with 20 points, with Philon pouring in 17, and Wrightsell adding 16.

2. Nate Oats shortened his rotation - and stopped the two-big nonsense

Following the addition of Charles Bediako, Oats had transitioned to a two-big starting lineup for two of the three games, starting Bediako at the five and sliding Aiden Sherrell down to the four. Against A&M, he started Sherrell at the five and brought Bediako off the bench. Hopefully, that will continue.

Taylor Bol Bowen was out with an injury, so Oats had to shorten his rotation anyway, but both Jalil Bethea and Noah Williamson didn't play. Oats only played eight guys, bringing Bediako, Houston Mallette, and London Jemison off the bench.

Speaking of Mallette and Jemison...

3. Houston Mallette and London Jemison were huge off the bench

Mallette and Jemison, in particular, came up big. Those two combined for 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting from three. Mallette added his customary hustle plays, none bigger than his tap-out rebound that led to a three at the first-half buzzer for Wrightsell. In a three-point game, Alabama might not pull out the win without it.

Jemison went on a personal 7-0 run in the first half that helped Alabama build an early nine-point lead, though it quickly evaporated.

Alabama hadn't gotten much from its bench unit in recent games. Mallette and Jemison gave Oats exactly what he needed against the Aggies.

4. Alabama's defense has to get better

Alabama got a couple of key stops late in the game, but for the most part, it was another frustrating effort on that end of the floor.

A&M shot 49% from the field and 42% from three, with the Crimson Tide consistently falling asleep on backdoor cuts and allowing way too many easy baskets around the rim. If it wasn't an easy bucket around the rim, then chances are they were giving up an open three-pointer.

Alabama survived those struggles at home, but that level of play isn't going to be good enough to get them where they want to go.