Alabama basketball shook off a rough start, falling behind by eight and scoring just 12 points in the first nine minutes of action. But as it tends to happen for Nate Oats teams, the avalanche was only a moment away.
It happened over the final four minutes of the first half, when Alabama outscored Arkansas State 21-4 over that span, including a 14-0 run to finish the half, to turn a game that was tied at 30 into a 51-34 halftime lead for the Crimson Tide.
Back-to-back threes by Amari Allen and then a buzzer-beating three by Drew Fielder capped the explosion to end the half. Alabama never really looked back from there, though the Red Wolves continued to fight to keep the game somewhat respectable.
The 101-84 win pushes Alabama to a 2-0 start.
Here are our biggest observations from the win:
1. Amari Allen recorded the 5th triple double in program history
Allen got off to a slow start and looked a bit sluggish himself on the offensive end. Then he went on a run to end the half, and you look up and he's got 13-8-6 at halftime. He does that a lot. He finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. That's the fifth triple-double in Alabama history.
He joins Roy Rogers, who recorded two in seven days back in 1996, Kira Lewis in 2020, and Aaron Estrada in 2024.
Allen turned his ankle late in the second half, which caused the Coleman Coliseum faithful to hold their breath. He was helped to the bench, but was walking fine and was all smiles after the final whistle.
2. Alabama overcame a poor shooting night thanks to its effort on the glass
While they didn't sustain it the way Oats would have preferred, the overall effort on the glass was strong. And it was much needed. Alabama shot just 36% from the floor and 30% from three, which could have led to a difficult night on the offensive end. But Alabama still managed 101 points.
Why? Because they finished +12 on the glass and corralled 25 offensive rebounds. The big man quartet of Brandon Garrison, Drew Fielder, Jamarion Davis-Fleming, and Keitenn Bristow brought down 31 of the 58 boards, living up to what Fielder preached about after the win over Sam Houston.
It was a good night from the bigs as a whole. Garrison had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Fielder had 16 points with 5 rebounds. Davis-Fleming had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals. Bristow had 7 points, 9 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots.
3. Cole Cloer is in a real funk
After playing so well through the two exhibition games he appeared in, Cole Cloer has begun the regular season in a real funk after sitting out the Auburn exhibition game with an injury. After putting up just 2 points on 1-of-9 against Sam Houston, he followed that up with 3 points on 1-of-7 in 21 minutes against Arkansas State.
He looks like a shell of the player we saw against Furman and Ole Miss. He's certainly pressing a bit, forcing shots up and not finding himself lost in the flow of the offense. He'll get back into being the player we saw during the exhibition slate soon, but it's a rough start to the regular season for the talented NC State transfer.
4. Anderson Diaz has a long way to go
The game is moving really fast for the reclassified freshman guard. Diaz was held scoreless in his 10 minutes and turned the ball over four times.
None of that is surprising. He should be a senior in high school right now, and he missed a ton of practice time this fall with the elbow injury.
He'll continue developing in the background, but with Aden Holloway set to return for Monday's game against Oakland, minutes will be difficult to come by for Diaz until things slow down.
5. Aden Holloway's return will take Alabama's offense to another level
Holloway's suspension is officially over. He'll return to the court for Monday's matchup against Oakland at home. That will give him three games to get acclimated before Alabama travels to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival.
Without Holloway, Alabama still managed 197 points in two games. Imagine what it's going to look like with one of the most efficient offensive players in the country on the court.
Remember, Holloway put up 16.8 points per game on 48/44/86 shooting splits as a junior. His return will be significant, and this team is pretty good without him.
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