5 intriguing observations from Alabama basketball's Ballin in Boutwell win over Ole Miss

In Alabama's second of three exhibition games, the Crimson Tide knocked off Ole Miss in a rare SEC matchup in October, 92-84, in the Ballin in Boutwell event in Birmingham.

Nate Oats got exactly what he wanted out of this exhibition with Ole Miss providing a legitimate stress test for his team and exposing issues that Alabama needs to work on before the regular season gets started in just a few short weeks.

Alabama played without three rotation players. Aden Holloway served the second of his five-game suspension, and both Jaxon Richardson and Anderson Diaz remain sidelined.

Exhibition results can be taken with a grain of salt, but let's talk about the biggest observations from the Crimson Tide's eight-point win.

1. Alabama's halfcourt defense showed signs of major progress

The majority of Ole Miss' offense on the night came from 20 Alabama turnovers. When it was a halfcourt game, the Crimson Tide forced the Rebels into nothing but difficult shots. They held them to just 4-of-20 from three and made life difficult throughout the evening in Birmingham.

Playing without Holloway makes the offense sloppier because he's one of the team's primary ball handlers, but the advantage is on the defensive end with Alabama's entire rotation being 6-foot-6 or taller. Alabama switched every ball screen, a sure sign of things to come in the regular season after getting torched frequently playing drop coverage last year.

2. Cole Cloer looks like one of Alabama's best players already

There was optimism that NC State transfer Cole Cloer, who really is a true freshman this year after a mid-year reclass in Raleigh, would be a contributor for this team. That's putting it lightly. Cloer already looks like one of the best players on the team.

As billed, he's got a sweet stroke from three. After hitting 4-of-10 against Furman, Cloer knocked down 4-of-8 against Ole Miss on his way to 18 points. But there's more to his game than just knocking down three-pointers.

Cloer has an offensive bag, too. He showed an ability to beat defenders off the dribble, and he delivered some impressive passes on his way to four assists.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Cloer end up in the starting lineup this year. He looks that good.

3. Alabama's depth on the interior was already on display

This team is so much deeper up front than it was a season ago. Against Furman, it was Brandon Garrison and Keitenn Bristow who led the way on the interior. Against Ole Miss, both guys struggled, with Garrison exiting the game early with some sort of injury.

But that didn't matter because both Drew Fielder and Jamarion Davis-Fleming had strong games. Fielder finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Davis-Fleming looked much more comfortable in game two, putting up 12 points on 6-of-7 from the field.

Alabama dominated the glass, outrebounding Ole Miss 45-28.

Alabama might not have a player as good overall as Aiden Sherrell was last season, but there's little doubt that they upgraded the frontcourt overall.

4. Amari Allen is a stat-stuffing machine

Allen is getting the majority of the on-ball work without Holloway in the lineup, something he'll see a lot of this season. Oats put the ball in the hands of freshmen Qayden Samuels and Tarris Bouie, too, but it was Allen who was running the show.

The sophomore didn't disappoint. He led Alabama with 19 points, adding six rebounds and five assists to the stat sheet, too. Despite the Tide's struggles with turnovers, Allen only had two of them.

He looked calm and in control. When the game got tighter than it should've late, it was Allen who had the ball in his hands and who iced it with some clutch free throws.

5. This was a perfect preseason test for Alabama

Alabama's youngsters got to experience what a close game late feels like against a quality opponent. That's a good thing. Oats is probably thrilled with how it turned out. He also played a role in it being a bit closer than it should've been thanks to his technical foul.

But this is why you schedule these games. You could schedule an exhibition against a team you would kick the crap out of, but you don't learn anything from those games. Alabama learned some stuff about itself tonight, and they'll be better for it going forward.

It's what Oats hoped to accomplish when he scheduled this game. And he'll get another one of them next week against Auburn.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow