Alabama may have stumbled upon its ideal lineup even without second-leading scorer Aden Holloway.
With Latrell Wrightsell sliding back into the two-spot next to Labaron Philon, Alabama is able to play bigger lineups with Amari Allen at the three, London Jemison at the four, and Aiden Sherrell at the five. That added size gave Texas Tech's offense all sorts of issues as the Crimson Tide built a 24-point halftime lead and coasted to the Sweet 16 with a 90-65 win.
Wrightsell being able to play exclusively in the backcourt unleashed his pesky defensive prowess, and he put Texas Tech star guard Christian Anderson in hell from the opening tip. Anderson, a third-team All-American, had just 7 points on 2-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Wrightsell's defensive energy and effort were contagious for the rest of the team. And as Nate Oats has said all year long, when you lose yourself in the game, and you do all the little things right, the offense will come. And boy did it for Wrightsell.
The senior guard led Alabama with 24 points and connected on 6-of-9 from three-point range.
In March, guard play can take you a long, long way. And even without Holloway, Alabama has elite guard play.
Alabama's elite guard play can take them a long way even without Aden Holloway
It remains to be seen whether Holloway will play another minute for Alabama this season. But the Crimson Tide hasn't missed a beat without its star guard.
This may have been Alabama's best performance of the season. Doing that in the NCAA Tournament is impressive enough; it's especially impressive when you can do it without your second-best scorer.
Alabama's defensive ceiling is higher without Holloway. The offensive ceiling is lower, but this team is still capable of popping off with nights like this one from deep.
And Wrightsell was the head of the snake. His two-way performance was unbelievable. In a game that featured an All-American for each team, Wrightsell was the best player on the court.
Sliding back down to his more natural position is a big reason why. And if Alabama is without Holloway moving forward, this is the version of Wrightsell they'll need to have a chance to advance further.