It was an epic night for the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide fought back from a 14-point first-half deficit and fought off a 49-point performance by Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr., to beat the Razorbacks 117-115. It took every bit of 50 minutes of basketball for Nate Oats' team to get the win.
Before the game, Nate Oats asked Labaron Philon to lead his team to a win. Philon did as directed, scoring 35 points and delivering seven assists, with only two turnovers in 41 minutes of play.
Aiden Sherrell was Alabama's Hard Hat winner. He scored 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Amari Allen also has a double-double for the Crimson Tide with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Houston Mallette took three shots for Alabama in 29 minutes of play. He did not score in regulation but made a three-pointer in each of the two overtimes. Mallette scored Alabama's last three points with 51 seconds left in the second overtime, putting the Tide up by four points. After the game, Nate Oats said of Mallette, "We, the staff, the guards that are out there, we have to do a better job of getting him more shots. ... Everybody believes in him."
Alabama needed every ounce of belief it could muster to overcome an incredible performance by Acuff Jr. The young man quite possibly won the SEC Player of the Year Award on Wednesday night.
Alabama played hard. Arkansas played hard. It was arguably the best SEC basketball game of the season. Neither team deserved to lose.
Arkansas' defensive scheme forced the Crimson Tide away from its normal dependence on three-point shooting. The Tide took three more threes than Arkansas, while making three fewer. Points in the paint favored Alabama 58-46, as did points at the line, 27-16.
Best SEC player was not enough to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide
Despite Arkansas having (by far) the best offensive player in the game, Alabama prevailed. It was a win that will matter more than the SEC win column. If there was doubt about Alabama before Wednesday, the Crimson Tide showed it can be a hard team to beat.
Note: Stats provided by Stat Broadcast