With No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Duke both losing on Saturday, 3rd ranked Alabama basketball stated its case to be the new AP No. 1 by knocking off a red-hot Arkansas team at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville 85-81.
The Hogs came in having won three of their last four, including back-to-back road wins over Kentucky and Texas. Bud Walton was rocking for Arkansas' return home, but this Crimson Tide squad is not intimidated by difficult road environments. Having already beaten the likes of North Carolina, Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Mississippi State on the road, beating Arkansas was nothing new.
Alabama struggled with turnovers once again, and its nine first half turnovers was a big reason why they led by only six points at halftime despite shooting 59% from the floor and holding Arkansas to 35%.
Alabama came out firing in the second half and built its lead all the way to 18 points and sent Arkansas fans heading to the exits at the under-8 media timeout. Unfortunately, as has frequently been the case, the Tide played with its food and allowed Arkansas to cut the lead to 10 at the under-4 media timeout.
A three-pointer by Zvonimir Ivisic, who led all scorers with 24 points, cut Alabama's lead to 79-76 with under three minutes to play. Leading by just three, Grant Nelson came up with perhaps the play of the game with an offensive rebound following a Chris Youngblood airball. Nelson got the putback to push Alabama's lead to five.
Alabama held on from there to win by four.
Every SEC game is tough this season. Any win you can bank on the road is a big win, regardless of how you arrived at the end. As Alabama's radio play-by-play guy Chris Stewart would say, "Let's get out of here!"
3 Takeaways from Alabama's win over Arkansas
3. Alabama's inability to bury opponents is infuriating
And eventually, it's going to cost them a game. It almost cost them the game against Arkansas on Saturday night. Alabama led by as many as 18 points and held that advantage with 6:29 to play. In just a little over two minutes of action, Arkansas outscored Alabama by 10 and pulled within eight points.
Eventually, Arkansas pulled all the way to within two. Alabama had to knock down some free throws down the stretch to hold on to a win that should not have been as stressful as it was.
This has been a theme for the Crimson Tide this season. They have not been able to bury opponents when the opportunity has presented itself. They play with their food too often and let opponents stick around for longer than they should.
Arkansas fans gave up on the game at the under-8 media timeout. Apparently, so did Alabama.
This will eventually cost the Crimson Tide a game somewhere if it doesn't get corrected.
2. Alabama should run the offense through Aden Holloway more
Aden Holloway has been playing outstanding basketball for Alabama, particularly in SEC play. Against Arkansas, he only scored 8 points, but he grabbed 5 rebounds and dished 4 assists without turning the ball over.
Turnovers have been a big issue for Alabama this season. Graduate senior guard Mark Sears has struggled with it. He turned it over six more times against Arkansas. Oats and company still put too much on Sears' plate despite having other capable guards to initiate offense in Holloway and freshman Labaron Philon. Alabama didn't have that last year and that's why so much was constantly on Sears.
Holloway hit a couple of threes, but he also had some impressive passes that led to easy baskets. He plays fast and decisive and it looks like the ball is on a string when he dribbles. He should be playing as many minutes as he can stomach right now, and I think the Tide would be better off if he was the primary on-ball guard and Sears shifted to an off-ball role.
1. Alabama was dominant in the paint on offense
After back-to-back impressive shooting nights in wins over Mississippi State and Georgia, Alabama's three-point shooting came back down to earth in Fayetteville. Alabama shot just 5-of-19 (26.3%) from distance against Arkansas. As has been the case most of the season, Alabama was still able to find efficient offense in spite of it.
Alabama was 29-of-43 (67.4%) from two. Alabama had a big advantage in the paint and Oats and the staff knew it. They attacked the rim all night. Nelson led the way with 15 points, but Mo Dioubate scored 14, Cliff Omoruyi 9, and Aiden Sherrell 7.
Alabama's efficiency from two has been a huge reason the Tide has one of the nation's most efficient offenses. Improved finishing at the rim helps, but a lot of it is due to the system. Alabama avoids the low efficiency shots from the mid-range and long-twos.
When the threes are falling, this team might be impossible to beat. They're pretty tough to deal with regardless.