It can be said that Alabama Basketball played great for 35 minutes in Fayetteville, beating the Arkansas Razorbacks 85-81. Nate Oats would pretty much agree, though he saw it as 30 strong minutes rather than 35.
Alabama did not shoot threes well against a Razorback defense determined to take the Tide's good looks away. But the 26% three-point shooting did not matter, because on its 43 other field goal attempts, Alabama made 67.4%, giving the Tide overall 55% shooting for the game. Alabama made too many first half turnovers at nine, but that also didn't matter because the Tide cut the number to five in the second half.
Alabama could not stop 7'2" Arkansas sophomore Zvonimi Ivisic from pouring in 27 points, with 15 points coming from outside the arc. That, too, didn't affect the game's outcome because Alabama scored 56 points in the paint to 36 points for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas played a tough, physical game in a building primed for a big SEC upset. That too was not enough to force a Crimson Tide breakdown. Nate Oats explained how an 18-point Alabama lead with 6:29 left in the game turned into a nail-biter at the end, "When you start playing the scoreboard and you don't play to get better every possession, that's the stuff that happens to you. I'm a little irritated. We played really well for 30 minutes. We got the turnovers fixed to start the second half. I got to go back and look, but I feel like our guys just relaxed." Note: Nate Oats quotes provided by Blake Byler and Mike Rodak.
Alabama Basketball rankings don't matter now
Nate Oats also has no interest in where the Crimson Tide is ranked on Monday. He knows Alabama will face stiffer challenges in the coming weeks, ones in which big leads cannot be squandered without the result being a loss. Oats explained, "We didn't close it like we need to. A lot of credit to Arkansas for not quitting. ... We need to do a better job of closing."
Alabama got another SEC road win and they are always worthy of celebration. Still, Nate Oats is still seeking Alabama's complete game - and that is not a bad thing.