Alabama had to overcome a ton of adversity on Wednesday night to earn a hard-fought 117-115 win in double overtime over Arkansas for its fifth consecutive win.
Alabama's defensive effort in the first half was far from good enough as the Razorbacks scored 57 first-half points and shot over 60% from the floor and from three-point range. The Tide's effort was better in the second half, though it had no answers for Darius Acuff, who dropped 49 points and put the Razorbacks on his back all night long.
Alabama trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, and things looked dire, but the Crimson Tide showed its championship fight and mentality to come all the way back and take the lead.
Acuff buried a three near the end of regulation that tied the game. Labaron Philon missed a mid-range jumper at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. Acuff had a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime, but he missed a tough two.
A huge three by Houston Mallette put Alabama up four with under a minute to go, and the Crimson Tide got a final defensive stop with an excellent contest by Aiden Sherrell at the rim on a runner by Acuff.
Acuff might've outscored Philon, but the Crimson Tide's star point guard did what Nate Oats asked him to in leading Alabama to a critical win. Philon scored 35 points and dished out 7 assists with only two turnovers.
Sherrell had the best game of his Alabama career, gutting out a career-high 39 minutes and dropping 26 points and 13 rebounds. Amari Allen also had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Aden Holloway finished in double figures scoring with 15 points.
Alabama's win over Arkansas is massive for SEC and NCAA Tournament seeding
Defensively, Alabama isn't good enough to win a championship this year. But they certainly have the fight and mentality that it takes to be a championship team. As bad as things looked early against Arkansas, the Crimson Tide never quit fighting. They battled all the way back and outlasted the Hogs, who didn't have the depth down the stretch.
This win will have massive implications for Alabama in both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Alabama came into the game as a projected 4-seed by Joe Lunardi, just ahead of Arkansas. After earning the win over the Razorbacks, it will stay ahead of them and on the 4-seed line.
More importantly, however, is that the win jumps the Crimson Tide to a tie for 2nd place in the SEC standings in a logjam at 9-4. It's a major step toward finishing in the top four and earning a double-bye in Nashville.
This was Alabama's fifth straight win after the disheartening blowout loss to Florida in Gainesville. It also moves the Crimson Tide to 3-0 since Charles Bediako was ruled ineligible, and shows the country - and the selection committee - that this team is capable of earning quality wins without him.