Alabama men’s basketball loses for the third time in a row in the second half.
Alabama was defeated 87-74 by the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats on Wednesday night at the Hall of Fame Series in Phoenix, Arizona.
Before the game on Wednesday night, the Crimson Tide had already lost their last two games against top-10 opponents, No. 8 Creighton and then No. 4 Purdue.
There were a few reasons why this matchup was expected. In addition to being a matchup of two very skilled teams, there were a few similarities between the Arizona team and the Alabama team from the previous season.
Most notably, this time last season, Arizona guard Jaden Bradley was wearing a red and white jersey. Early in April, he signed up for the transfer portal and ultimately made the decision to bring his skill to Arizona.
Furthermore, the Crimson Tide squared off against forward Keshad Johnson once more. Johnson was a member of the San Diego State squad that eliminated Alabama from the NCAA tournament in the Sweet 16 of the previous season. This may be familiar to fans of Alabama.
Despite the anticipation for this match, Arizona and Alabama both had offensive difficulties in the first half. Both teams’ strong defensive efforts kept the score close until the half.
In the first half, Alabama’s long range percentage was just 3-22. The Crimson Tide’s previous game against Creighton saw a total of 22 3-pointers made. Alabama shot 8-40 from three in the game’s final moments.
Grant Nelson, the forward, had an especially difficult half. In the first half, the transfer from North Dakota State shot just 1-9 from the field and 0-7 from beyond the arc.
Sam Walters, an offensive player for Alabama, took up some of this slack. The rookie scored nine points on three-point shooting and six more points from the free-throw line for a total of fifteen points in the first half of the season, which was his best offensive half.
In the postgame, Alabama head coach Nate Oats remarked of Walters, “If he’s open, everyone on the team thinks the ball is going in.”
Although it was anticipated that guards Mark Sears and Caleb Love of Arizona would be at each other’s throats the entire game, both guards were remarkably silent in the first half.
With five of his points coming from the free-throw line, Sears finished the half with just seven points on 1-4 shooting from the field. Love scored his only two points in the first half from the free-throw line after going 0–3 from the field.
Alabama trailed by just one point at the half and appeared capable of winning when they returned to Tuscaloosa, despite a poor offensive performance in the first half.
With Nelson appearing to be finally heating up and settling in, the Crimson Tide went on a 10-0 run in the first four minutes of the second half, and things were only going to get better from there.
Nelson scored 13 points in the second half of his 17-point total.
Unfortunately for Alabama, perhaps the worst offensive and defensive series of possessions the team has had all season came right after this amazing run.
The Crimson Tide appeared to be completely out of rhythm by the middle of the half. The offensive team’s play was careless, which resulted in several straight turnovers. On the defensive end, the Wildcats score a lot of points at the free-throw line as a result of Alabama’s persistent fouls.
The Crimson Tide only had eight free throw attempts in the second half compared to the Wildcats’ 27.
For the third time in a row, Mohamed Wague and Nick Pringle, both forwards, were fouled out.
Oats stated, “We lost our momentum and never really gained it back.” “We need to have greater mental toughness when things don’t go our way.”
Love eventually found his rhythm late in the game, scoring 11 of his 13 points to drive the dagger deeper into Alabama’s heart despite the Crimson Tide’s subpar performance.
By the end of the game, all five of Arizona’s starters had scored double figures in points. Oumar Ballo, the center, finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Oats remarked, “We were right about these guys. “We need to play better for forty minutes. We can clean up some stuff, and we can probably play with most people in the nation.
After that, on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT, Alabama will play Eastern Kentucky for a chance to get better. SEC Network will broadcast the game.
