Jarin Stevenson reveals the key to Alabama’s defensive effort vs. Texas

On Tuesday, Alabama picked up its seventh straight win with a 103-80 victory over Texas. After the game, Crimson Tide guard Jarin Stevenson revealed the keys to his team’s defensive success against the Longhorns.

“Just throw different looks at them,” Stevenson said. “For the first play, we threw a blitz at Tre [Johnson]. We just kept switching it up, different pick and roll coverages, having low man — different things like that. I felt like we let up a little bit there at the end, but yeah, I feel like just throwing different looks at them really helped us.”

While holding an opponent to 80 points wouldn’t be an accomplishment for most teams, it’s a solid showing for the Crimson Tide. Alabama is giving up a conference-worst 78.5 points per game. Of course, that number is even higher when only considering in-conference games.

In the win, Alabama held Texas to 42% shooting from the field and 36.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Alabama will need to build on its defensive momentum as it prepares to square off against No. 1 Auburn on Saturday.

The matchup will mark college basketball’s first regular-season No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in more than three years and the first such occasion between two SEC schools. Alabama head coach Nate Oats is excited for the opportunity.

“We’ll see Saturday who’s the best team in the country,” Oats said after the win over Texas. “I do think we’ve got a mature group. They know they’ve prepared. We kind of get into it, the hay’s in the barn, if you will, going into these games. Like we know we have to do. We don’t get upset if the other team hits some tough shots we’re willing to give up.

“We’re not trying to flip out over stuff. We come prepared. We know what we gotta do. We get it done. We execute the game plan. We get out of here with a win. And do we think we’re the best team in the country? I think we got a chance to be, but Auburn’s the best team in the country right now, and we gotta knock them out on Saturday if we want to claim to be the best team in the country.”

No. 2 Alabama and No. 1 Auburn will square off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. The highly-anticipated showdown will air live on ESPN.

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