No. 3 Alabama survives late comeback attempt to beat Arkansas on the road
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 3 Alabama went on the road into a hostile Bud Walton Arena on Saturday night and came out victorious, beating Arkansas 85-81. The game moves the Tide to 20-3 on the season, with a 9-1 mark in SEC play that’s tied for best in the league.
Alabama went with the same starting group it’s gone with for a few games now, beginning with Mark Sears, Chris Youngblood, Jarin Stevenson, Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama got a nice start from Nelson, who opened the game with an aggressive mindset attacking the basket. He scored six of Alabama’s eight points in the opening 4-minute frame and also blocked a shot on the defensive in, with the Tide holding a slim 8-6 lead at the game’s first media timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Alabama went on a quick 7-0 burst to push the Tide lead out to 15-6, prompting an Arkansas timeout. Everyone on the Alabama team was involved, pushing the pace and testing the Razorback transition defense.
Arkansas settled in after the Alabama run, finding itself even after going down by as many as 10. Approaching midway through the first half, the Razorbacks cut the lead down to 22-18, riding nine early points from 7-foot-2 center Zvonomir Ivisic as he gave Alabama some matchup problems with his unique size and skill.
The Hogs continued to push as Ivisic kept knocking down shots from the outside, but the Crimson Tide did a solid job answering Arkansas’ scores and maintaining a lead. Turnovers gave Alabama’s offense some problems routinely struggling to even simply hold onto the ball at times.
Alabama went into halftime leading 40-34, with the Tide’s biggest issues coming from giving away nine turnovers and giving up nine offensive rebounds over the first 20-minute period. Three different players led Alabama in first-half scoring with seven apiece, being Sears, Youngblood and Aiden Sherrell.
The Tide got off to a nice start in the second half, outscoring the Razorbacks 10-4 over the first two minutes of the half and prompting another Calipari timeout, as Alabama had pushed the lead back to its largest of the game at 10.
Alabama started rolling offensively as the second half continued, going on a 15-3 run over a 3:29 period where absolutely everything was working. Shooters made 3-pointers, the guards made excellent passes inside, and by the under-12 timeout the Tide had built its lead all the way up to 20. With 11:49 still left in the game, some Arkansas fans started heading for the exits.
Alabama held its big lead for much of the second half, but Arkansas made a push just after the under-8. The Razorbacks made three field goals in a row and cut the led down to 13, but Oats called a timeout to try to settle the team down and end the run. The Hogs kept fighting, cutting the lead down to 10 points with four minutes remaining.
Somehow the Arkansas run kept coming and kept coming, going on a late 12-0 spurt to cut the lead to just three points with about three minutes remaining. The game stayed close over the final few minutes, but the Tide closed it out.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Mo Dioubate — 14 points, 4 rebounds
Chris Youngblood — 15 points, 3 rebounds
Grant Nelson — 15 points, 4 rebounds
WHAT’S NEXT
Alabama will stay on the road for a quick turnaround, taking on Texas at the Moody Center on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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