Alabama Basketball Uses 50-Point Second Half to Propel Comeback
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Things looked bleak for No. 2 Alabama basketball as the first half buzzer blared and the team slowly jogged to the locker room.
The Crimson Tide, who has gotten used to enjoying massive leads and blowout wins within the cavernous insides of Coleman Coliseum this season, trailed Arkansas by nine points after an incredibly uninspiring offensive effort in the first half.
Alabama's first-half offense looked entirely out of sorts. The Crimson Tide scored just 28 points in the half, the team's lowest in the first half of a game since Dec. 10 against Houston.
As a team, Alabama made just 10 of its 30 shots in the first half, including a horrific 10 percent mark from 3-point land. Alabama turned the ball over 10 times in the first half as well, and was held to just 0.737 points per possession.
Alabama looked out of rhythm. There was no cohesiveness. Possessions lasted late into the shot clock as the ball stuck in the hands of over-dribbling ball handlers, typically leading to well-contested shots at the rim or outside shots that just weren't going to fall.
"[Arkansas] has positional size everywhere," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "They're bigger, they didn't help as much, they didn't have to collapse as much. [...] They're a really good defensive team. They've got shot-blocking at the rim."
Once the team trotted out of the tunnel to begin the second half, things were different.
Oats plugged Jahvon Quinerly into the lineup to begin the second half, replacing Jaden Bradley. From there, the energy spiked.
In part thanks to some masterful distribution from Quinerly as well as a newfound focus that the team seemed to have, Alabama improved on its first half offensive numbers exponentially.
"I thought Quinerly was able to get in the paint, create offense for us," Oats said. "He ended up with seven assists. I thought he played really well for us. [...] He was able to get the ball up on the rim a little quicker, [he] finished at the rim well."
The Crimson Tide scored 58 points in the second half — 30 more than the first. Alabama ate the punch that Arkansas dealt in the first half, stood right back up, and delivered a counter that knocked the Razorbacks to the floor.
"We were a little more aggressive, I thought we got out in transition a little better," Oats said. "We went to some different spacing on offense to try to give us more space to drive. We tried to move Brandon [Miller] around a little bit more."
After nearly evening the game by the first media timeout of the second half, the Crimson Tide proceeded to go on a 15-0 run over the course of four minutes, retaking the lead that it refused to surrender. Freshman star Brandon Miller woke up, scoring 17 of his 24 points in the second half.
As a team, Alabama shot 56 percent from the floor in the second half, finding new ways to score in the paint since the 3-point shot never got going. Whether it was a crafty reverse layup from Quinerly, an explosive dunk from Clowney, or a smooth finish from Miller, Alabama continually found alternative ways to score points.
"For us to shoot as poorly as we did from three and still figure out a way to win, I think that tells you we're able to win in multiple ways," Oats said.
Oats is right. Alabama has every reason to have plenty of confidence that it can overcome a myriad of offensive struggles and still win, as the college basketball world has seen time and time again this season.
See also:
No. 2 Alabama Stays Perfect at Home with Strong Second Half over Arkansas
Nate Oats Says Brandon Miller's Patdown Pregame Intro Won't Happen Again
