Alabama finds 3-point stroke in blowout win against Eastern Kentucky
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Timing is everything.
Unfortunately for Alabama, its timing couldn't have been worse this past week.
Consider:
• In a close loss to No. 8 Creighton, Alabama connected on just four 3-point shots in 22 attempts.
• In a loss to No. 1 Arizona, Alabama shot a miserable 8 of 40 from 3-point range.
Then on Saturday in a 111-67 blowout win against Eastern Kentucky, the Crimson Tide hit 19 of 38 (50%) from 3-point range, including 12 of 21 in the first half.
David Cosby was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers, Sam Walters hit 2 of 3 and Latrell Wrightsell was 3 of 6.
How big was it for Alabama to bounce back and hit from long range?
“It was really important,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “It was good that we had guys that hadn’t made a ton in the past...to get it going. Teams can’t just focus on (Mark) Sears or (Aaron) Estrada. We have other guys that can make 3s, too.
It also doesn’t hurt that Eastern Kentucky is one of the worst 3-point defenses in the country.
“You still have to make them,” Oats said. “They aren’t guaranteed to go in even if you are wide open.”
Alabama could have survived a dismal 3-point effort against Eastern Kentucky, and it wouldn’t have mattered. But Alabama needed—and didn’t get—a quality effort against Creighton and Arizona.
To win games against NCAA Tournament-caliber teams, Alabama has to show up in all phases, particularly with 3-point shooting. If a few of those go down against Creighton and Arizona, Alabama’s got two quality wins on its resume.
“They did a great job sharing the ball,” Eastern Kentucky coach A.W. Hamilton said. “We had a hard time controlling their dribble penetration. Mark Sears had five assists, but he helped create a lot of shots.”
The big news Saturday was a Rylan Griffen sighting. The sophomore, who has flown under the radar this season, played lights out against the Colonels. He scored a career-high 19 points and went 5 of 9 from 3-point range.
“I passed one up against Arizona and (Oats) told me never to pass one up again,” Griffen said. “That kind of gave me some confidence.”
Griffen hasn’t made more than two 3-point shots in a game this season until Saturday.
"It was great to see Rylan have the ball drop,” Oats said. “He hasn’t shot the ball as well as he would have liked. It’s great to see him get his confidence going.”
