Alabama's Season-Long Weaknesses Exposed in Sweet 16 Loss to Michigan

CHICAGO — It was quite the ride throughout Alabama basketball's 2025-26 season.

The Crimson Tide fell to Michigan 90-77 on Friday evening in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Alabama couldn't pull off the upset in Michael Jordan's palace that is the United Center, and while head coach Nate Oats and company lost by 13, the Tide led 42-41 at halftime.

Alabama showed that it could compete with one of the best teams in the nation, but the reason why it was a 4-seed in the first place was due to its nine previous losses. Each of these losses came via the Tide's biggest weaknesses.

All season long, Alabama was inconsistent with a variety of crucial basketball factors, and the depth truly showed on Friday. Michigan tallied 33 points off the bench. Alabama had six. The Tide used over a dozen starting lineups this season due to injuries, and although the team was as healthy as it could possibly be, the Wolverines sixth and seventh men outshined UA's.

"I just think that they were a very good basketball team," Alabama forward Taylor Bol Bowen said after the game. "I wouldn't be surprised if that team right there wins the whole thing."

One of Alabama's biggest struggles this season was starting the second half on a strong note. If the Crimson Tide held a large lead at halftime, it would take its foot off the pedal for the latter 20 minutes. There were a few examples of Alabama coming out of the locker room and dominating, but for the most part, that wasn't the case.

Michigan won the second half 43-28. The Wolverines couldn't miss shots and Alabama couldn't make them, despite a very promising first period of offense.

"I mean, I think what went wrong was our energy and effort," Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. said. I think we started the game off with the utmost energy. We had an edge to us. Coach Oats talks about blue-collar points, and that's just all hard work things, basically tips, deflections, offensive rebounding, loose balls, stuff like that.

"In the first half we were on top of it. We hit the post, got trapped, kind of got deflections and stuff like that. In the second half they did the exact same thing we did to them in the first half to us in the second half, and we didn't respond.

"I mean, it got a little bit away from us and we just couldn't get back into it. I feel like just the edge from them was really good at the start of the second half, and our edge well, didn't start on with an edge for the second half."

Any time that Oats was asked about what needs to be improved in order to beat a certain opponent, rebounding was almost always the first thing that he said.

In fact, counting tonight, Alabama came on the wrong end of the rebounding battle in all 10 of its losses this season.

Alabama trailed Michigan 21-20 on the glass in the first half. Michigan ended up winning 46-32. The Crimson Tide had 12 rebounds in the second half compared to Michigan's 25. Oats had plenty to say about it.

"It's just sad it comes to an end, but we ran into a buzz saw the second half," Oats said. "We couldn't rebound with them. We lost the glass by 13 in the second half. We gave up 5-0 boards the first three possessions the second half.

"We chart the blue-collar stuff. The first media timeout it was 30-11 in the blue-collar points. The second half total was 61-32 them. They kind of just destroyed us on the efforts, toughness in the second half.

"Part of that is their size and physicality. You look at their starting three, four, and five, they double us up on the glass. From our starting three, four, and fives, 26-13, our leading rebounder was a point guard in [Labaron] Philon.

"We knew we were going to have to rebound with them and we did in the second half. We were only losing it by one, and we were up two. Then we came out in the second half, and Michigan just seemed like they imposed their will on us."

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