Amari Allen Loses Himself to Spark Alabama's NCAA Tournament Victory Over Hofstra

TAMPA, Fla. -- No. 4 Alabama cruised to a 20-point victory over 13-seed Hofstra in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Round of 32 where they'll take on 5-seed Texas Tech. The scoreboard said Crimson Tide blowout, but the opening round win wasn't completely straightforward.

Alabama trailed 28-18 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half after dismal shooting but utilized a 19-7 rally to take a two-point lead into the halftime locker room. The Crimson Tide kept the pedal down opening the second half on an 11-4 run to seize control of the game in the second frame.

The catalyst for the second half spark? Alabama freshman Amari Allen. Allen scored all 11 of his points in the second half, with five of them coming in the Crimson Tide's opening run.

"I didn't really do much in the first half, but in my mind that's not really a focus of mine, I let the game come to me," Allen said. "I got an offensive rebound, and once you lose yourself in the game, stuff starts going for you, so that's what happened."

Oats admitted he called the first play of the second half to get Allen started offensively, but the freshman kicked a pass to London Jemison for a wide open 3-point shot. Jemison missed the shot, but Allen was under the basket for an offensive rebound and an easy put back score for his first bucket of the game.

A few possessions later Allen got downhill for a physical layup, finishing through contact and getting to the free throw line for three points the old fashioned way.

"I thought Philon did a really good job, setting a stack screen on their big and got Amari downhill," Oats said. "Philon was smart, thinking the game. The next time we had a chance to run a set play, he wanted to run another play for Amari. We just worked. So it's downhill again. I thought it was really good. The one we called initially, he got in the paint, drew it in, threw it, London missed the 3, and Amari gets the put-back. It's not necessarily the play Amari scores, but it gets him aggressive, downhill, paint touch, in there, gets a board."

The freshman guard didn't spotlight his offensive effort when asked what changed for the Crimson Tide in the second half, but instead said it was embracing the defensive end that sent Alabama into the second round.

"We had to lock their guys up," Allen said. "We couldn't let them come out. They were pretty comfortable in the first half. I think we did a good job in the second, not letting them get comfortable again. We just needed to come out and play defense, and our shots are going to fall. So that was the message."

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