Four Takeaways From the Crimson Tide's 85-82 Loss to No. 8 Creighton
The Alabama Crimson Tide basketball program went to Omaha, Neb., looking to sing a new tune off last week's loss to Purdue and ultimately snag a statement win to spark the 2023-24 season.
Instead, the song sounded the same from the Crimson Tide.
Alabama lost to No. 8 Creighton 85-82 to fall to 6-4 on the season, dropping to 1-4 against P5 opponents in non-conference play.
Alabama stayed with the Bluejays throughout the game despite poor 3-point shooting and challenging foul trouble, but for the second straight game a 7-footer was too much to overcome for the Crimson Tide.
"Look, in our four losses we've shown that we're right there with all the best teams in the country, but we don't do enough winning stuff to actually win the game. I think it reaffirmed what we already knew after the Purdue game, Clemson and Ohio State," said head coach Nate Oats after the loss.
1. Alabama remains deficient in the front court.
Ryan Kalkbrenner is no Zach Eddy but seven-feet tall is a height this Crimson Tide team just can't quite go to. For the second-straight game Alabama sees Mohamed Wague and Nick Pringle foul out as they tried to handle Kalkbrenner.
It's just more evidence that this Tide team doesn't have a presence in the post to go toe-to-toe with some of the elite teams in the country.
Pringle gave, arguably, his best effort in an Alabama uniform, scoring 15 points with seven rebounds and a steal. Unfortunately it was Wague picking up three second-half fouls in less than two-minutes of action that hamstrung the Tide's ability to deal with Creighton's front-line.
2. Alabama's offense will keep the Crimson Tide in every game.
Alabama shot just 4-22 from the 3-point line but still managed to score over 80 points against a top-25 team in defensive efficiency.
Not only was it the fewest made 3-pointers in a game this season, but it was the second-fewest 3-pointers attempted in a game this year.
Despite the poor shooting effort from deep the Alabama team managed to score 62-points in the paint led by Mark Sears who tallied 19 for the Tide.
3. Alabama will only go as far as it's defense
While this year's team has certainly been entertaining from an esthetic standpoint, in order to be a serious contender in the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA Tournament the defensive efficiency still has to take a big step forward.
Alabama once again allowed an opponent over 1-point per possession as the Bluejays posted a 1.25 mark on the Crimson Tide defense.
The Tide has struggled on the ball leading to difficulties defending pick-and-rolls throughout the season, something that teams with 7-footers can take advantage of.
Creighton shot 56% from the floor and were able to create a massive advantage at the free-throw line, to take the close victory at home. Kalkbrenner was 9-11 from the floor, while Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman combined to go 14-17 from the free-throw line.
4. Despite the record, Alabama is close to putting things together
The front court deficiency will be something the Tide has to live with the rest of the season. The Crimson Tide coaching staff's best bet is that Jarin Stevenson continues to develop and can become more of an asset in post defense as the season continues.
However, despite Alabama's abysmal record against quality competition, the team is still close to flipping results in their favor. The Tide was inches away from more basketball in Nebraska thanks to the half-court heave by Sears at the end.
The Crimson Tide will play another top-10 opponent next week as Oats continues to test his squad before SEC play. While Kentucky and Tennessee have clearly shown to be the two best teams in the conference, it's safe to expect Alabama to compete for the league title with a few more weeks of refinement.
