re: Tide Hoops | 31-6 (16-2)

I think this might be our last year with Hodgson. Buffalo is probably gonna fire their coach and I think Hodgson has gotta be near the top of their wishlist

This is the defining moment of Byrne's tenure as AD. Lock up Oats and give him everything he needs. Or watch him go build a national power at another school.

No. 4/4 Alabama Dominates Second Half in 84-69 Victory at No. 15/16 Arkansas

The Crimson Tide posts 51 points and outscores the Razorbacks by 15 over final 20 minutes

The No. 4/4 Alabama men's basketball team outscored No. 15/16 Arkansas by 15 points over the final 20 minutes of play to secure an impressive 84-69 road win in front of a sold-out crowd inside Bud Walton Arena Wednesday night. With the win, the Crimson Tide improves 14-2 on the year and 4-0 in the SEC, marking just the second time since 1987 that UA has won its first four games in league play (2021).

The Crimson Tide shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field, 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from three-point range and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the free throw line in the second half to secure the team's fifth straight victory. 

Guard Mark Sears led the way as he scored a season-high 26 points including hitting a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. Brandon Miller scored all 14 of his points in the second half while Noah Clowney added 15 points and five boards in the win.

After an opening stanza that featured a back-and-forth affair, the two teams went into intermission knotted at 33-33. With Alabama clinging to a 65-63 lead, three consecutive three-pointers – one from Clowney and two from Miller – led to an 11-0 run to help UA take a commanding 76-63 lead with 2:38 left to play.

Arkansas (12-4, 1-3) was led by Davonte Davis and Jalen Graham's 16 points apiece, while Ricky Council IV added 15 in the loss.

Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"That was a tough road win. Our guys showed they've got some toughness, character and some grit. They can handle some runs and still stay in there. After we beat Houston at Houston, I think our guys had some confidence that they can win anywhere. I think we snapped a 17-game home winning streak and it has maybe been 30 years since they lost to a ranked team as a ranked team, so there are a lot of things that hadn't been done in this building for a while and our guys did well. They (Arkansas) did a really good job on Brandon Miller for most of the game but he shook loose right at the right time. I think he has grown up a lot. If they are just going to lock on him then there is more space on the floor for everyone else and we were able to take advantage of that. I thought our depth really helped us; both teams got in foul trouble and then I thought we had more. Jahvon Quinerly got his third (foul) in the first half and I thought we had more point guard play with (Mark) Sears and (Jaden) Bradley being able to play a little bit. I couldn't be more proud of our guys and they continue to get better every game. We just got to continue to get better every game and stay in this hunt for the SEC Championship."

Box score

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No way in hell would i rewatch that 37 FT attempt first half. Now the second half.....

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The first half was some pretty good basketball until it started getting a little chippy. Then the refs overreacted to keep it under control and spent like 12 minutes calling fouls on literally all contact.

We shot more FTs than Arkansas @Arkansas, how many times has that happened.

Clowney should be 3rd.

Yeah we didn't win because of free throws, but Arkansas didn't either, which is a nice surprise.

As much as we all complain about the lack of timeouts that CNO calls - we have to be double digits on the first half use it or lose it on the season, I think I finally figured it out tonight. Coach Oats doesn't call them when a team goes on a run (like tonight) because he KNOWS we will need them later to inbound the ball. LOL

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Me when Alabama beats Arkansas football: "those scrappy hogs, definitely gonna be rooting for them against other SEC teams"

Me when it's basketball: "burn the arena, salt the earth, gloat forever"

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Saw someone tweeted this and I couldn’t agree more.