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Alabama led by 15 points with 5 minutes to play before Arkansas came storming back on its home court. A triple from Zvonimir Ivisic with 2:57 to play made it a 3-point game. The Crimson Tide got some clutch buckets from their leaders — and a few gifts from the Razorbacks — to hang on for an 85-81 victory.
Mark Sears got a layup to go with 2:26 remaining that restored a 2-possession lead for Alabama and ended a 12-0 Arkansas run. Grant Nelson hit a jumper with 57 seconds to go after DJ Wagner knocked down 2 free throws. After Ivisic split a pair from the line with 5 seconds remaining in a 3-point game, Chris Youngblood knocked down 2 free throws in the closing seconds to escape with the win.
“We gotta do a better job closing,” coach Nate Oats said after the game. “We risked losing a road game that we were supposed to win by not closing.”
But a win is a win in the rugged SEC. The Crimson Tide’s ninth on Saturday, coupled with Auburn’s first loss in league play, moved them into a tie atop the conference standings. Should both teams win their midweek games, next Saturday’s clash at Coleman Coliseum will be for the outright lead in the SEC.
Alabama (20-3, 9-1 SEC) learned Saturday morning that ESPN’s College GameDay will be in town for that battle. And with losses from No. 1 Auburn (90-81 to Florida) and No. 2 Duke (77-71 at Clemson), Alabama might very well head into the game with the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll.
Prior to Oats’ arrival in Tuscaloosa, Alabama had ascended to the top spot in an AP poll just once in school history. If the Crimson Tide are the voters’ choice on Monday, Oats would become the only coach in program history to reach No. 1 in multiple seasons.
“I don’t really care to be honest with you. I’m probably not going to make a pitch,” Oats said after the game. “We’ve just gotta take care of business. We’ve got full control of our own destiny to win the SEC right now. Wherever the voters want to put us, it doesn’t matter. We’ll be 1, 2, or 3, that’s for sure, and I don’t really care. Let’s focus on Texas. Let’s try to win an SEC regular-season championship and let all that other stuff fall where it may.”
Alabama held a 40-34 lead over the Razorbacks at halftime Saturday evening thanks to 59% shooting from the floor in the first half. Sears, Nelson, and Youngblood combined for 20 first-half points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field to lead the way.
But the guards struggled over the final 20 minutes. Sears missed 4 of his final 6 shots. Youngblood went 1-for-4 from beyond the arc in the second half. Instead, it was Nelson (9 points, 3-4 FG), Clifford Omoruyi (9 points, 4-6 FG), and Mouhamed Dioubate (8 points, 4-5 FG) who helped push the Tide over the finish line.
Nelson and Youngblood each finished with 15. Dioubate had 14 points in 15 minutes while dealing with foul trouble. Sears labored through a 5-for-12 day and finished with 6 turnovers.
But the Tide held Arkansas to 43% shooting from the field, outscored Arkansas in the paint 56-36, and won the battle on the boards 35-32.
After the game, Oats insisted that Alabama needs to be better.
“We almost lost the game after being up 18. We’re not playing to win the game. We’re playing to get better on every possession, and when you start playing the scoreboard and you don’t play to get better on every possession that’s the stuff that happens to you,” he said. “So I’m a little irritated because we played really well for 30 minutes. We got the turnovers fixed to start the second half, and then, again, I got to go back and look, but I feel like our guys just relaxed. We thought we were up 20.
“… We’re not tuned in enough on the defensive end like we need to be in, and it’s a little frustrating to me.”
The Crimson Tide have one more road game to deal with before they can host Auburn on their home floor. They face Texas (15-9, 4-7) in Austin on Tuesday, with tipoff scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
