ALABAMA WINS AN OVERTIME NAIL-BITER, 92-88 OVER ARKANSAS TO CLOSE OUT THE REGULAR SEASON

The 16th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide closed out the regular season with a huge overtime win Saturday at home over the Arkansas Razorbacks 92-88.

“That took a lot of grit,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “They’ve (Arkansas) got a lot of talent and they don’t quit; they’re playing their best as of late.”

The Crimson Tide trailed by six with just over a minute remaining until Grant Nelson drained a three from the corner. It was a three-point game with exactly a minute remaining. Then, with twenty seconds left, Alabama’s Latrell Wrightsell nailed a three to send the game to overtime.

“I just came in and made the shot; I didn’t even know the score for real,” Wrightsell said. “I’m just happy to be back out there and help my team.”

In overtime, Alabama started the scoring taking their first lead of the game. Both teams continued to battle but with 1:38 remaining in overtime, Alabama led by four, 84-80. Alabama closed the game with great offense but the tough defense Alabama head coach Nate Oats has wanted to see all season got them the win.

“I told the guys before the game to handle adversity with mental toughness and do it together,” Oats said. “I thought we handled a lot of adversity.”

Despite their great finish things didn’t start out great for the Crimson Tide or improve until later in the game. The Crimson Tide came out of the gate sluggish on the offensive end of the floor. Alabama scored only two points in the first four minutes of the game and were outscored 8-2 by Arkansas in that stretch.

“He (Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman) had them ready to go and we obviously did not,” Oats said. “Once we were able to sit down and start guarding […] our guys made some tough plays.”

On the other hand, the Razorbacks came ready to play especially defensively. Alabama has the number one scoring offense in the country, according to KenPom, but Arkansas had answers early. Blocking shots, creating turnovers, and contesting shots led to this impressive start for Arkansas. The Razorbacks forced three turnovers and blocked two shots in the first four minutes of play.

The Razorbacks defensive effort continued in the next five minutes of play as they outscored Alabama once again, 11-7.

In the first eight minutes of play, the Razorbacks outscored the Crimson Tide 19-9, out-rebounded them 9-5, and forced one more turnover. Alabama shot 3-12 from the floor (25%) and 1-6 from three (16.7%) in that stretch. Arkansas shot 7-12 (58.3%) from the field and 1-3 (33.3%) from three. Arkansas clearly came out of the gate ready to battle.

Arkansas continued to dominate on both ends of the floor. El Ellis and Trevon Brazile were very efficient from the field scoring on 8-9 combined shot attempts. Ellis led the Razorbacks with eight points through 13 and a half minutes of play.

Alabama slowly improved their shooting percentages both from behind the arc and in the paint. With six and a half minutes remaining in the first half, Nelson led Alabama with five points. Alabama trailed Arkansas 36-21.

Alabama made up significant ground going on a three and a half minute 11-2 run of their own to decrease the Razorback lead to six. In this run, Alabama’s Mark Sears made two big three point shots to put the Crimson Tide back in the mix. With three minutes left in the first half, Arkansas led Alabama 38-32.

After the Crimson Tide’s run, both teams traded points heading into the half with Arkansas leading 42-36.

For the majority of the first half, Arkansas forced more turnovers than Alabama but at the half, Arkansas had one more than the Crimson Tide. Although they lost in the turnover margin, Arkansas did out-rebound the Crimson Tide 21-17 in the first half.

At the half, Sears led the Crimson Tide with 13 points while Brazile led the Razorbacks with 10 points.

In the first four minutes of the second half, Arkansas outscored Alabama 5-4 in a sloppy offensive showing. Both teams turned the ball over multiple times and struggled to score.

Despite their struggles, the Razorbacks increasing their lead from six to seven points.

Both teams continued to fight on both ends of the floor. Alabama began racking up fouls quickly as the second half progressed. With just over 11 minutes remaining in the game, Arkansas was already in the bonus thanks to eight Alabama fouls. At that point, Arkansas had only been called for three fouls.

With 11 and a half minutes remaining, Arkansas still led Alabama by seven points, 54-47.

In the next four minutes, the Crimson Tide decreased their deficit to just four points behind two Sears three-pointers. The Razorbacks certainly weren’t going away, making it tough on both ends of the floor for Alabama all day. With seven and a half minutes left, Arkansas led Alabama 60-56.

The Crimson Tide got within one point of tying the Razorbacks but Arkansas scored two points leading to a timeout. Alabama continues to inch closer and closer to Arkansas’s lead. With just under four minutes remaining in the game, Arkansas leads Alabama 66-63.

Alabama then forced overtime and the rest is history. It was a huge win for Oats and his Crimson Tide squad who officially bounced back from the two-game losing streak.

“Our guys just hung in there and hung in there, and they fought through some adversity,” Oats said.

Not only did the Crimson Tide wrap up the season with a win, but they also sent their six seniors out on senior day with a victory.

“These guys have never quit on each other,” Oats said. “These guys like each other a lot and play for each other. The only disappointment I had was we didn’t get a big enough lead to get Max Scharnowski in.”

Alabama finished the game with less turnovers than Arkansas while also out-rebounding the Razorbacks. For the majority of the game, Arkansas was leading in both categories but Alabama took control of the game late. The Crimson Tide grabbed 42 rebounds (14 offensive), and accounted for 11 turnovers. Arkansas handled 39 rebounds (9 offensive), and turned the ball over 16 times.

“There was plenty that we didn’t do well, but we figured out how to make enough winning plays in the end,” Oats said. “We have winners, we have seasoned veterans that know how to get wins even when you aren’t playing your best.”

The Crimson Tide were led by Sears who scored 22 points, and assisted six scorers. Wrightsell also had a fantastic senior day sending the Crimson Tide into overtime with his late three, but also scoring 20 points overall.

“Mark Sears’s leadership throughout the game was as good as he’s had all year,” Oats said. “He just kept making big plays and hanging in there all game.”

Sears and Wrightsell both reflected on their time as members of the Crimson Tide and what the University and it’s fans mean to them.

“Being a kid from Muscle Shoals, I never thought I’d be playing for a high-major school in Alabama,” Sears said. “It’s been great being a member of the Crimson Tide.”

“It’s a blessing to the player here,” Wrightsell said. “It’s been a fun journey and a fun ride, but obviously it’s not done yet. I want to win a National Championship here.”

Oats believes the Crimson Tide could be SEC Regular Season Champions if not for the injury that sidelined Wrightsell for four games.

“We need him,” Oats said. “If we would’ve had him in some of those games where he didn’t play and we lost, we probably win an SEC Regular Season Championship.”

Nelson and Nick Pringle both scored double-double’s in today’s regular season finale. Nelson scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Pringle scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Their teammates know their play and toughness in the paint is essential to the Crimson Tide’s success.

“Those guys protect the paint and when they’re getting stops we can score on the outside,” Alabama’s Sam Walters said.

Alabama finishes their regular season in style with a 21-10 overall record and a 12-5 SEC record.

“It felt good to get a win going into the SEC Tournament so we could get some momentum going,” Sears said.

Arkansas falls to 15-16 overall and a 6-12 SEC record. Khalif Battle led the Razorbacks in scoring with 22 points and seven rebounds. Makhi Mitchell turned in an impressive performance off the bench for the Razorbacks scoring 18 points, grabbing five rebounds, and blocking four shots.

“They shot it better than we did tonight,” Oats said. “They did a lot of things better than we did, but we found a way to win.”

Both teams will head to Nashville, Tennessee where the first round of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament begins Wednesday March 13.