Alabama Basketball Shows True Potential in 95-59 Win over Liberty
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Throughout the 2021-22 season, one of Alabama basketball's more consistent issues was the inability to correct mistakes on a game-by-game basis.
If the Crimson Tide struggled from the free-throw line, it seemed to be an issue for multiple games. A rough shooting night from beyond the arc? That was bound to turn into a streak. Frequent turnovers resulting in game-changing points for the opposition? That was a big problem in Alabama's streak where it lost five of eight games at the turn of the new year.
While it might be just two games into the 2022-23 season, the Crimson Tide seems to have turned over a new leaf regarding midweek adjustments. On Friday night in Alabama's 95-59 win over Liberty, problems that the Crimson Tide had in its season-opening win against the Longwood Lancers seemed all but behind them.
"It's gonna end up being a really good win for us," head coach Nate Oats said following the game. "[Liberty is] going to win a lot of games here this year."
Against Longwood, turnovers, free-throws and 3-pointers were Alabama's biggest shortcomings. In total, the Crimson Tide turned the basketball over 19 times, resulting in 11 points for the Lancers. Additionally, Alabama shot 18-for-26 from the free-throw line (69.2 percent) and an abysmal 3-for-28 (10.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
Over the four-day stretch in-between games, Oats and players all reiterated that their primary focus was correcting the mistakes that they had made against Longwood. On Saturday night versus Liberty, the game's result confirmed their efforts were not in vain.
Against the Flames, the Crimson Tide had clearly corrected its mistakes. While Alabama's turnovers were still a tad higher than Oats would have wanted at 15, there was still marginal improvement.
"Better than last game but still too many," Oats said. "We had 14 assists, 15 turnovers. You'd like to see that ratio a lot better the other way. Still gonna be a point of emphasis moving forward, we just gotta clean some stuff up in that area.”
Another area of improvement was free-throws, which the Crimson Tide was able to clean up to 31-for-38 from the charity stripe. However, it was Alabama's effort from deep that marked the best area of improvement on the night.
Over the 40 minutes of the game, the Crimson Tide shot 10-for-22 from 3-point territory, a solid 45.5 percent on the night. Freshman forward Brandon Miller led the way with four 3-pointers off five attempts, with junior point guard Mark Sears right behind him shooting 3-of-5.
"I felt like we got going pretty early and just maintained the energy that we had coming from each other," Miller said. "We just build each other up to win."
Now to be completely fair, comparing stats between two games is hardly an indicator for the entire season. Alabama still has 29 games left to play on its calendar, with a lot of tough competition on the horizon. That being said, this team seems to have had a complete mentality reset — likely a result of the drastic personnel changes in addition to an uptick in leadership from the team's returners.
Another factor in this team's mentality change has been its ability to persist. Even as Alabama had a lead of over 30 points in the second half, the team was still playing gritty defense and making the lives of the Flames players miserable.
Liberty was limited to 28 points in the second half, including just 3-of-15 from beyond the arc. The Flames turned the ball over seven times, while the Crimson Tide recorded five steals and three blocks in the second half alone.
A 17-2 run in the second half was the final push Alabama needed to win the game, but it wasn't just solid offense that kept the Crimson Tide rolling. Oats' emphasis on correcting mistakes and continuing to play good defense is what kept the game in Alabama's firm control.
"I'd say our defense, really," Sears said after the game. "Coach preached all week about defense, defense, defense and it really showed tonight and helped our offense."
There's certainly a long way to go this season, but if Alabama keeps up its game-to-game corrections like it has over Week 1, there will likely be a lot more wins in its future that mirror the one against Liberty.
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