No. 2 Alabama Stays Perfect at Home with Strong Second Half over Arkansas

Despite a poor 3-point shooting performance, the Crimson Tide put up 58 points in the second half to pull away from the Razorbacks.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —Alabama was facing its largest halftime deficit at home all season, and the energy among the team and the fans inside the arena was not high. 

Thunderous dunks from Noah Clowney and Brandon Miller to open the second half brought the energy right back up and were a sign of things to come for the Crimson Tide.

Behind a strong second half and 24 total points from Miller, No. 2 Alabama beat Arkansas 86-83 Saturday afternoon inside a packed Coleman Coliseum to complete the season sweep over the Razorbacks.

"Give our guys a lot of credit after being down nine at the half, coming out, playing as hard as they did in the second half and getting the win," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. 

Arkansas had Alabama all out of sorts offensively in the first half. The Crimson Tide shot 33 percent from the floor and 10 percent from beyond the arc. Alabama had 10 turnovers and four shots blocked inside in the first half alone.

But it looked like a different team in the second half. Alabama used a 15-0 run in the second half to not only reclaim the lead, but build up a lead that it never again relinquished. Miller and Jahvon Quinerly were a big part of Alabama's offensive outburst in the second half. Quinely started the second half in place of Jaden Bradley and  finished with 16 points. 

After falling behind by as many as 12, Arkansas didn't go down without a fight. The Hogs showed some bursts of energy over the final few minutes to get back into the game and make it close, making six of their last seven shots from the floor before the final shot. 

The Razorbacks had the ball with eight seconds left and the chance to tie the game. The final heave at the buzzer fell short, and Alabama hung on for the win.

Clutch free throw shooting from Mark Sears over the final minute helped Alabama maintain its lead even with the strong final push from Arkansas. Sears finished with 13 points with nine from the free throw line. 

"We did a great job in hitting the free throws," Oats said. "We shoot 30. They shoot 29. We get 25 points at the line. They only get 20— that's the difference in the game."

Despite making only three 3-pointers the entire game, Alabama put up its fourth highest point total in SEC play. For as poor as the Crimson Tide shot from the 3-point line, it almost made up for it with the team’s performance from the free throw line. Alabama shot 83 percent from the charity stripe, including the clutch shots from Sears and Rylan Griffen over the final minutes of the game.

Arkansas (19-10, 8-8 SEC) had three players finish with 20 points or more: Nick Smith Jr. (24), Devonate Daivs (21) and Ricky Council IV (20.) It was the most points allowed by Alabama in SEC play. 

Alabama improves to 25-4 (15-1 SEC) on the season, maintaining its perfect record at home and keeping control over its own destiny in the SEC regular season title race.

How it happened...

(latest updates at the top)

Second Half

FINAL: Alabama 86, Arkansas 83

Alabama hangs on for the win. 

• 0:08- Smith hits a 3-pointer for Arkansas to cut it to 85-83

• 0:18- Alabama fouls Council on the basket. He converts the and-1 to cut the Alabama lead to 83-80

• 0:22- Two more free throws from Sears put Alabama back up six.

• 0:35- Sears makes two free throws to put Alabama up 81-75. 

• 1:13- Arkansas takes a timeout after a made shot from Dais. He was fouled on the play and will be at the line after the timeout. Alabama 78, Arkansas 72

• 1:26- Quinerly answers with a 3-pointer to put Alabama back up eight. 

• 1:46- A 3-pointer from Davis and turnover from the Crimson Tide gives the Hogs an easy basket. Arkansas is on a 7-0 run and cut it to 75-70.

• 3:08- Miller finally makes his first 3-pointer, and that might be it for Arkansas. Alabama 75, Arkansas 63

• 4:23- Anthony Black fouls out with Alabama is up 70-61

• 6:09- Alabama is up 64-55 at the under-8 media timeout. Miller will be at the line out of the break. 
• The Crimson Tide has still made just one 3-pointer but finding other ways to score. Nick Pringle with four big points this half. 
• 10:26- Jumper by Davis ends a five-minute scoring drought for Arkansas.

• 10:39- Miller makes two free throws, and Alabama is up 10 points. Crimson Tide on a 15-0 run, 56-46 Alabama

• 11:00- The and-1 from Clowney puts Alabama up 54-46.

• 11:45- Miller picks up his third foul.

• 12:22- Musselman calls another timeout as a layup from Miller puts Alabama up 51-46, six straight points for Miller.
• Crimson Tide on a 10-0 run.

• PGA Champion Justin Thomas leads an ALA-BAMA chant during the commercial break.

• 14:01- Eric Musselman calls timeout after a layup from Miller gives the Crimson Tide its first lead of the second half. Alabama 47, Arkansas 46

• 14:30- Offensive rebound and putback from Bediako pull Alabama within one.
• Bediako has four offensive rebounds in the game. 

• 15:55- Arkansas still has the lead at the first media timeout of the second half, but thanks to the aggressiveness of Quinerly, Alabama has cut the deficit to three. Arkansas 44, Alabama 41
• Alabama is still ice cold from beyond the arc, missing its first three 3-pointers here in the second half, 1 of 13 in the game. 
• Quinerly running the offense out of halftime with five points and two assists in the early minutes of the second half. 

• 16:49- Quinerly converts the and-1, and Alabama has cut the deficit to three points, Arkansas leads 42-39

• 18:55- Alley-oop from Quinerly to Miller gets the Coleman crowd on its feet. Arkansas 37, Alabama 32
• Alabama opens the second half with a nice assist from Quinerly to Clowney. Alabama cuts the Arkansas lead to 37-30

Halftime Notes

• Largest halftime deficit at home for Alabama this season. 

• Alabama shot 10 percent from 3 in the first half, with the only make coming from Dom Welch. 
• Nick Smith Jr. leads all scorers with 10 points but Davis and Council both have eight for Arkansas as well. 
• Arkansas had the lead for 16:05 of the first half.

First Half

Halftime: Arkansas 37, Alabama 28

• Smith floats one in right before the buzzer to push the Arkansas lead back to nine. 

• 0:52- A thunderous dunk from Clowney gets some energy back in the building and cuts the deficit to seven. 

• 2:02- Free throws from Clowney snap Alabama's nearly four-minute scoring drought. Arkansas 33, Alabama 24

• 3:18- Nate Oats calls timeout after the Hogs score four quick points out of the commercial break capped by an alley-oop from Council. Arkansas leads 33-22

• 3:51- Alabama hasn't scored in over two minutes and has just one field goal in the last four-plus minutes. The Razorbacks have hit their first 3-pointer of the game and built up their largest lead. Arkansas 29, Alabama 22
• The Crimson Tide has missed a lot of shots around the rim so far. Arkansas has four blocks, and Alabama is shooting just 32 percent from the floor. 
• 7:47- Tie game at the under-8 timeout. Alabama 19, Arkansas 19
• Both teams still playing good defense which subsequently means neither team is shooting well from the floor. 
• Brandon Miller leads Alabama with seven points, and Ricky Council IV has six for the Crimson Tide. 
• 9:14- Alabama takes its first lead of the game on a layup from Sears. Alabama 17, Arkansas 15

• 10:08- Alabama hits its first 3-pointer of the game to tie it up. It comes from Dom Welch. Alabama 15, Arkansas 15

• 11:22- Arkansas still leads at the under-12 media timeout. Very frantic game so far. Neither team has been able to settle into any type of rhythm. Arkansas 11, Alabama 10

• Nick Saban is also back courtside in Coleman Coliseum today. Third basketball game he's come to this season. 

• 14:28- Alley-oop from Sears to Nick Pringle brings Alabama within one. Arkansas 9, Alabama 8

• 15:34- Miller lays it in and is fouled. It's Anthony Black's second foul already for Arkansas. Miller will be at the line after the TV timeout. Arkansas 7, Alabama 4
• Alabama has three turnovers already, but has also been aggressive on the boards with three offensive rebounds. 

• 15:57- Alabama finally gets on the board with a lay-in from Bediako, Arkansas still leads 5-2

• Nimari Burnett and Jahvon Quinerly are the first players off the bench for Alabama. They come in for Clowney and Bradley.

• Smith scores the first basket of the game to give Arkansas the 2-0 lead.

• Both teams turn it over on their first possessions.

• Alabama wins the opening tip, and this game is underway. 

Pregame

• Brandon Miller gets by far the loudest cheer during the starting lineups. Before the PA announcer could even get his name out, the crowd was roaring. 
• Alabama starting lineup:
• Jaden Bradley
• Mark Sears
• Brandon Miller
• Noah Clowney
• Charles Bediako
• Arkansas starting lineup:
• Anthony Black
• Nick Smith Jr. 
• Davontae Davis
• Jordan Walsh
• Makhi Mitchell

• Normal starting five for Alabama.
• Well, 10 minutes before tip, the student section has not filled up.
• PGA champion Justin Thomas is in the house for today's game. 

• Today's officials: Terry Oglesby, Steven Anderson, Owen Shortt
• Brandon Miller comes on to the court for warmups at 11:57 a.m.
• An hour before tip, a good portion of the student section is filled up.
• The three players being honored for Senior Day-- Dom Welch, Noah Gurley and Adam Cottrell-- were some of the first to come out on the court for warmups.
• Lots of NBA scouts present for Saturday's game.

NBA scouts present for the Alabama-Arkansas game:

Raptors, Pistons, Pelicans, Knicks, Magic, Nets, Nuggets, Pacers, Bulls, Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Hornets, Jazz, Kings, Spurs, Timberwolves, Wizards

— Blake Byler (@blakebyler45) February 25, 2023

How to Watch Alabama vs. Arkansas

Who: No. 2 Alabama (24-4, 14-1 SEC) vs. Arkansas (19-9, 8-7 SEC)

When: 1 p.m. CT, Saturday

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

TV: ESPN2

Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart; Analyst: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Series: Arkansas leads, 36-31

Last Meeting: Back on Jan. 11, the Razorbacks and Crimson Tide clashed in Fayetteville. It was a tie game at halftime, and Alabama struggled to put Arkansas away after building up a big lead in the second half. The Razorbacks cut it to two points with less than five minutes to go, and the home crowd was rocking.

Then, Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney combined to hit three 3-pointers to help Alabama pull away for good on the way to the 84-69 victory for the Crimson Tide.

Last Time Out, Alabama: Alabama needed overtime to get a win on the road at South Carolina. Brandon Miller had a career-high 41 points in the win, including the game-tying shot to send the game to overtime, and the game-winning shot that put the Crimson Tide ahead for the 78-76 victory.

Last time out, Arkansas: The Razorbacks put together one of their best performances of the year with a 97-65 win over Georgia. Highly-rated freshman Nick Smith Jr. has been dealing with an injury all season, but had a career high in scoring with 26 points in the win and fourth game back from injury.

Alabama leaders:

• Scoring: Brandon Miller (19.5 ppg)

• Rebounding: Noah Clowney (8.0 rpg)

• Assists: Jaden Bradley (3.5 apg)

Arkansas leaders:

• Scoring: Rickey Council IV (16.6 ppg)

• Rebounding: Makhi Mithcell (5.9 rpg)

• Assists: Anthony Black (4.4 apg)