No. 4 Alabama Uses Second Half Run To Pull Away From No. 15 Arkansas

The Crimson Tide used a 13-0 run to put away the Razorbacks and move to 4-0 in SEC play.

It was a dogfight between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Arkansas Razorbacks, a heated battle of runs and physical play from the very beginning. But with a late second half push, Nate Oats' squad was able to defeat Arkansas 84-69 on the road. 

Mark Sears led all scorers with 26 points on 7-for-16 shooting, while also going a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line. 

The other two double-digit scorers were Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney, who finished with 14 and 15 points, respectively. Both players only had three combined points in the first half, but each of them turned it on in the second half, combining for 26 second-half points (Miller scored all of his in the second half).

Arkansas had four players in double figures, led by Jalen Graham's 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Davonte Davis also had 16 points and 10 rebounds, but he got it on an inefficient 6-for-17 shooting from the floor. 

Ricky Council and Mahki Mitchell round out the double-digit scoring, contributing 15 points and 10 points, respectively.

The key moment of the game was when Arkansas cut the game to two points with 4:54 left in the game. Oats called a timeout, then Noah Clowney and Brandon Miller responded with three consecutive 3-pointers and Alabama went on a 13-0 run to make the lead 15. From then on Alabama was in control until the final buzzer.

With the win, Alabama moves to 14-2 and 4-0 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide is also 4-0 on the road. The next game will be against LSU in Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN.

**Keep refreshing the page for live updates, stats and analysis of Alabama's matchup against Arkansas.

FINAL - Alabama 84, Arkansas 69

Second Half

• Sears makes both free throws after Anthony Black commits his fifth foul.

• Rick Council fouls Sears, who makes both free throws. Alabama leads 82-67 with less than 40 seconds to go.

• Miller hits consecutive 3-pointers for a 9-0 Alabama run. Arkansas calls a timeout. The Crimson Tide is up 74-63

• Clowney makes a 3-pointer off a pass from Sears out of the timeout. Lead is back to five.

• A jumper by Jalen Graham makes it a 7-0 run for Arkansas. Nate Oats calls a timeout, the score 65-63 Alabama with 4:45 remaining.

• Quinerly comes in for Bradley

• Arkansas has made its last five shots, closing the gap to four points. 65-61 Alabama

• Miller makes all three shots, makes it 65-56 Alabama

• Brandon Miller gets fouled on a 3-pointer by Mahki Mitchell, which was his fifth and final foul

• Miller and Bediako come in for Gurley and Griffen

• Welch fouls Jalen Graham on the post entry pass before the media timeout. Score is 62-54 Alabama

• Welch comes in for Clowney

• Jaden Bradley comes in for Miller

• Sears draws a foul on Mahki Mitchell, his fourth. Sears makes both free throws, making the score 62-50 Alabama.

• Clowney's 3-pointer makes it a 6-0 run for Alabama. At the media timeout, the score is 55-48 Alabama with 11:59 to go in the game. 

• Clowney draws a foul on Mahki Mitchell, his fourth, and makes the layup. He converts the free throw, 52-48 Alabama

• Rylan Griffen comes in for Quinerly

• Clowney gets fouled on the dunk attempt by Mahki Mitchell. He splits the free throws.46-44

• Miller is fouled on the drive by Davis. Miller splits the free throws. 45-42 Alabama

• Arkansas' Council draws a foul against Gurley. Council makes both free throws

• Clowney misses the free throw after the timeout

• Arkansas' Davonte Davis makes a 3-pointer, but Noah Clowney makes the layup and draws the foul right before the media timeout. 44-40  Alabama

• Brandon Miller draws a foul and makes both free throws. 42-37 Alabama

• Noah Gurley comes in for Bediako

• Bediako is called for his fourth personal foul. Mahki Mitchell makes both free throws

• Miller opens the scoring with a putback layup

• Mark Sears forces a turnover

• Arkansas starts the second half with the first possession

First Half

• Welch makes his first field goal in an Alabama uniform on a broken play to end the half. Score is tied at 33

• Miller gets called for his second foul of the game. Arkansas' Ricky Council makes both free throws. 

• Griffen draws a foul against Joseph Pinion. He splits them to tie the game at 31

• With the two made free throws, Welch scores his first points of the season. 31-30 Arkansas over Alabama

• Welch draws a foul and heads to the free-throw line.

• A steal and layup by Arkansas caps a 7-0 run, giving the Razorbacks a 29-28 lead. It's the first lead for Arkansas since it was 7-5.

• Clowney gets his third foul, forcing him to the bench. Pringle comes for Clowney, and Welch comes in for Bradley.

• Clowney comes in for Bediako, and Council makes both free throws. 28-25 Alabama

• Bediako is called for his third foul after trying to defend Rick Council's layup

• Jaden Bradley draws a foul but misses both free throws.

• Rylan Griffen comes in for Welch

• Welch misses both free throws after the timeout

• Dom Welch secures the rebound before being fouled. At the media timeout. Alabama leads 28-22

• Jaden Bradley makes a 3-point to push the lead to six. 

• Bediako and Welch come in for Pringle and Gurley

• Mark Sears makes both free throws to make it 23-18. 

• After being called for an offensive foul, he comes out for Jaden Bradley

• Nick Pringle and Jahvon Quinerly come in for Bediako and Griffen. 

• Noah Gurley misses the 3-point attempt before the media timeout.  Score is 21-16 Alabam with 6:18 to go in the first half

• Noah Clowney is called for an offensive foul, his second. Gurley comes in for Clowney, as does Rylan Griffen for Bradley

• Arkansas' Davonte Davis makes both free throws. 19-14 Alabama

• Dom Welch gets called for a over-the-back foul, the second time in two possessions for  Alabama

• Noah Clowney comes in for Mark Sears

• Miller is called for his first foul before the media timeout. 17-12 Alabama

• Miller returns for Noah Gurley as Arkansas' Anthony Black makes  the first free throw. He ends up splitting them

• Bradley and Dom Welch come in for Quinerly and Griffen

• Rylan Griffen draws a fould against Jordan Walsh. He makes both free throws.

• Quinerly makes both free throws. 11-7 Alabama

• Each team was awarded a team technical foul, which offset each other

• Quinerly draws the foul on a drive to the basket, but a minor altercation leads to an official review. Quinerly knocked the ball out of Anthony Black's hand which started the entire debacle.

• Bediako and Rylan Griffen come in for Noah Clowney and Brandon Miller

• Sears finishes the layup after getting a steal. 9-7 Alabama

• Noah Gurley draws a foul but misses both free throws

• Sears ties the game with a putback layup. 7-7 score

• Jahvon Quinerly and Noah Gurley have subbed in for Charles Bediako and Jaden Bradley

• A foul is called on Mahkel Mitchell before the media timeout. The score is Arkansas 7, Alabama 5

• Alabama's defense force a shot clock violation against Arkansas.

• Mark Sears draws a foul and converts both free throws. Score is tied at 5

• Mahkel Mitchell dunks on Noah Clowney and draws the foul. Converts the free throw to give Arkansas an early 5-3 lead

• Arkansas wins the jump ball to start the game. Davonte Davis opens up the scoring with a floater.

Pregame

Starting 🖐️ against the Razorbacks.#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/W2NhbIq4Pm

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 11, 2023

• Referees for the game
• Tone Greene, Chuck Jones, Keith Kimble

• The game will tipoff at 6 p.m. CT 

How To Watch

How to Watch Alabama at Arkansas

Who: No. 4 Alabama (13-2, 3-0 SEC) vs. No. 15 Arkansas (12-3, 1-2 SEC)

When: 6 p.m., Wednesday

Where: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Ark.

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, 36-30

Last Meeting: In the lone matchup between the teams last season, Alabama came away with the narrow 68-67 win in a tightly-contested battle at Coleman Coliseum. Noah Gurley had the game-winning bucket with 27 seconds left to give the Crimson Tide the lead and the win.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide dominated Kentucky from opening tip to final whistle, never trailing in the game. Alabama won 78-52 for the largest margin of victory in series history over the Wildcats. Brandon Miller had 19 points, and Mark Sears added 16. Charles Bediako had nine points and held his own defensively against the reigning player of the year, Oscar Tshiebwe.

Last time out, Arkansas: The Razorbacks struggled on the road against Auburn. Freshman guard Anthony Black contributed 23 points, but did not have enough help surrounding him on offense in the 72-59 loss.

Alabama leaders:

• Scoring: Brandon Miller (19.1 ppg)

• Rebounding: Noah Clowney (8.5 rpg)

• Assists: Jaden Bradley (3.7 apg)

Arkansas leaders:

• Scoring: Rickey Council IV (18.1 ppg)

• Rebounding: Makhi Mithcell (5.7 rpg)

• Assists: Anthony Black (3.8 apg)