When Alabama Basketball's Offense Failed, It Was The Defense That Gave The Tide Chance

Charles Bediako only played 17 minutes on a bad knee, but Alabama's defense still produced without its anchor.

Alabama basketball is strong on both sides of the floor, but it's no secret that the team is known for its offensive firepower. It's the perimeter shooting combined with a "never say die" attitude that has allowed the Crimson Tide to always have a chance. Unfortunately that was not the case against Tennessee.

The offense struggled, shooting only 35.4 percent from the field. Had it not been for Nimari Burnett and Jaden Bradley going for a combined 17 points in the second half, the numbers would've been much worse.

Despite the poor offensive night, however, the defense had an overall solid game. In some ways, the numbers were a sign that the defense had a really good game, and there are two specific stats for that.

First, the lead never reached double digits at any point for Tennessee. It was understandable in the second half, considering Alabama shot 42.9 percent from 3-point range and 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. But it was the first half, where the Crimson Tide offense couldn't even get shots up (the offense was held to a season-low 48 attempts from the field), much less make them, where the defense held it together. 

Sure, Tennessee missed some open looks, but for a team that shoots above 40 percent on average, holding the Volunteers to 29.7 percent from the field in the first half is a sign of strong defensive effort.

Which transitions to the second point: Tennessee shot well below average against the Alabama defense, both from the field and on 3-pointers.

Tennessee's shoooting percentage for the season	Tennessee's shoooting percentage against Alabama
43.2 percent from the field	36.5 percent from the field
32.9 percent on 3-pointers	26.1 percent on 3-pointers

The overall numbers don't indicate that Tennessee's offense was able to respond in key moments, but it does show how the defense kept Alabama in the fight.

It's also of note that Charles Bediako, who came into the game with a bad knee, only played 17 minutes, including just five in the second half. Head coach Nate Oats talked about that after the game. 

"You can tell Charles wasn't 100 percent tonight," Oats said. "We tried to play him some, but he wasn't himself so we went away from him in the second half.

"They were obviously able to finish some stuff at the rim late, but I don't think they would've got it if Chuck was healthy."

Oats said the defense wasn't the issue overall, but "we couldn't get stops late in the game."

Jaden Bradley was also asked about Bediako's absence, saying "Chuck is definitely a key part in our defense, we definitely missed him out there today." 

Granted, Tennessee was missing Josiah-Jordan James, a key player for the Volunteers who would've made the offense much more potent. But a healthy Bediako has served as a defensive anchor for Alabama, and the Tide had to battle without him.

Alabama's next game will be at home against the Georgia Bulldogs. The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

See also: No. 1 Alabama Falls to No. 10 Tennessee in Knoxville for First SEC Loss