3 Instant Observations from No. 18 Alabama's Win over Seton Hall

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—No. 18 Alabama was facing its biggest test of the season against a high-major opponent with a Friday night matchup against Seton Hall. Because of some late misses at the free throw line in the final few minutes, the game got a little too close for comfort for the Crimson Tide fans inside Coleman Coliseum.

The Pirates kept fighting until the final whistle, but Alabama had just enough in the tank hold off Seton Hall with a 82-76 win to improve to 4-0 on the season.

"Good thing is, found a way to win a close game," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "Sometimes you've got to figure out ways to win close games even when you don't play well. But you've gotta give Seton Hall a lot of credit."

Here are three quick observations from the Crimson Tide's win:

Amari Allen amazes

Alabama's offense was ice cold for most of the first half, and the Crimson Tide found itself trailing by six points with five minutes to go in half. The team closed the half on a 16-0 run, and sophomore guard Amari Allen had a personal eight-point spurt during that run.

"My mentality is just to take the right shots, try not to force," Allen said.

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Allen ended up leading the Crimson Tide in scoring with 24 points, one off from his career high. He did it in every aspect, taking shots around the rim, from beyond the 3-point line and at the free throw line.

The sophomore guard is the most complete player on the Alabama roster. The offense runs through Allen, who also had 5 assists on the night.

"He's a tough, physical, competitive kid," Oats said of Allen. "I love coaching him. I think he's about all the right stuff."

Turnover trouble

The main reason Seton Hall was keeping it close in the first half was because of Alabama's turnover issues. Through the first three games, Alabama's season high in turnovers was 14, and the Crimson Tide had 12 turnovers in the first half alone, leading to 16 points off turnovers for the Pirates. They finished with 25 points off the Crimson Tide's 17 turnovers.

"Their physicality bothered us in the first half," Oats said. "Some of our younger guys, I didn't think handled it well."

Seton Hall ran a full-court press for most of the game that kept the Alabama offense out of its comfort zone. However, the Crimson Tide did protect the ball better in the second half with just five turnovers after the half.

Rocky rebounding

Oats put a big emphasis on defensive rebounding heading into Friday night's matchup, and his players answered the call early on. Alabama out-rebounded Seton Hall 41-36 overall.

The effort on the glass is why the game didn't get away from the Tide despite the cold shooting early. Alabama was cleaning up its misses and wasn't allow the Pirates to grab many second chances in the first half.

However, it was a different story in the second half with the Pirates nearly doubling Alabama up in rebounding after the half.

"I thought the first half they treated us like little boys," Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway said. "At halftime, we made some adjustments."

It's an area that will still need to improve as Seton Hall finished with 21 second-chance points. Alabama has a lot of talent and offensive firepower, but it will struggle to beat good teams if it can't get better on the glass. The Crimson Tide has one more tuneup opportunity on Tuesday at home against Kennesaw State before entering the heart of the non-conference schedule.

"You look at the the rebounds, and it's a little bit disappointing," Oats said. "Like with some of the guys that played heavier minutes with the amount of rebounds…We’re going to have to play the guys that rebound now.”

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