BamaCentral Courtside: Alabama 74, South Carolina 47

The Alabama Crimson Tide gave its best defensive effort of the season to stay unbeaten through the early part of conference play.

The Alabama Crimson Tide dominated the South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC home-opener for head coach Nate Oats's squad. 

It didn't start out going the home team's way as the Tide fell behind early 13-6 due to multiple early turnovers. 

However, it was just a matter of time, once Alabama settled into the game and began to run its offense. Mark Sears, led all scorers with 31 points in the contest, kept Alabama in striking distance in the first half, scoring 15 of Alabama's 30 points. 

It was all about the defense in the second half for the Tide, something Oats has been preaching throughout the season. Alabama held South Carolina to just .581 points per possession in the second frame, limiting them to just 18 points as a team. 

One of the biggest spark plugs for Alabama was Mouhamed Dioubate. The forward came off the bench for nine minutes in the second half and hauled in six rebounds to fuel the Crimson Tide effort.

The defense turned into offense for Alabama as the Tide cashed in nine turnovers for 17 points. It wasn't just the defense, but the rebounding effort in the second half as well that allowed Alabama to clear the glass defensively and generate 13 second-chance points offensively.

The Crimson Tide still has a long SEC season ahead, but should the team be able to bottle up its defensive performance on Tuesday night, they'll become one of the tougher teams to take down in the conference.

Alabama is back in action on Saturday night on the road against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs host the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday before welcoming the Crimson Tide into Starkville.

Alabama Basketball Knocks Out Gamecocks For Second SEC Win