Defensive Woes Lead to First Alabama Basketball Loss of Season

The Crimson Tide couldn't come up with enough stops to come back in the Emerald Coast Classic opener.

Through the first two weeks of the Alabama basketball season there was no question the offense was one to behold. Where the real questions and concerns came was on the defensive end of the floor. 

In the 17th-ranked Crimson Tide's 92-81 loss to Ohio State in the semifinals of the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday night, those concerns were realized to the fullest extent.

The Buckeyes put on an absolute shooting clinic, converting on 10-of-18 attempts from beyond the arc for a 56 percent clip. From the field as a whole, Ohio State shot over 54 percent, and scored over 1.3 points per possession. 

"Ohio State's tough, they're good," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "They exposed our weaknesses on defense we've been saying for four games, six if you count the scrimmage and the exhibition. Our defense isn't where it needs to be."

Alabama's offense didn't go nuclear as it had in the previous four games, scoring a season-low 81 points, but shot just 9-for-30 from 3-point range, well below its season average. 

"I think we have too many guys worried about their offense right now, and not worried about their defense," Oats said. "We got to be better on defense to be any good at this level."

The game was close for the majority of the first half, but the Buckeyes took a 5-point halftime lead and extended it to double figures after a few minutes of the second stanza.

From there, it seemed nearly impossible for Alabama to string together multiple stops in a row. Every time the Crimson Tide scored to cut into the lead, it would either give up a bucket or foul and send Ohio State to the free throw line. 

The physicality of Ohio State challenged Alabama, as it was the first major opponent the Crimson Tide has faced all season. For the game, the Buckeyes won the rebounding battle 32-24, and scored 13 second chance points. 

While the overall group effort was undeniably poor, Oats was complimentary of one of his players' defensive performance after the game. 

"One guy I think that's really locked into being a great defender over the last three or four weeks is Rylan [Griffen]," Oats said. "You look at plus-minus, he's the only guy that wasn't a negative for us. He didn't have the greatest offensive game, but we were better with him on the floor than anybody else tonight."

The question now becomes how will this Alabama team respond after Friday's poor showing? It won't have long until we get the chance to see the answer to that question. 

"I think right now we've just got to get everyone to start locking in on the defensive end and worrying about the right stuff," Oats said. 

Alabama will take on the loser of Oregon/Santa Clara in the 3rd-place game of the Emerald Coast Classic tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be livestreamed on FloHoops.com.

No. 17 Alabama Basketball Falls to Ohio State 92-81