Alabama’s trip to Tucson to take on Arizona resulted in an 88-82 win for the Wildcats.
This highly anticipated matchup between Alabama and Arizona, and freshmen phenoms Collin Sexton and Deandre Ayton, certainly lived up to the hype. Sexton went for 30 points and Ayton had 29 points and grabbed an incredible 18 rebounds.
The first half of this game was wildly entertaining. Several NBA scouts and front office managers were in attendance and Sexton and Ayton were displaying to them why they each deserve to be picked high in the upcoming NBA draft.
Both squads came out of the gate hot. Alabama began to cool off midway through the opening half, but Arizona continued to make shots. The Wildcats got out to a 24-13 lead with less than 9 minutes to go until halftime.
The Crimson Tide withstood the run and showed a lot of grit to fight back into the game. Alabama went on a subsequent 13-2 run to tie the game at 26-26 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
Both teams exchanged buckets for the last 5 minutes until Collin Sexton banked in a 3 pointer to give Alabama a 40-38 lead at halftime.
Alabama was able to maintain a small lead for the first 8 minutes of the second half until a Brandon Randolph 3 pointer gave Arizona a 59-58 lead.
The game remained tight throughout the remainder of the second half, with both teams going to the free throw line on what seemed about every possession. Collin Sexton made two free throws to tie the contest at 76-76 with 3:18 left to play.
Arizona responded with a 8-1 run that sank the Crimson Tide. Alabama fought through adversity to the final whistle, but fell short at the McKale Center.
Sexton and Ayton put on incredible displays, but there were other players turned in key performances in this game.
Donta Hall had 15 points and 12 rebounds in front of personnel from several NBA franchises. Hall’s draft stock has been rapidly improving as he has turned some heads with his athleticism, shot-blocking prowess, and rim-running ability. Hall has been one of the most improved players in the SEC.
As for Arizona, the returning PAC-12 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player had 25 points and 6 assists for the Wildcats.
Analysis
If I was told that Alabama would go 24 of 28 from the line and only turn the ball over eight times, as well as get 30 points from Sexton, I would have probably predicted a Crimson Tide victory.
Unfortunately for Alabama, Arizona played one of its best games of the season. The Wildcats were 51.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from three with only 12 turnovers.
This performance from Arizona, combined with a 38.7 percent field goal percentage, was too much for the Crimson Tide to overcome.
Alabama came into one of the toughest venues in college basketball (Arizona has now defeated 45 straight non-conference opponents at home) and nearly knocked off a very talented team that has the pieces to make a Final Four.
Along with that, there are several positive things to take away from this game from Alabama’s perspective.
The free throw shooting by the Tide in this game is probably the thing that this team is most pleased with. Shooting nearly 86 percent as a team is excellent on the road, especially since free throw shooting has been an achilles heel for this team, even at home.
Another positive for Alabama was limiting itself to just eight turnovers coming off the Rhode Island game in which the Tide committed 24 turnovers.
This is a game that, in the future, Alabama will look back on as a building block. The Crimson Tide’s freshmen responded well in their first true road game and did not back down from the fight in a hostile environment.
Sexton will likely continue to do amazing things. Braxton Key should be back for Alabama’s game against Mercer on December 19th. When Key returns, he will fill a lot of gaps in this team. Avery Johnson will be able to solidify his rotations and it will be helpful to have another returning player on the court.
We will see how this Alabama team gels with Key on the court. Key averaged 12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists as a true freshman last year.
Alabama will return to action after final exams as they will take on the Mercer Bears in the Rocket City Classic at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville on December 19th.