Alabama’s win over Mercer Tuesday night is still an outcome that looks good on the resume, even if it wasn’t pretty at times.
But while the Bears are a senior-laden team that was picked to win their conference, the first look at an Alabama team that has finally gotten back last season’s leading scorer in Braxton Key was somewhat troublesome.
The first half featured a plethora of missed 3-pointers, and the Tide showed very little effort to try anything new. The offense looked much improved in the second half when the Tide scored 49 points but that was overshadowed by the near-collapse in the final seconds of the game.
It is obvious that this team is young, but some of the mistakes on display Tuesday night must be cleared up before the Texas matchup in Birmingham on Friday.
There is no excuse to almost blow a six-point lead with 11 seconds left based entirely on self-destructing mistakes.
Alabama big Daniel Giddens still cannot seem to stay out of foul trouble despite showing upside at points this season. Key was understandably rusty after making his season debut but he must shake off the cobwebs quickly. Freshman forward Herbert Jones has seemed to lose confidence on the offensive end and did not often look for opportunities in limited playing time.
Of course, since it was a win, there were some positives from the game as well.
Collin Sexton carried the team in the second half on both ends of the floor. His ability to get to the rim and either finish, find teammates or get to the foul line really pulled the offense together.
Huntsville native John Petty also showed the shooting stroke that we saw early in the season as he seems to be snapping into form.
Donta Hall was once again a dominant presence in the paint as he impacted multiple Mercer possessions with his shot-blocking ability, and his free-throw shooting was excellent for the second straight game.
Overall, as we head closer to the SEC opener against Texas A&M, this young Crimson Tide team has showed their potential for stretches but must find consistency in their play.
This team will be forced to grow up quickly if they want to contend for an SEC title.
Although some may be frustrated with some of the mistakes of this team, there is still a lot to look forward to.
And that starts with a crucial matchup against Shaka Smart and Texas in Birmingham.
This team really seems to feed off of strong support, and the Birmingham trip should provide that in a matchup against two likely NCAA Tournament teams.