Alabama basketball moves to 14-2 after beating Arkansas 84-69

Alabama men’s basketball continues to show that its one of the top teams in the country. On Wednesday night, the No. 4 ranked Crimson Tide moved to 14-2 (4-0 SEC) after soundly defeating No. 15 Arkansas 84-69. To make the performance even more impressive, it also came in a hostile road environment.

This now moves Alabama’s win streak to five games, which includes quality wins over the Razorbacks, Mississippi State and Kentucky. In fact, none of the last five opponents have even come within single digits of the Crimson Tide. In other words, this has been quite a run for Nate Oats and company.

Veteran guard Mark Sears continued his strong play with a game-high and season-high 26 points against the Razorbacks. The Ohio transfer did an excellent job getting to the line and knocking down his free throws, too, hitting all 10 attempts. He also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Freshman Noah Clowney also scored in the double-digits with 15 points while hitting three of his four three-point attempts. He also added five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Probably his biggest shot of the game came with less than five minutes left though.

Alabama had just seen a 12-point lead dwindled down to two (65-63) when Clowney knocked down a crucial corner three. That shot extended the lead back to five, and from there, the route was on. The Crimson Tide were able to reestablish a sizeable lead to finish strong on the road.

Clowney only hitting 40% from the free throw line continues to be a concern though, as he was only shooting 56.5% at the charity stripe coming into Wednesday.

Fellow freshman phenom Brandon Miller started slow, but he caught fire when it mattered down the stretch. The 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward finished with 14 points to go with four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. He also hit both attempts from beyond the arc.

With this game being streaky, especially towards the end, Miller hitting back-to-back three-pointers right after Clowney was big in keeping the score out of reach. Simply put, it was a big-time player knocking down big-time shots in big-time moments. That’s what you want to see from any young star.

Really, the entire team showed resilience and toughness in this one.

Alabama held a lead for a large majority of the game, but Arkansas continued to battle and close the gap when given an opportunity. There were several moments when you thought the Crimson Tide’s double-digit leads still might not be enough, but guys hit their shots when they needed to.

Sears closed things out four made free throws.

Alabama will be back in Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon to take on the LSU Tigers (12-4, 1-3 SEC) at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET). Of course, that game will air on ESPN. Then, the Crimson Tide will follow it up with back-to-back road games against Vanderbilt and No. 20 Missouri.

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