Alabama fell just short of winning the championship in the Players Era Festival, going 2-1 and losing to Oregon in the final. Here are four takeaways from the Crimson Tide’s performance in the tournament.
Mouhamed Dioubate has been a pleasant surprise
Heading into the season with all the new transfer additions and freshman class coming in, Dioubate was one returning player on the roster who wasn’t getting much buzz and was seemingly being looked over.
That likely won’t be happening anymore after his performance in Vegas. In the 85-80 win over Houston, Dioubate had 10 points, an eye-opening 16 rebounds, and a team-high four blocks, all of which earned him the hard hat award. He followed it up with another hard hat-winning performance in the 95-90 win over Rutgers with 10 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
“We try to embody the blue-collar mentality that we try to preach, and he’s been the best at it,” head coach Nate Oats said. “He’s just making big plays, and he’s figuring out ways to impact winning outside of just scoring the basketball.”
Dioubate finished the three-game tournament with 8.6 points, 10 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
Jarin Stevenson looks to be breaking out of his slump
It had been a disappointing start to the season for Stevenson, as he missed each of his first 18 3-point attempts. But he appears to be breaking out of the slump, making five out of his last seven.
Stevenson was a key to last season’s Final Four run and in the Elite Eight win over Clemson, scoring 19 points and having five three-pointers. The Crimson Tide will certainly hope his recent success from behind the arc is a sign of things to come.
“I think this is the Jarin we were looking for this year. It’s great that he hung in there and got his confidence going,” Oats said. “He’s gonna be a big part of what we do this year, and I’m really happy for him that he got it going.“
Turnovers are a problem
Alabama has had a problem turning the ball over and giving away possessions. The team had at least 15 turnovers in all three tournament games.
“Our turnovers have been kind of haunting us here in Vegas,” Oats said. “It’s hard to overcome that. We‘ve got to figure out a way to take care of the basketball better.”
The Crimson Tide gave up 55 turnovers in the three games, compared to just 29 for opponents. This margin prevented the team from pulling away in matchups, evidenced by the three close scores.
Defending opposing guards has been an issue
One glaring issue this defense has faced has been allowing opposing guards to score at will, as the leading scorers for the opponents in the last three games have been in that position.
In the game against Houston, L.J. Cryer scored 30 to lead the Cougars’ offense. Against Rutgers, guards Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey scored at will and combined for 59. In the 83-81 loss against Oregon, Keeshawn Barthelemy came off the bench for a team-leading 22 points.
“We got to figure out how to guard elite-level players a little better,” Oats said.
Alabama’s next game is a trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where it will play the No. 20 Tar Heels on Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. CT on ESPN.
