No. 4 Alabama has been on a roll recently, defeating LSU, Mississippi State and Georgia within the last two weeks. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly for the Crimson Tide during the stretch.
The good
Mark Sears’ response to benching. There was a lot of discussion about the fifth-year guard when he was benched for the entirety of the second half in the 80-73 win against LSU after going scoreless in the first half. Many wondered if Sears would respond strongly or continue to fade.
He responded quite well. In the next game against No. 14 Mississippi State, Sears scored 17 points and had a team-high nine assists, which helped the team win 88-84 in Starkville. He also showed strong effort in grittier parts of the game, as demonstrated by grabbing three offensive rebounds.
“I thought Sears had a really good bounceback game,” head coach Nate Oats said after the victory. “He played hard. I thought he made a bunch of tough plays.”
Against Georgia, he had another strong showing, scoring a team-high 20 points and providing six assists, helping lead the Crimson Tide to a 90-69 victory. After an uncharacteristic night against LSU, Sears appears to be returning to form.
Hard hat Mouhamed Dioubate. One of the most important pieces on this Alabama team, the sophomore forward continues to make a huge impact every time he steps on the court, and he has won the hard hat award in each of the past three games.
Arguably his most important hard hat-winning performance came in the close matchup against Mississippi State. Though he only scored 4 points, he grabbed seven offensive rebounds and had a steal and a block.
Even though he played only 11 minutes against Georgia, Dioubate still won the hard hat award. Across all 11 of his minutes, the Crimson Tide outscored the Bulldogs by 20
“He’s just a winner,” Oats said. “He finds his way on the floor, and he makes us play him.”
Chris Youngblood’s hot hand. Over the past couple of games, one of the most important developments has been the emergence of the transfer guard out of South Florida with guard Houston Mallette missing time with injury and seemingly headed towards a medical redshirt.
Before Alabama’s recent three-game stretch, Youngblood had shot only 30.9% from 3-point range. But in the past three games, he has gone 10/18 from downtown, including an impressive 7/10 effort against Mississippi State.
“Chris is finally getting back to where he’s feeling comfortable and his ankle is feeling close to 100%,” Oats said. “So I think on both sides of the ball, he’s starting to kind of exert his will, his demeanor, his competitiveness, and it’s good to see.”
The bad
Allowing offensive rebounds. One issue that is starting to rear its head in games has been the inability to hold opponents from attacking the glass.
Alabama has allowed 46 offensive rebounds the past three games while only snagging 37 of its own. It was especially a problem against LSU, as Tigers center Corey Chest had a notably high nine offensive rebounds. The Crimson Tide will need to do a better job of protecting the glass as SEC play rolls along.
The ugly
Too many turnovers. Alabama’s inability to hold on to the ball could be the biggest problem when March arrives. It has already been a problem this season, as the loss against Ole Miss was in large part due to turnovers.
It hasn’t improved in the past three games, as the Crimson Tide has averaged 16 turnovers per contest. The issue arose in a big way against Georgia, with the team turning the ball over 20 times and having more turnovers than made baskets at halftime.
“We’ve had this issue way too many times. It’s gonna come back to bite us if we don’t get it fixed.” Oats said.
Alabama has some time off before its next game, which will be on the road against Arkansas on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN.