The Alabama men’s basketball avenged its only Southeastern Conference Western Division loss by defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, 69-56.
With the win, Alabama (18-8, 10-2 SEC) moves to 14-0 at home this season. The Tide also clinched at least a share of the SEC West regular-season title.
Down 49-44 in the second half, the Tide turned up the offensive and defensive pressure. Alabama closed the game with a 25-7 run, holding Arkansas to only two field goals in the last 12 minutes of the game.
“I am really proud of our guys, and I thought they gave a tremendous effort,” head coach Anthony Grant said. “I thought we had a great atmosphere in the building and I thought our guys really fought and dug in defensively during the second half. Give Arkansas credit because I thought they played extremely well and had a great game plan, but our guys were not going to be denied today and we are thankful to get the win.”
Defense has been Alabama’s main focus all season, and the it stuck to that on Saturday. The Tide forced Arkansas to commit 18 turnovers, while only turning it over nine times. They were also able to get 11 steals and hold the Razorbacks to less than 40 percent shooting from the field. In its last 15 games, the Tide have only allowed five opponents to score more than 60 points in regulation.
The Tide was led by sophomore sensation Tony Mitchell. Mitchell had a career-high 27 points to go with nine rebounds. He has scored 20 or more points in five of his last six games.
“I thought he played outstanding tonight,” Grant said. “In the first half, he stepped up and kept us within striking distance. In the second half, some of the spectacular plays he made took the wind out of them.”
Mitchell said, “I do what I can to help my team win. If I have to go get every rebound, go get every dunk, anything I can do to help my team.”
With the loss, Arkansas (16-10, 5-7 SEC) has dropped four of its last five SEC games. The Razorbacks were led in scoring by Rotnei Clarke, who had 21 points. Clarke was the only Razorback that scored in double figures.
“Alabama deserves all of the credit,” Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey said. “I thought our guys competed and played hard and put ourselves in a situation to win, but Alabama was better than us down the stretch.”
The Tide has won 13 of its last 15 games. Its 10-2 SEC record is its best conference start since the 2001-2002 season.
The Tide has four regular-season games remaining this year. Alabama will face in-state rival Auburn February 23 before going on the road to face Mississippi and Florida. The Tide will then return home to face the Georgia Bulldogs on senior night.
