Alabama men’s basketball will certainly face tougher tests than the one it encountered in the season opener, but the Crimson Tide looked quite good in its first appearance nonetheless.
Sure, first-game rust popped up in some moments early, even for the country‘s No. 2 ranked team. See the first half turnovers. But there was much more to like about Alabama‘s performance than there wasn’t as Alabama beat UNC Asheville 110-54 on Monday at Coleman Coliseum.
Here are takeaways from the game between No. 2 Alabama (1-0) and UNC Asheville (0-1).
Mark Sears still leading the way
For all the exciting new pieces Alabama has, Sears remains the motor of this team.
On a night when a variety of players had impressive stat lines, Sears stood out. In his first 20 minutes of action, he scored 20 points. He finished the game with 20 points, three rebounds, one assists and plus-25 over 24 minutes of play.
Sears has plenty of elite talent around him (see Clifford Omoruyi, Grant Nelson, etc.), but Sears still rises to the top of the list.
Like Monday, Sears will often be at the center of any and all success Alabama has this season.
Alabama doesn’t have to have 3-pointers
The Crimson Tide is well known for a high number of three-point attempts under coach Nate Oats. This offense will likely have that capability to hit a bunch of triples this season, but as the season opener proved, Alabama doesn’t have to be on fire from deep to dominate on offense.
The Crimson Tide scored 50 points in the first half, but only nine of those points came from beyond the arc. Alabama hit three triples on nine attempts before halftime.
The Crimson Tide scored in a variety of other ways. Alabama had a 28-10 edge over the Bulldogs in the paint before halftime.
The Crimson Tide‘s offense only improved in the second half, and the way it scored points didn’t drastically change either.
After the break, Alabama continued to dominate in the paint and not rely on 3-pointers.
The Crimson Tide finished the game with a 56-18 edge via points in the paint. It made 8 of 18 three-point attempts.
Crimson Tide rolling with 10 for now
For the time being, it looks like Alabama will be using 10 players in the rotation.
Houston Mallette and Naas Cunningham will redshirt this season, Oats said on the Crimson Tide Sports Network radio broadcast before the game. Also, Chris Youngblood is out for the time being with an injury with expectations he will be back by conference play.
That leaves 10 available to Alabama, and all 10 played against UNC Asheville. All saw double-digit minutes.
Sears was of course the leader in minutes, but there was plenty of rotation otherwise across the board. Alabama rolled out all kinds of lineups, showing off the depth and versatility of the group.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
