Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford bullied Alabama basketball inside, recording his 10th double-double of the season by halftime. By the time the final whistle blew Saturday night, the future NBA lottery pick did just about everything to burst the Crimson Tide’s NCAA Tournament bubble. Desperately needing a win to close out regular-season play, Alabama saw its losing streak climb to three straight in an 82-70 defeat to Arkansas.
With the loss, Alabama (17-14, 8-10 in the SEC) enters the SEC Tournament as the No. 10 seed and will face No. 7 seed Ole Miss (20-11, 10-8) at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
The Crimson Tide had the No. 9 seed during last year’s SEC Tournament when it recorded back-to-back victories over Texas A&M and Auburn to help secure an NCAA Tournament berth. The Crimson Tide will need to win at least one game in the SEC Tournament in order to punch its second straight ticket to the Big Dance this year.
Gafford scored a game-high 29 points to go with a career-high 16 rebounds. Meanwhile, Donta Hall was unable to provide the same muscle for Alabama. The senior entered the game 16 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Saturday, he tallied just 3 points and eight rebounds on 1 of 3 shooting.
Trailing Arkansas by as many as 13 points midway through the second half, Alabama battled back with a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to 56-49 with 7:45 remaining. However, that’s as close as the Crimson Tide would come as it turned the ball over 10 times after the break.
Alabama allowed Arkansas to score 19 points off of 15 turnovers on the night. The Crimson Tide also struggled from the free-throw line, making just 10 of 20 attempts
Tevin Mack led Alabama with 14 points while going 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Kira Lewis Jr. was also in double digits for the Crimson Tide with 12 points.
Next up
Alabama’s first game in the SEC Tournament is a rematch of a 74-53 victory over Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa, Ala. That game marked Alabama’s biggest winning margin of the season as the Crimson Tide capitalized on 23 points off of 16 Rebels turnovers.
Ole Miss enters Thursday’s matchup after snapping a three-game losing streak of its own with a 73-68 come-from-behind victory over Missouri. The Rebels are led by junior guard Breein, who entered the weekend tied for second in the conference with 18.4 points per game.
If Alabama beats Ole Miss, it will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday where it will face No. 2 seed Kentucky.
With the loss, Alabama (17-14, 8-10 in the SEC) enters the SEC Tournament as the No. 10 seed and will face No. 7 seed Ole Miss (20-11, 10-8) at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
The Crimson Tide had the No. 9 seed during last year’s SEC Tournament when it recorded back-to-back victories over Texas A&M and Auburn to help secure an NCAA Tournament berth. The Crimson Tide will need to win at least one game in the SEC Tournament in order to punch its second straight ticket to the Big Dance this year.
Gafford scored a game-high 29 points to go with a career-high 16 rebounds. Meanwhile, Donta Hall was unable to provide the same muscle for Alabama. The senior entered the game 16 points shy of 1,000 for his career. Saturday, he tallied just 3 points and eight rebounds on 1 of 3 shooting.
Trailing Arkansas by as many as 13 points midway through the second half, Alabama battled back with a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to 56-49 with 7:45 remaining. However, that’s as close as the Crimson Tide would come as it turned the ball over 10 times after the break.
Alabama allowed Arkansas to score 19 points off of 15 turnovers on the night. The Crimson Tide also struggled from the free-throw line, making just 10 of 20 attempts
Tevin Mack led Alabama with 14 points while going 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Kira Lewis Jr. was also in double digits for the Crimson Tide with 12 points.
Next up
Alabama’s first game in the SEC Tournament is a rematch of a 74-53 victory over Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa, Ala. That game marked Alabama’s biggest winning margin of the season as the Crimson Tide capitalized on 23 points off of 16 Rebels turnovers.
Ole Miss enters Thursday’s matchup after snapping a three-game losing streak of its own with a 73-68 come-from-behind victory over Missouri. The Rebels are led by junior guard Breein, who entered the weekend tied for second in the conference with 18.4 points per game.
If Alabama beats Ole Miss, it will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday where it will face No. 2 seed Kentucky.
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