Defense, defense, defense
All season long, head coach Nate Oats has preached strong, physical defense amongst his players. However, it hasn’t come into fruition just yet.
After limiting the Clemson Tigers to only 33 points at halftime, Alabama’s defense gave up 52 points in the second half and suffered a 85-77 loss to the Tigers at home.
“We got to get some defensive pride about us, all of us,” Oats said after the game. “Those guards coming off the screens, we’re not into the ball enough, we’re not up into it. This is multiple times where the other team’s best player or players go for more than their season averages.”
Averaging just shy of 80 points per game, Clemson isn’t necessarily the most high-powered scoring team, only putting up 68 points against Davidson and 77 against UAB this season. However, the slow tempo, fundamental offense had their way with Alabama’s defense all night long.
Led by senior center PJ Hall with 21 points, Clemson had three other players in double figures, including Joseph Girard III with 16, Chase Hunter with 15, and RJ Godfrey with 11 off the bench.
During the final eight minutes of the first half, the Crimson Tide’s defense was some of the best it has played this season, only allowing eight points and forcing three turnovers. However, that trend did not carry over into the second half.
The Tigers caught fire in the second half, making seven of its first 10 shots in the period, and Alabama couldn’t stop it. The Crimson Tide offense, led by senior Mark Sears, stayed in the game, but not in the lead.
“The offense is there, we’re like the number one offensive team in the country,” Sears said. “But our defense is not there, we’re like number 60 in the country. No matter how good of an offense we are, we don’t get our defense fixed, we can’t win games.”
Originally holding the Tigers to just 3-for-10 from three in the first half, the perimeter defense from Nate Oats’ squad collapsed in the second period, allowing Clemson to shoot 8-for-11 from beyond the arc to close out the game.
“We’re on a 9-0 run, go up 7, they call a timeout and we don’t have enough defensive pride right now to get stops,” Oats said. “They go on a 16-2 run. They got really good players, we got to do a better job.”
However, it wasn’t only the perimeter defense that had trouble against the Tigers. The interior defense had its fair share of trouble as well. Clemson scored 32 points in the paint throughout the night, 18 of which came in the second half.
“Defense is something we’re really focusing on,” Sears said. “We’re going to get that fixed, no matter how long it takes, but we’re going to get that fixed.”
Alabama will have the next five days off to practice and prepare for one final home game, before hitting the road to Toronto in early December. The Crimson Tide will play its next game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at home on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. CT.
