TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Heading into Saturday’s game against Arkansas, Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats called for his team to get back to its blue-collar nature. He wasn’t expecting the Crimson Tide to have to do that without the heart of its hard-hat mentality as junior Herbert Jones was ruled out indefinitely with a fractured wrist.

Alabama hustled, and at times early, it even appeared as if the Crimson Tide would scratch out a short-handed win against the Razorbacks. However, the valiant effort came up short as the Crimson Tide suffered its second straight defeat with an 82-78 loss in Coleman Coliseum.

Jones was not the only key member missing for Alabama as it was also without graduate transfer guard James “Beetle” Bolden who sat out his second straight game due to illness. Following the game, Oats revealed that freshman forward Raymond Hawkins was also out with the flu. That provided too much for a seven-man Crimson Tide to overcome.

Alabama (12-9, 4-4) came out inspired without its blue-collar leader, starting the game on a 12-0 run highlighted by 3s from Alex Reese and Jaden Shackelford. However the quick start was promptly subdued as Arkansas (16-5, 4-4) answered back with a 9-0 run of its own shortly after to even the game at 18.

After the Crimson Tide clung to a 39-36 lead at the half, the Razorbacks rallied in the second half, going on a 15-2 run to take a 64-57 lead with 8:35 remaining. Alabama once again battled back, going on a 12-2 run to retake the lead 69-66 with 4:11 remaining. However, the tired bunch eventually ran out of steam as Arkansas answered with an 11-1 run to put the game away.

"I don't want to use depth as an excuse," Oats said. "Yeah, Kira (Lewis Jr.) played 40 (minutes), but he's played 39 minutes and 54 seconds before this year. I think that's the first time he's played a full 40, but he's used to playing 38. (John Petty Jr.) is used to playing 35 plus a lot. (Jaden Shackelford) is in good enough shape. It's not a good enough excuse that we got tired."

Alabama succumbed to its previous turnover woes as it gave up the ball 17 times which led to 27 Arkansas points. The Crimson Tide also struggled from beyond the arc against a Razorback team which entered the day leading the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Alabama shot just 8 of 31 (26 percent) from deep, while Arkansas shot 6 of 13 from 3.

The loss snaps an eight-game home winning streak for the Crimson Tide. Alabama is now 1-3 in games decided by five points or fewer with its lone victory coming in a 77-74 win over Kansas State last week.

"We've got to win close games," Oats said. "The K-State game, we're up 16, so even that one I don't feel it should have been close. I felt like we should have blown that open. That's the only close one we won... To win close games late, you've got to get stops and you've got to take care of the ball.

"You can't turn it over, and you've got to convert at the free-throw line. Free throws were an issue here late in the game. I thought multiple guys we needed them to go 2-for-2 or 3-for-3 and they didn't. We've got to learn how to win close games."

Despite the defeat, Alabama was able to fix its recent rebounding problems. After being outrebounded 94-64 in the two previous games, the Crimson Tide won the battle on the boards against Arkansas, 41-34, including a 15-11 advantage on offensive rebounds.

Shackelford’s buzzer-beating 3 at the end of regulation ultimately didn’t make a difference in the outcome, but it did allow the freshman to match his career-high of 28 points. Shackelford was joined in double figures by Reese (14), Kira Lewis Jr (12) and Javian Davis (11). Davis filled in for Jones in Alabama’s starting lineup.

Arkansas was led by guards Mason Jones and Jimmy Whitt Jr., who combined for 56 points. Jones, the SEC’s scoring leader, had 30 of those points, shooting 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.

Alabama released a statement on Jones before the game, revealing that the junior underwent successful surgery Saturday morning at Andrews Sports Medicine/St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., and is expected to make a full recovery. Following the game, Oats said Jones will likely be out "around three weeks."

"From what they're telling me, it's the same thing Donta Hall had last year," Oats said. "We're hoping around three weeks. I guess it's all going to depend on how quickly — he had the surgery this morning — how quickly he heals from that. I think Donta was out two, two and a half (weeks) last (year). Herb handles the ball a lot more, so he probably needs more mobility than Donta had last year."

Jones averaged 9.9 points 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 47.8 percent from the floor over 19 games. He also leads the team in dunks (13), drawn charges (18) and floor dives (23) and tops the chart in blue-collar points with 418.

Alabama will look to snap its losing streak as it hosts Tennessee (12-9, 4-4) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The Volunteers are currently on a three-game losing streak after falling to Mississippi State 86-73 earlier Saturday. Tennessee won its lone meeting against Alabama last season, securing a 71-68 victory in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Volunteers are one of the SEC’s best defensive teams and entered Saturday leading the conference in opponents’ field goal percentage (37.8) and blocks per game (6.1).

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