Alabama basketball left it all on the floor.

The Crimson Tide showed spectacular fight in its 86-72 loss to top-seeded UConn in the Final Four. It played like a team that had nothing to lose and executed its game plan like a team that had come into the tournament with a No. 1 seed, rather than a No. 4.

The Huskies are a juggernaut that only three teams have been able to overcome this season. Despite the loss, Alabama pushed UConn to the brink, something every other team it faced in the NCAA Tournament has failed to do.

"Can't say enough about the leadership of these guys, particularly in the last few weeks," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "Unfortunate that it ended tonight, but we played arguably the best team in the country. I mean, UConn is top five in offense and defense. It showed tonight."

While Oats now turns his attention to the offseason, no Alabama fan will forget the 2023-24 Crimson Tide in a hurry. The Tide didn't have enough in the tank to power past the best team in the nation. But its run will still go down in the history books after its run to the Final Four.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama's Final Four loss to UConn.

Alabama’s game plan against UConn was similar to the one the Tide executed during its Sweet 16 win over North Carolina. In that game, Alabama sagged off of the Tar Heels’ weaker 3-point shooters Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble, focusing on defending UNC forward Armando Bacot.

When Cadeau and Trimble both made two 3s early in Alabama’s Sweet 16 win over the Tar Heels, the Tide wasn’t worried. The pair regressed to their limited shooting tendencies and had a minimal effect on the game after those early triples.

In the opening possessions of Saturday’s contest, Huskies guard Stephon Castle looked to be the Cadeau or Trimble in Alabama’s Final Four matchup. Coming into Saturday’s contest, Castle made just 17 3s at a 26.2% clip, but drilled two in the first few minutes with Alabama's defense sagged off of him.

Unlike Cadeu and Trimble, however, Castle found other avenues of scoring, leading UConn with 21 points. He didn't make another 3 but still worked on and off the ball, cutting apart Alabama’s offense and providing an outlet as the Tide tried to take UConn’s shooters out of the game.

The rest of the Huskies found their footing in the second half.

It took a while. Alabama’s defense showed the same fight it displayed all tournament long to keep the Huskies at bay, but the decisive run came just before the 10-minute mark when Alabama coach Nate Oats called timeout after an 8-0 burst by UConn. The Tide had been matching any Huskies runs for most of the game, but didn’t have enough in the tank to recover from that stretch.

Along with Castle, three other UConn starters finished in double figures. After shooting just 17% from deep against Illinois, UConn finished at 40%, adding enough of a threat from deep to stay in front.

Donovan Clingan was the monster he was built up to be on the defensive end.

Alabama ran the same sets for its forwards that have been successful all tournament long. Those sets were executed up until Clingan got involved.

When the Crimson Tide looked for Grant Nelson over the top, Clingan contested. When Nick Pringle went up for a quick layup Clingan swatted it away. The sophomore made every drive to the rim and rebound on both ends difficult. When Clingan was in, UConn defended Alabama’s pick-and-roll plays exceptionally, deflecting passes to the roller while staying on top of the driving guard.

Nelson fought immensely well against Clingan. He finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and a block. He also made the most jaw-dropping play of the game with a monster dunk over the 7-footer in the second half. Despite some early fouls, he stayed disciplined to challenge the future NBA lottery pick and end his own season on a high note.

Though Nelson and the rest of Alabama's frontcourt fought hard, it just wasn't enough to limit UConn's star big and put the Tide over the top. Clingan finished with 18 points, four rebounds and four blocks.

With entry passes and paint touches denied by the Huskies' defense, Alabama had to lean more on its shooting to stay in the game. The Tide mustered 26 points in the paint but couldn’t manage enough offensive balance between its paint scoring and 3-point shooting to match UConn.

A team has to play a nearly perfect game to beat UConn. Only three teams have managed the feat. Even when the Huskies don’t shoot well, they still find ways to win (see their Elite Eight victory over Illinois).

Alabama battled. It didn’t roll over as many expected it to against the top seed. But some crucial mistakes give a talented Huskies side enough of an edge to come away with the win. The Tide turned it over eight times, which the Huskies turned into eight points.

Oats expressed frustration with Alabama's giveaways at halftime, and while its giveaways didn't completely cost the Tide, UConn's ability to wall up in the paint and get in front of entry passes gave it an edge in slowing Alabama's offense.

The Huskies also took an early lead at the free-throw line. The Huskies took seven more free throws than Alabama. Some early calls against Alabama forced Oats to switch up his defensive rotations in the frontcourt.