With UA and local public schools on spring break, the ESPN broadcasters calling No. 16 Alabama's clash against Arkansas pointed out that Coleman Coliseum's typical energy was lacking at times without as many fans in attendance. While Coleman was rocking by the end of No. 16 Alabama's 92-88 overtime win Saturday, the victory was anything but easy.

In a game in which Alabama never lead in regulation, its players came out looking like they would rather be on the beach with some of their UA classmates to start Saturday's contest. The Razorbacks took advantage of Alabama's lackluster start and forced the Crimson Tide to play from behind for the rest of the game.

While it wasn't the type Senior Day victory that those inside Coleman would have expected, Alabama refused to quit. It clawed its way back and a game-tying 3 from Latrell Wrightsell Jr. gave the Tide a chance in overtime.

Just like it did against Florida, the extra period allowed Alabama to reset and continue to find its offense. Alabama left it late. It struggled to get hot from 3-point range for most of the game and turned the ball over 11 times before the first media timeout of the second half. But Wrightsell's lifeline allowed the Crimson Tide to steal a win.

Alabama (21-10, 13-5 SEC) is now 5-0 in overtime games in the last two seasons. Saturday's victory also means the Tide has clenched a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. By the end of overtime, the Tide turned what could have been a disastrous loss into a galvanizing win ahead of postseason play.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama against Arkansas.

The Crimson Tide struggled to generate offense for much of the contest Saturday. But when Alabama found itself needing a big shot, its best 3-point shooter stepped up.

Wrightsell drilled a step-back triple to tie the game at 74 and keep Alabama’s hopes at a senior day win alive. It was one of four 3s from the senior guard in his first start since returning from a head injury.

"I just came in and just made the shot. I didn't really know the score," Wrightsell said. "I just stepped up and made the shot. I can't really explain how much went into that. I put in a lot of work. I'm just happy to be back out there doing something for my team and if they needed it that's what I was going to do to help us win."

Wrightsell clarified that he did indeed know the score, but didn't realize how big of a shot it was in the moment. He listened to his shot-making instincts and finished the game with 18 points, three rebounds, one assist and a pair of steals. He ignited Alabama's offense late and was the Tide's most impactful player Saturday. Alabama is now 9-0 in games where Wrightsell scores more than 10 points.

"We need him in a bad way," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "I feel like if we would've had him for those games he was out we definitely wouldn't have lost some of the ones we did. We'd have a league championship if he hadn't gone down."

Wrightsell's huge make helped set up big moments for his teammates in the extra period. Sam Walters once again scoring seven points in the extra period including the final exclamation point to seal the win. Nick Pringle gave the Tide its first lead of the game with 4:20 left in the extra period before later catching a lob from Wrightsell on his way to a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"He makes the offense go," Oats said. "He knows how to get our guards open. He knows how to play in pick-and-roll. He's smart with screen angles, when to set when to slip out. So he makes our offense go."

When Wrightsell wasn't on the floor, Mark Sears once again put Alabama on his back. He finished with 22 points and six assists in what could be his final game inside Coleman Coliseum should he opt to not use his final year of eligibility. While Sears hasn't spend his entire college career at Alabama, his contributions over the last two seasons won't be forgotten in a hurry.

"Being a kid in Muscle Shoals I never would've thought I would've been playing in my home state on a high-major basketball team," Sears said. "It's a blessing and its a moment I'm going to cherish forever, and I'm very glad to be on the Crimson Tide."

When speaking to the media Friday, Oats said his side would need to limit Arkansas' red-hot guard Khalif Battle from getting to to the rim and force the Razorbacks to take and miss inefficient shots.

The Razorbacks made their contested midrange shots in the first half but struggled to knock down those looks in the second half. The Razorbacks shot 9-for-27 from the field in the second half and committed 16 turnovers, which helped Alabama get back into the game.

"I knew they would just keep taking the contested, tough, long 2s," Oats said. "And over the course of time we're going to trust our numbers. They shot 35% on those 20 shots."

While its shot wasn't falling, Arkansas prolonged a Crimson Tide comeback by putting itself in the bonus early in the second half. The Razorbacks are one of the best teams in the country at drawing free throws and made 13 free throws in the second half.

Most of the foul calls against Alabama came in a short span in the early minutes of the final period. At one point Alabama’s bench was told to sit down after it along with Oats were protesting calls. Before Wrightsell's late 3 and overtime, Coleman was its loudest Saturday when fans were echoing Oats’ protests.

Grant Nelson had a strong showing with 14 points and 13 rebounds Saturday, but more foul trouble from the North Dakota State transfer meant Arkansas was able to target Nelson in the paint late in the contest. Arkansas forward Makhi Mitchell had 18 points and five rebounds and nearly sealed a win for the Razorbacks with a dunk in the final seconds.

"Some of these fouls he gets are questionable calls but some of them are he's just gotta be smarter. Don't put yourself in a spot where they can call it," Oats said. "He's got to quit doing that. I don't know how many rebounding fouls he's gotten over the last few games but he's in foul trouble the whole time. Quit grabbing people on rebounds. Box out, go get the ball. You're athletic enough to hit the guy on a check out and then go get the ball."

Despite Nelson's continued foul issues, Oats said Nelson stayed aggressive playing with four fouls. Nelson avoided picking up a fifth foul and finished with a plus-9 box plus-minus rating Saturday.

While Arkansas’ foul-shooting nearly negated an Alabama comeback, the Crimson Tide’s No. 1 offense made shots when it mattered. Alabama had its own struggles, shooting 42.4% from the field and making just four 3s in the second half. But the Tide stayed disciplined enough defensively to limit an egregious advantage to Arkansas at the line. Big 3s from Wrightsell, Nelson and Sears kept Alabama alive and allowed it to rest before the overtime period, while Arkansas shooting regressed to the mean.

Following Alabama’s 105-84 loss to Florida, Oats was adamant that the Crimson Tide needed a response after back-to-back losses which cost the Crimson Tide a chance at an SEC regular season title.

In the first half Saturday, Alabama looked like it was still out of energy from its hard-fought loss to Tennessee. The Tide started in neutral gear and failed to get points on consecutive possessions for nearly the entire opening period. Arkansas won the battle in the lane early, outscoring Alabama 22-14 in the paint in the first half and ballooned its lead to 15 at one point.

The Crimson Tide ran out a full senior rotation with Wrightsell inserted back into the starting five and Pringle replacing Jarin Stevenson. That group did little to negate another slow start which has plagued Alabama at times this year. No player had a positive box plus-minus rating by halftime. Estrada, the only Crimson Tide senior who will be out of eligibility after the season, finished the first half with four turnovers and zero points.

Alabama fought hard to stay in the game second half and was able to pull away from an Arkansas team that has had fundamental scoring flaws all season. But another slow start nearly came back to haunt Alabama at a point in the season where it can no longer afford to lose.

Arkansas is not a tournament team. The Crimson Tide can ill-afford to come out sleepwalking in the SEC or NCAA Tournament or it risks an early exit in both and a disappointing end to a season that still has potential to be great for Oats' side. While the Crimson Tide won't look to duplicate this performance against better opposition, Oats credited his side for digging deep and finding a way to win.

"We didn't play very well (against Florida)," Oats said. "I thought the guys had a little quit in them at Florida. We let them know 'we're not doing that again. This isn't who we are. We may not play well but we're gonna keep fighting and playing hard through the end.' We didn't play well this game. We kept fighting. We kept fighting. They need to know that when we don't play well, if you keep fighting, stay the course, do what we're supposed to do we still got chance to win."

With the win, the Crimson Tide will be at worst the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. It can jump up to the No. 2 seed should No. 4 Tennessee defeat No. 15 Kentucky on Saturday. The Volunteers face the Wildcats at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Alabama owns the tiebreaker over both South Carolina and Auburn. All three teams will finish 13-5 in conference play if the Gamecocks and Tigers both win Saturday.