FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Arkansas did its best to muddy the waters on the first of a two-game road trip for the No. 3. After a nervy middle portion of the first half, Alabama took full command, then nearly fell apart in its 85-81 win Saturday night.

The Tide struggled in the turnover and rebounding departments but played efficient offense throughout to prevent Arkansas from punishing it for early miscues and making a comeback. A much-needed excellent start to the second half, sustained offense from nearly everyone in Alabama’s rotation and big plays from veterans in the closing moments helped the Tide finish the job inside Bud Walton Arena.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama's matchup against Arkansas.

The officials let a lot go early, which made for some sloppy and scrappy basketball intermixed with some decent stretches of offense. It was a war in the paint from the opening tip and both team's bigs made key plays on both ends in the first half.

Arkansas found an answer to an early Tide run in the form of sophomore Zvonimir Ivišić. After slowing him down early, Alabama starting center Clifford Omoruyi was relegated to the bench with two early fouls and Alabama had no other answers for the Croatian.

Aiden Sherrell came in and was immediately picked on by Ivišić on back-to-back possessions. He hit a 3 when Sherrell was late on a close-out, then attacked a miscommunicated switch where Ivisic was able to draw a smaller defender. Grant Nelson and Jarin Stevenson didn’t fare much better.

The other issue for Alabama early, and what helped allow Arkansas to get back in it came on the glass. The Tide won the rebounding battle 35-32 but nine of Arkansas' 16 first-half rebounds came on the offensive end. But like it did in a few areas Saturday night, Alabama steaded the ship and limited Arkansas to just four offensive rebounds in the final 20 minutes, but the Razorbacks equaled Alabama's total tally of 16 to close the gap.

Sherrell did make up for some defensive miscues on the offensive end. He continues to process Alabama’s fast tempo well and finished with seven points, helping Alabama score 24 of its 40 first-half points inside. The Tide finished with an impressive 56 points in the paint and got decent production offensively from all of its bigs.

Mouhamed Diobuate also had his way with Arkansas’ forwards on the offensive end. While he coughed up the ball three times in the first half, Dioubate looked comfortable as a driver and cleaned up his dribbling in the second to finish with 14 points four rebounds and a steal.

Alabama coach Nate Oats has been calling for better starts to both halves throughout SEC play. Lackluster opening minutes have burned Alabama at home. But something seems to take hold of the Tide when it’s in a visiting gym. A 6-0 run led to an Arkansas timeout. The Tide stretched it to an 11-6 start by the under-16 timeout.

It wasn’t the prettiest stretch, but Alabama drew five Arkansas fouls in the opening five minutes and stretched its lead to 11. Alabama was able to sustain and take the rowdy Bud Walton Arena crowd out of the game while the Razorbacks were kept at arm’s length until the under-8-minute media timeout.

But then Arkansas came to life. After Alabama forced seven early Arkansas turnovers, the Razorbacks cleaned things up and went on a 23-8 run that made it a 3-point game with 2:57 remaining.

Like it did on the road at Mississippi State, Alabama needed to close. In a game that saw plenty of scoring up and down its roster, it was Alabama’s veterans who did the job late. Mark Sears and Nelson converted the Tide’s final two field goals. Oats also chipped in by opting to foul Ivisic late with the Tide up 3. He split the free throws, preventing Arkansas from getting a chance to tie the game.

“I thought our guys did a decent job closing once they cut it to three," Oats said. "We were able to get a bucket. Grant got the putback and we made a couple of free throws, but we got to do a better job closing. We risked losing a road game that we’re supposed to win.”

Alabama’s scoring didn’t come in its usual high doses, kill shot runs or from a barrage of 3-pointers. Nor was it led by a player who took responsibility and put most of the burden of scoring on their back. Instead, it was a collection of efficient offenses that overcame lingering turnover issues that continue to plague Alabama.

By the under-16 timeout of the second half, Sears, Chris Youngblood and Nelson had nine points each and all finished in double figures along with. The Tide shot 54.8% from the field, matching its presence in the paint with scoring from a multitude of sources, and continued to attack driving lanes well to earn points inside.

"I thought our scoring depth was a little better than theirs," Oats said. "We had a lot more options. Sears, this wasn't one of his better offensive games as far as scoring goes, but I thought his effort was great. He won the Hard Hat deal. So I thought he was playing really hard."

While Alabama was able to ward off a revved-up Arkansas side, turnovers on both ends became critical to get the Razorbacks back in it. Alabama forced seven in the opening minutes, but Arkansas cleaned things up and didn’t have a giveaway after that.

The Tide continued a steady stream of turnovers, finishing with 14 that turned into 13 points for the Razorbacks. Sears led the way in the turnover department with six, and nine team giveaways in the first half prevented the Tide from burning Arkansas early.

Alabama also failed to capitalize from the free throw line, going just 6 of 9 in the second half despite being in the bonus with 13:38 remaining. Alabama shot just 66.7% from the line for the game.

Alabama will stay on the road ahead of its next matchup against Texas. The Longhorns (15-9, 4-7) fell 86-78 to Vanderbilt on Saturday. Alabama will tip off against Texas at 8 p.m. CT Wednesday inside the Moody Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.