TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball answered Nate Oats' call to step up at home after a big road win. The Crimson Tide followed up its four-point win over No. 14 Mississippi State with a 90-69 trouncing over Georgia on Saturday.

Despite some shaky moments in the first half, including scoring droughts after big runs and a bevy of turnovers throughout, Alabama’s defense made sure Georgia was unable to cash in in the first half. The Tide’s frontcourt had a strong outing against a lengthy Georgia side, while its runs gave Alabama enough of a cushion for the offense to take control in the second half.

The blowout victory ensures Alabama heads into its off-week in sole possession of second place in the SEC. The Tide can rest easy for a few days before it prepares for a road trip against Arkansas next Saturday.

Here are three Takeaways from No. 4 Alabama’s win over Georgia.

Georgia ranks as the 10th tallest team in all of Division I, according to KenPom.com. The Bulldogs' shortest player in their starting lineup stands 6-foot-4, putting any Alabama player among the trees when they came into the game.

Instead of intimidating Alabama, the Bulldogs’ size seemed to make the Tide more eager to play well inside on both ends. Georgia attempted to force the issue in the paint, struggling to convert looks from beyond the 3-point line. While the Bulldogs tallied 34 points in the paint, Alabama outscored them and was excellent on the glass, standing tall against a team that runs the majority of its offense through the lane.

Clifford Omouryi set the tone in the lane on both ends in the first half. He grabbed four quick rebounds and a block and despite playing just 15 minutes, finished as Alabama’s leading rebounder with 11 and added six points.

Grant Nelson struggled in the turnover department early but was a consistent player in the paint on both ends during his shifts on the floor. While he didn’t perform the best against Bulldogs’ star Asa Newell, he took the challenge of guarding him personally. Nelson jawed with Newell down the court after hitting a 3 over him in the second half. He finished the game with yet another of his trademark double-doubles, notching 14 points and 10 rebounds. Nelson was especially present on the defensive end with five blocks continuing a nice run of form as a stopper for the Tide after logging three blocks against Mississippi State.

The forward who stole the headlines, however, was freshman Aiden Sherrell. The five-star recruit has put in some good shifts in conference play thus far but had his best outing in a Tide uniform Saturday.

Sherrell was frequently deployed on Newell a strong endorsement of Sherrell’s ability defensively by Oats, especially after recent calls for players to take more pride in stepping up against a team’s best player. And Sherrell didn't disappoint, particularly in the first half as he helped hold Newell to just six points on 1 of 8 shooting. Sherrell wrapped up his excellent performance with 12 points, seven rebounds, one block and a steal.

A 14-0 kill shot run in the first half had Alabama in position to put the game to bed early, but the Tide went cold from there. It was stuck at 24 points for over five minutes, allowing Georgia to cut its lead to seven. In that same span, Alabama committed five of 12 first-half turnovers. The most frustrating component of those giveaways was that 10 of them were shared between fifth-year seniors in Mark Sears, Nelson and Chris Youngblood.

While Georgia was forcing turnovers, it was unable to cash in thanks to Alabama’s defensive effort. The Bulldogs scored just nine points off of Alabama’s 20 turnovers. The Tide played good transition difference, funneling the ball to the perimeter where Georgia is much less effective on offense. Georgia also had just three fastbreak points on Saturday.

The Tide also generated offense by getting to the free throw line, willing its way to the rim through Georgia’s size. Alabama ended the first half, going the final 2:31 without a made field goal, yet went on a 6-0 run thanks to makes at the line.

Sears scored six of his team-leading 20 points on free throws, while four players had perfect marks from the charity stripe. As a team, Alabama shot 81% from the charity stripe for the game, a much-improved mark from its 55% outing against No. 14 Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs on the other end continued to fail to find answers. They shot just 48% from the line, leaving precious points that helped Alabama keep its lead at halftime before pulverizing them in the second. Alabama deserves plenty of credit for taking Georgia out of the game.

While some garbage time scoring helped them finish with 1.1 points per possession in the second half it was too little too late. Alabama held Georgia to just 0.73 points per possession in the first 20 minutes, preventing the Bulldogs from taking advantage before its offense woke up.

Alabama’s shooting statistics Saturday are made all the more impressive given its hefty amount of early dry spells scoring. But unlike in games against Vanderbilt, LSU and Ole Miss at home, the Tide turned it up on offense in the second half.

Oats called out Sears and Nelson at halftime for their turnovers, the pair gave Oats the response he was looking for to start the second half. Slow starts to both halves have plagued the Tide during conference play, but that wasn’t the case to open the second period against the Bulldogs as the veteran starters combined for Alabama’s first 11 points with just one turnover.

From there, the offense took full control of the game and removed any doubt of another disappointing performance at home. After averaging one point per possession in the first half, Alabama built that up to 1.4 in the second period.

Though turnovers remain an issue, Alabama was still getting all the looks it wanted from beyond the arc. The Tide finished shooting 45.8% from 3-point range continuing a hot shooting streak that has seen Alabama shoot over 40% from deep in four of its last five games.

Five Alabama players finished in double figures. Sherrell made two 3-pointers, as did Jarin Stevenson who has struggled mightily in that area this season. Aden Holloway and Chris Youngblood continue to show why Alabama has one of the deepest guard rotations in the country. Each finished with 10 points on an efficient five and six field goal attempts respectively.

Alabama has an off week and does not play again until Feb. 8 when it travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a matchup against the Razorbacks. Arkansas takes on Kentucky on Saturday and will face Texas on Wednesday before welcoming Alabama. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on Feb. 8 inside Bud Walton Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.