Things are beginning to unravel for Alabama basketball. Wednesday night, Alabama squandered a 7-point lead and early second-half momentum to No. 4 Arizona to enter the final stretch of non-conference play on a three-game losing streak and a 6-5 record.

Last season, the Crimson Tide didn’t pick up a fifth loss until a 67-61 defeat at Texas A&M on March 4. With a revamped roster and losing elite rim protection from Noah Clowney and Charles Bediako, head coach Nate Oats is still looking for answers in the frontcourt.

Let’s assess the good, bad and ugly of Alabama’s 87-74 loss to Arizona, including deep dives into the defensive inconsistencies, offensive woes and more.

Alabama opened the game on Wednesday night playing its best defense of the entire season, wracking up block after block and forcing the Wildcats into a bevy of difficult looks.

Alabama opened the game on a 9-0 run and held Arizona scoreless through the 3:42 mark in the first half. It took the Wildcats over five minutes to knock down their first shot from the field.

How did the Crimson Tide do this? The formula was simple: defend without fouling and limit turnovers that allow Arizona, one of the top-scoring offenses, to strive in transition.

See the compilation above. Alabama displayed an impressive balance between aggressiveness and discipline on defense through the first 10 minutes of action, anchored by rim protection from Mohamed Wague eerily similar to Bediako’s interior defense from previous seasons.

Through the first 10 minutes, Alabama only committed three fouls and limited Arizona to a pair of free-throw attempts – a massive improvement from previous contests.

At the half, the Crimson Tide trailed 41-40.

Similar to the first period, Alabama opened the second half on a roll, outscoring Arizona 10-2 over the first 3:34.

After a slow first half, Grant Nelson caught a flow from beyond the arc, hitting a pair of 3s on back-to-back possessions. However, it went downhill from there.

In the first half, Alabama’s offensive struggles were a product of Arizona keeping the Crimson Tide’s guards from generating paint touches in the half-court and missing a bunch of 3s that Sears, Estrada and company typically make.

However, it wasn’t only missed jumpers that limited Alabama’s offensive success in the second half. It was committing turnovers and ending possessions without getting a shot up entirely, which isn’t a recipe for success as Arizona turned those turnovers into easy scoring opportunities.

These two possessions below exemplify this issue.

Here, Sears is initiating the offense in isolation and makes an impressive wrap-around pass to freshman forward Jarin Stevenson in the weakside corner. However, Stevenson hesitates on the semi-open 3 and drives as former Alabama guard Jaden Bradley helps over and strips the ball loose for a steal.

This allows Bradley and Arizona to start a 3-on-1 fast break and draw a foul at the rim with Sam Walters and Sears trailing the play.

On this possession, Alabama’s offense is once again at a standstill with Nelson isolating and four teammates standing in place, resulting in a costly turnover. Consequently, Oumar Ballo, the towering 7-foot, 260-pound Arizona center, effortlessly establishes a dominant 1-on-1 post position against Nick Pringle, leading to a foul committed by the latter.

Alabama was held scoreless and committed six turnovers over three minutes in the middle of the second half, firing up the Wildcat faithful in attendance.

Alabama’s second-half struggles boiled down to a common trend throughout the first 11 games – a high foul rate. There are only 19 schools in the nation committing more fouls per game (20) than the Crimson Tide, according to Sports Reference.

Pringle fouled out in 14 minutes, logging six points and four rebounds. Wague also followed out in 18 minutes. Alabama’s center duo has combined for 30 fouls over the last three games.

For reference, Bediako, also boosting a high foul rate for the position, only followed out once over the first 11 games last season.

Arizona made this happen by clearing out one side of the floor for empty-side post-ups, forcing Alabama to defend 1-on-1 without fouling.

Here, Arizona’s Pelle Larsson posts up on Rylan Griffen with Ballo in the weakside short corner and three shooters cleared out on the perimeter. Larsson gets Griffen in the air on a ball fake and likely gets the foul call if he doesn’t lunge into Griffen on the shot attempt. Regardless, Pringle fails to box out Ballo and fouls the 7-footer on the second-chance opportunity.

In total, Arizona took 37 free-throw attempts. 10 for Ballo, eight for Keshad Johnson and seven for Caleb Love.

The Wildcats also outscored the Crimson Tide 22-4 on fast-break opportunities and 42-28 on points in the paint.

If you’re looking for a comparison to Alabama’s roster makeup and profile from past seasons, look no further than Baylor from 2022-23.

With an offensive-focused starting lineup, spotty center play and foul issues, the Bears had the No. 2 offense and the No. 107 defense nationally, according to KenPom. They managed to earn a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament and finish with a 23-11 record.

As things stand, Alabama nearly mirrors Baylor’s season from a year ago with the No. 1 offense and the No. 98 defense. And despite its 6-5 record, the Crimson Tide is still positioned in the Top 10 by KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin.

Similarly, EvanMiya.com, a well-known college basketball analytics site similar to KenPom, also considers Alabama as one of the 20 best teams in the nation.

The computers, KenPom and Evan Miya included, are optimistic that Alabama can have a Baylor-esque season, though you don’t find success solely in the analytics department. The Crimson Tide needs wins on the court to show for it.

Alabama has a 1-5 record in Quadrant 1 games so far this season. A Quadrant 1 game includes Top-30 opponents at home, Top-50 opponents on a neutral site and Top-75 opponents on the road by using NET rankings.

Luckily for Alabama, its next ranked opponent doesn’t come until Jan. 20 on the road at Tennessee. On the flip side, this upcoming six-game stretch before the Crimson Tide travels to Knoxville, Tenn. includes matchups with three projected NCAA tournament teams, according to ESPN’s latest bracketology.

Though Mississippi State, South Carolina and Liberty aren’t national title contenders, this stretch strikes a balance between facing quality tournament opponents and allowing the Crimson Tide to build consistent rhythm on both ends of the floor.

Alabama is back in action on Saturday to face Eastern Kentucky (4-6) inside Coleman Coliseum at 3 p.m. CT.