TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball looked the part of a Final Four team in its season opener. The Crimson Tide rushed out to a 9-0 advantage in the opening minutes against UNC Asheville and never looked back. No. 2 Alabama was able to show off its depth and improvement on both ends of the floor in a blowout 110-54 win.

Aside from Chis Youngblood (out until December with a leg injury) and its two redshirt players Houston Mallette and Naas Cunningham, Alabama’s other 10 players all played over 15 minutes and made steady contributions while avoiding a second-half dropoff after Tide coach Nate Oats made it clear that was unacceptable after struggles in the final period of its second-half exhibition game against Memphis.

It was a different style of win than Alabama fans are used to seeing in recent seasons. The Crimson Tide was dominant inside and scored 110 points while only attempting 18 3s — a relatively low number by the Tide's standard. Alabama’s free-scoring offense made the most of those attempts however, hitting 44.4% of its 3-pointers. Guard Mark Sears had a good start to his National Player of the Year campaign, leading Alabama with 20 points.

After getting its much-anticipated 2024-25 season to a flying start, here are three takeaways from Alabama’s first win of the new season.

UNC Asheville players were throwing down some impressive dunks in warm-ups. But that was the most impact the Bulldogs would make in the paint Monday.

Alabama flexed its muscle from the opening tip. The Tide went with a bigger starting lineup that included forwards Derrion Reid, Jarin Stevenson and Clifford Omoruyi, who immediately clogged the middle on the defensive end. Omoruyi had an early block and finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

The Crimson Tide was strong in the paint on both ends. Alabama outscored UNC Asheville 54-18 in the lane and moved the ball freely around the Bulldogs defense. Omoruyi continued to find himself open for easy dunks inside, Reid finished the game with nine points and six rebounds and looked comfortable as a connector in Alabama’s offense. Reserve forwards Mouhamed Dioubate and Aiden Sherrell maintained Alabama’s strong presence in the paint off the bench. Sherrell was impactful on both ends and finished as Alabama's leading rebounder with nine.

Alabama also hounded the glass as a whole glass in Game 1. The Tide outrebounded UNC Asheville 55-29 and grabbed 14 offensive boards. Alabama's dominance in the paint without having to rely on a high volume of 3s is a testament to its newfound frontcourt depth. The Tide also rolled on the defensive end, continuing to shut out the Bulldogs from the paint and holding Asheville to just 0.75 points per possession, while scoring 1.59 on offense.

Oats has praised Dioubate for his improvement this offseason and has discussed his potential versatility in Alabama’s rotations, including the possibility of deploying him as a small ball center option.

Dioubate didn’t disappoint in his first game of his sophomore campaign. He was once again an energetic presence in the paint on both ends and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. He was even deployed as the Tide’s center for a brief stretch of the first half and was excellent as the Tide's Swiss Army knife in the interior.

One of the key improvement areas for Diobuate heading into Year 2 was his growth as a shooter. While he didn't have a high volume of 3-point shots in the Tide's two exhibition games or on Monday night, Dioubate has looked more confident behind the arc and has hit 3s in all three games.

Though Alabama dominated, it was never going to be a flawless performance in its season opener. The Crimson Tide was free-scoring from beyond the 3-point line and in the lane but struggled to cash in on opportunities when it drew fouls.

Alabama shot just 70.3% from the free throw line Monday, a mark that continued a trend of struggling from the charity stripe in recent outings. Alabama matched its 63% mark against Memphis and shot just 73.1% against Wake Forest.

Following its foul-laden win over the Tigers, Oats also emphasized Alabama’s need to improve in the turnover department. The Crimson Tide had 20 turnovers against Memphis and 14 of them Wake Forest. In its first game that counted, the Tide was also unable to stay below double figures in turnovers Monday, finishing with 10, including three straight possessions where it gave the ball away just before the under-eight-minute timeout of the first half.

Alabama (1-0) will look to build off an overall strong performance in its first game of the season. The Crimson Tide will return to the court Friday night when it faces Arkansas State at 7 p.m. inside Coleman Coliseum. The game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.