SAD NEWS: Alabama Crimson Tide lost another QB to the transfer porter

The Crimson Tide lost to eighth-ranked Creighton 85-82 on Saturday night, dropping to 6-4 on the season. The Blue Jays are now 9-2.

Both very near and quite far away. On Saturday night, the Crimson Tide faced three challenges: poor shooting, foul trouble, and a second opponent rated in the top ten. Despite these difficulties, the team lost 85–82 against eighth-ranked Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska. At the half, the score was knotted at 44.

Tonight’s starting five for Coach Nate Oats’ team included Mark Sears, Aaron Estrada, Grant Nelson, Mohamed Wague, and Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. Rylan Griffen was replaced by Wrightsell, an Omaha local, by Oats.

With 17:19 remaining in the half, the Tide was behind 8-1 after a chilly start. With 16:50 left, Sears eventually hit a layup for Bama’s first field goal. Griffen joined the game after Wrightsell was flagged for two quick fouls in the first four minutes of play. Through the

Wague was substituted early in the game by Nick Pringle, who used his speed and leaping ability to make rolls and lobs to the hoop. Wague was also fouled out. There were 2:20 remaining in the half when Pringle was also called for his third foul. The score was knotted 44–44 at the half.

The Tide shot 19–40 for 48% in the first half, but only 1–11 for.091% from long range and 5-7 from the free throw line. The guys in Crimson finished with 18 rebounds, 10 of which came from the offensive end, 8 assists, 4 steals, and just 2 turnovers. Jarin Stevenson scored seven points, while Pringle scored twelve points and pulled down five rebounds.

In order to stay even with Alabama, the Bluejays fired a scorching 14–23 for 61% in the first quarter. They also made 13–17 free throws and 3–8 three-pointers. Creighton finished with eight turnovers, five assists, and 13 rebounds. Six minutes into the game, Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner rolled his ankle. As a result, Bama capitalized on his absence to score in the paint. Kalkbrenner has won the Big East’s defensive player of the year award twice.

For the second half, Griffen was back in the starting lineup alongside Wague, Sears, Estrada, and Nelson. Wague received his fourth foul right away. After receiving some miraculous treatment in the first half, Kalkbrenner looked to be playing without any problems, leading the Jays to their first six-point lead. Griffen

Five Tide players had three fouls apiece with 12:51 remaining in the contest. Pringle kept up his excellent performance with a spinning drive and hoop, but he was fouled again. But Pringle missed both free throws, and with ten minutes remaining, Alabama was ahead, 62–61. For the following few minutes, the lead was exchanged between the sides as the Tide’s foul trouble grew worse. Eight minutes remained, and Creighton had one player with three fouls, while Alabama had two players with four and three players with three.

With 5:40 remaining, Creighton took advantage of a shove from the Tide defender to set up a three-pointer, giving them a 72-66 lead. With 5:23 remaining, Sears scored his first and only three-pointer to keep Bama in the game. With 2:50 left, Nelson’s first and only three-pointer lowered the Bluejays’ lead to 74-72, but the team was still up by five points. But in the following minute, the home team pulled ahead to 81-74, and the Tide appeared to be out of the game. With 12 seconds remaining, Creighton turned the ball over, giving the Tide an opportunity to force OT after Sears converted a basket to trim the deficit to three. When Sears received a direct route to the

Alabama shot 16–35 (46%), 3–11 (27%), and made 3–6 free throws in the second half. The Tide shot 35–75 for 47% overall, 4–22 for 18% from beyond the arch, and 8–13 for 62% from the free throw line overall. In the end, Alabama had 37 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 block, 5 steals, and an astoundingly low 4 turnovers. Sears finished with a strong finish, scoring 19 points on 9–16 shots and grabbing 4 rebounds. Playing 23 minutes, Pringle recorded his best offensive performance of the game with 15 points and seven rebounds. Nelson got five rebounds and 13 points. In his 29 minutes, Griffen contributed 13 points on 6–8 shooting, four rebounds, and some solid defense. Wrightsell began, participated for 16 minutes, and was unable to score in front of

In the first half, Creighton shot 15–29 for 52%, making 3–10 from three and 8–12 from the free throw line. The Bluejays’ final score was 29–52, or 56%, and they shot 6–18 from beyond the arc, or 33%, to win the game 21–29 from the charity stripe. In the end, the home team recorded 11 turnovers, five blocks, one steal, 14 assists, and 32 rebounds. 22 points were scored by Trey Alexander, 20 points, nine assists, and six rebounds came from Baylor Scheierman, and 19 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots were the results of Balkbrenner’s incredible comeback.

Amazingly, the Tide won the rebounding battle by five, scored 62 points in the paint, attempted 23 more shots from the field than Creighton, hit six more field goals, and only turned the ball over four times—all of which were indicators of success. Alabama needs to work on not fouling when defending. The front court players will also need to improve their defense to avoid being penalized for fouls, even though there were a few dubious decisions against the visitors. Together, the four squads that have defeated the Tide this season have a 37-6 record.

This Tide squad has been close to some significant victories, but they haven’t been able to overcome adversity. Next week, when the teams travel to Phoenix, AZ to play the Arizona Wildcats, who are now ranked first, things won’t be any easier. Arizona will probably drop in the rankings on Monday after their loss to Purdue today. The game will air on ESPN and tip off at 10 p.m. CT. After that game, Alabama will face Eastern Kentucky and Liberty to wrap up 2023 before SEC play kicks off on January 6. That will put an end to the team’s grueling schedule of top 10 opponents.