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Alabama’s first SEC title in 19 years will have to wait a little longer.
The Crimson Tide missed their chance to clinch Wednesday night in an 81-66 fouled loss to No.20 Arkansas. So the bid for a first championship crown since 2002 will move on to Saturday night’s trip to Mississippi state after a frustrating visit to Fayetteville.
Alabama (18-6, 13-2) followed through to 16 after briefly gaining momentum early in the second period. A 15-2 Razorback run ultimately sank in Alabama’s bid for the conference title as serious trouble followed the tide from the first moments.
The 66 points were Alabama’s fifth lowest scorer this season, and the loss ended a three-game winning streak.
“Arkansas has outscored us,” said coach Nate Oats. “They were ready to go. It was like every stray bullet they received.
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The Tide was called for a season-high 32 fouls against the Arkansas 18, while the Razorbacks made 27 of 43 fouls. Alabama were 3-for-8 from the line while tidal guard John Petty was sent off with 1:01 to go after catching his second technical foul of the game. Alabama’s fouls total was the highest on the schedule since a 2017 game against Memphis.
Herbert Jones and Jaden Shackelford fouled while Juwan Gary finished with four fouls.
“The charges are tough,” Oats said. “(Jones) drives the ball downhill, but some of the other things where you’re out of position… I think we’ve fouled the 3-pointers three times – at least three times. It’s the worst basketball game.
The three-point shot was inconsistent all night and fell through at the Tide when Arkansas made their run in the second half. It was 4 for 16 after halftime and 11 for 33 for the game with Jordan Bruner providing a brief respite from trouble.
The game opened with a few nightmare scenarios for Alabama. Not only did he miss his first nine 3 points, but foul issues first caught his top scorer. Shackelford went to the bench with his third foul with 10:28 left in the first half as the Razorbacks held a comfortable but not overwhelming lead for most of the first half.
The deficit climbed to 12 mid-half before Tide began a slow ramp that picked up speed just before half-time.
Bruner has a lot to do with it.
The Yale graduate transfer playing only his second game after missing the previous seven with a knee injury suddenly couldn’t miss the perimeter. Having entered the game shooting 30.8% from 39 previous attempts, Bruner managed 4 of 6 to 3 points in the first half. His last in the dying seconds reduced the deficit to just 39-38 despite the Hogs shooting 52%.
As a team, Alabama made seven of their last eight 3-pointers to close a first half that started with Tide missing the top nine.
The tidal run extended to 10-0 after halftime, but the Razorbacks recovered after calling a timeout when Alabama led their 45-39 under two minutes into the half.
This message will be updated.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on twitter @ByCasagrande Or on Facebook.
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