Nate Oats got exactly the kind of test he wanted on Friday night, and Alabama had to work for every inch of it.
Seton Hall dragged the Crimson Tide into a physical, stubborn game at Coleman Coliseum, the sort of night Oats expected when he put this matchup on the schedule. Alabama came away with an 82-76 win, but it took a late push, a big run, and some made free throws to finally put the Pirates away.
The Tide were down six late in the first half before ripping off a 16-0 run to close the period, then stretched that burst to 20-0 to start the second half. That surge opened up a 17-point cushion and made it look like Alabama might run away with it.
Seton Hall had other ideas. The Pirates kept fighting, chipped back into the game, and turned it into a one-possession battle late before Alabama settled things at the line.
Here’s a look at the biggest buckets and bricks from the win.
Amari Allen was the clear headliner. Through four games, the sophomore has gone from promising piece to something much bigger.
Against Seton Hall, Alabama kept feeding him when it needed a basket, and he delivered. Allen scored 24 points in 33 minutes on 6-of-10 shooting, added five assists, and didn’t turn it over once.
He also scored eight of Alabama’s 16 points during that first-half closing run. So far this season, he’s averaging 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 52.6% from three.
He’s playing like an All-American.
Aden Holloway was right there with him. The senior finished with 18 points and hit 2-of-4 from deep, but the bigger story was what he brought on the other end.
Oats leaned heavily on Allen and Holloway, and Holloway’s defensive edge stood out. He was active, annoying, and constantly in Seton Hall’s guards’ space.
For Alabama, that kind of buy-in matters.
Cole Cloer gave Alabama a needed lift, too. His second-half three had him looking upward in relief, and it was the kind of shot that can change the mood for a shooter trying to find his footing.
Cloer has had a rough start from the perimeter, but Oats has kept pushing him to lean into defense and effort while the offense catches up. Against Seton Hall, that approach paid off.
Cloer scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds, and stayed engaged on the defensive end. He looked much more like the player Alabama saw in the two exhibition games.
Jaxon Richardson also earned his way onto the good side of the ledger. The freshman has dealt with injuries and illnesses in the preseason, but Oats has clearly liked what he’s seen from him, especially defensively.
Richardson played 11 minutes, posted a plus-11, scored four points, pulled down five rebounds, and blocked two shots. Oats made it clear after the game why Richardson was still out there late:
"I thought the one guy that did a rebound really well for his minutes, it really was Jaxon, which is why he was in there at the end," Oats said. "We needed stops and rebounds, and we know he’s gonna give us everything he’s got on defense; he’s got elite defensive ability, and then he goes and gets the ball. And he did that, and so we’re gonna have to play the guys that rebound."
Not everyone helped Alabama cleanly survive the night.
Qayden Samuels struggled with the ball and couldn’t stay on the floor. He played 10 minutes and committed four turnovers, repeatedly driving into traffic with little control. Against a Seton Hall team that thrives on forcing mistakes, that was a bad combination.
Tarris Bouie had an even shorter night. The freshman logged just four minutes and finished with one turnover and nothing else on the stat sheet.
With the rotation tightening and tougher games coming, Bouie’s path to minutes could get narrower if he keeps giving the ball away and stalling the offense. Richardson is already making a case to take those minutes instead.
In Other News...
Alabamas Seton Hall Win Left One Real Question About This Roster
Alabamas 82-76 win over Seton Hall offered a useful early look at what this roster can be when it starts to click. Amari Allen led the way with 24 points and five assists, and Nate Oats got a chance to keep testing different rotation combinations while the Tide showed better effort on the defensive end than it has at other points.
Seton Hall made things interesting by clawing back from a 17-point deficit, which is the kind of response that can expose where a team still has work to do even in a win. Alabama handled the closing stretch well enough to finish the job, but the bigger takeaway from a non-conference game like this is whether the improved defense and lineup tinkering can hold up once the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Keelon Russell Opened Up About Playing Through Alabamas Biggest Vanderbilt Concern
Alabamas 21-6 win at Vanderbilt came with a little more uncertainty than the final score suggested, and Keelon Russell was right at the center of it. The quarterback entered the week dealing with an injury that left his status in question, then still managed to get on the field and guide the Crimson Tide to a road victory with 217 yards and three touchdowns.
Russell said he pushed himself throughout the week to be ready, which helps explain why Alabama was able to keep its offense steady despite the concern around his availability. For a team that needed him to answer the bell, the bigger question now is how he comes out of that game and what it means for the next stretch of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces A Late-Season CFP Test It Cannot Afford To Blow
November has a way of turning every ranked matchup into a referendum, and Alabama is right in the middle of that churn as the College Football Playoff picture tightens. With several contenders around the country dealing with injuries, travel issues and the lingering effects of recent results, the margin for error is shrinking fast, and the Tide know they cannot afford a stumble if they want to stay in the thick of the race.
Week 11 brings the kind of pressure-packed setting that can reshape the bracket in a hurry, especially with teams like Notre Dame, Texas, UCLA, Kentucky and Boise State all trying to protect their own positioning. For Alabama, the challenge is less about style points now and more about surviving a late-season test that could determine whether its playoff case stays strong or starts to unravel. [Read more 🡒]