For a few shaky minutes Friday night, Alabama looked like it might be in for more of a fight than expected.
Ryan Pannone’s Arkansas State team came out with pace and purpose, pushing the tempo and hanging around long enough to make No. 20 Alabama work.
But once the Crimson Tide settled in, the game flipped fast. Alabama shook off a cold start, surged before halftime and rolled to a 101-86 win inside Coleman Coliseum.
The Tide didn’t exactly look sharp early. Alabama missed its first five shots and hit just 24% from the field over the game’s first 16 minutes, while Arkansas State built a 19-11 lead midway through the first half. But Alabama’s defensive pressure tightened, the rebounding improved in a big way and the Tide ripped off a 21-2 run to seize control before the break.
Amari Allen and Drew Fielder were at the center of the turnaround. Over the final 4:25 of the first half, the pair combined for 16 points and knocked down four 3s.
Allen finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for the first triple-double of his career, while Fielder added 16 points and five rebounds. Qayden Samuel led Alabama with 17 points.
Allen’s night turned into the kind of performance that can light up a building and then leave everyone holding their breath.
After a string of Alabama misses, he tracked down a loose ball well beyond the top of the arc and buried a 3 a minute before halftime. Seconds later, he drilled a fastbreak 3 that sent Coleman Coliseum into a frenzy. Those were the kinds of shots that have people talking about the 6-foot-6 sophomore as a possible first-round pick in next year’s NBA Draft.
Then came the milestone. Allen became just the fifth player in Alabama history to record a triple-double, and the first since Aaron Estrada posted 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Ole Miss in 2024. He reached 10 points on that deep 3 with a minute left in the half, got to double-digit rebounds about four minutes after the break and finally completed the line by finding Brandon Garrison for a layup with 6:28 remaining.
A few minutes later, Allen collided with ASU forward Amadou Doumbia near the basket, and both players ended up on the floor in pain. Allen was helped off with what appeared to be a lower leg injury, then limped toward the hallway near Alabama’s locker room before returning to the bench.
Doumbia was also helped off and headed to Arkansas State’s locker room. Neither player returned.
If the scoring burst was the headline, the work on the glass was the backbone.
Nate Oats had already made it clear he wasn’t pleased with Alabama’s rebounding in the early part of the season. The Tide had been outrebounded in two of its three preseason games and then lost the battle of the boards to Sam Houston in its opener.
Friday was a different story. Alabama finished with a 58-46 edge on the glass, including a 25-17 advantage in offensive rebounds.
That led to a 31-16 edge in second-chance points and helped cover for the rough shooting start.
There was also a notable return on the roster side. Friday was the last game of Aden Holloway’s five-game suspension, and Alabama will be eager to get his shooting back in the mix.
Holloway was arrested in March on marijuana possession charges, but the charges were dismissed after he completed the second-chance program. Oats said Holloway has come back as a “changed” man.
Last season, Holloway shot a team-best 43.8 from 3-point range while averaging 16.8 points and 3.8 assists. ESPN ranked him No. 30 in college basketball last month, and Alabama will be looking for the kind of spacing and shot-making he can bring moving forward.
Alabama is now 2-0 and will host Oakland on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
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