Arkansas basketball rally falls short after No. 3 Alabama runs it up at the rim

FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas basketball team’s triumphant return to Bud Walton Arena ended in disappointment Saturday night, unable to defend its home court because it could not defend the rim.

Third-ranked Alabama scored 56 points in the paint and withstood a big rally in the final 7 minutes to hold on for an 85-81 victory at packed Bud Walton Arena.

The Crimson Tide led 75-57 with 6:29 left, but Arkansas cut the lead to 83-81 when Zvonimir Ivisic made 1 of 2 free throws after he was fouled intentionally with 5.5 seconds remaining.

Following a missed three-pointer by Aden Holloway, the Razorbacks took possession down 83-80 and called timeout in the front court with 7 seconds remaining. In the timeout, Arkansas coach John Calipari told guard Nelly Davis and Ivisic to be ready to shoot because Alabama would foul in an attempt to keep the Razorbacks from shooting a game-tying three.

“We told them, ‘They are fouling. They are going to foul you,’” Calipari said.

Ivisic did not attempt a shot when the ball was passed to him.

“Now that’s a situation they absolutely understand,” Calipari said. “You win or you learn, and maybe I didn’t communicate it as well as I should have.

“Alabama deserved to win the game, but we fought and never gave up.”

Chris Youngblood made 1 of 2 free throws for Alabama with 4 seconds to play, but Ivisic was unable to hold onto a rebound when Youngblood missed his second attempt. That kept the Razorbacks from having a chance to tie at the buzzer.

Youngblood made 1 of 2 free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to set the final score.

“We were up 18 and we didn’t close it like we need to,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “A lot of credit to Arkansas for not quitting. They fought and they stayed in it.”

Playing for the first time in a week, the Crimson Tide (20-3, 9-1 SEC) won their sixth consecutive game and positioned themselves to be No. 1 when the national rankings are updated Monday. Top-ranked Auburn and second-ranked Duke lost earlier in the day.

Arkansas (14-9, 3-7) played at home for the first time since back-to-back road wins at Kentucky and Texas breathed life into the team after a disappointing start to SEC play.

Calipari indicated the team lacked the same “fearlessness” it played with in the road wins until the Crimson Tide had built a big lead.

“This as a great experience for us, because we’re either in this [fearless] mode or we’re [over] here,” Calipari said. “It’s going to be hard to win any games in this league if we stay here. If we’re over here [fearless], we can play with anybody in the league.”

Alabama was unstoppable at the rim, especially after halftime when it scored 32 of its points in the paint. Other point-blank attempts resulted in fouls and free throws.

The Crimson Tide were relentless going to the rim in the second half. Alabama shot 34 of 62 (54.8%) overall and was 29 of 43 (67.4%) on two-point attempts.

“We didn’t take a non-rim two all night,” Oats said.

Arkansas traded punches in the first half, pulling within 33-32 on Adou Thiero’s second-chance layup with 6:19 to play before halftime.

But the game changed when the Razorbacks’ scorers picked up their second fouls late in the first half.

Thiero picked up his second foul at the 4:46 mark. Ivisic picked up his second foul a little more than a minute later when he and Youngblood were assessed offsetting technical fouls.

Nelly Davis picked up his first and second fouls during a 58-second span and went to the bench with 1:57 to play in the half.

With Thiero, Ivisic and Davis going to the bench, the Razorbacks went cold and never threatened again until they had dug a hole too deep.

With those players on the bench for much of the stretch, Arkansas missed 10 consecutive shot attempts during a nearly 6-minute scoreless streak late in the first half. Alabama led 40-34 at halftime.

Ivisic scored 15 of his career-high 27 points in the first half, and Thiero scored 11 of his 22 before halftime. Thiero picked up his third and fourth fouls in short order early in the second half and was limited to 24 minutes of game action.

Ivisic got the Razorbacks back into the game after Alabama built a 15-6 lead early. Ivisic made a three in transition with 7:40 left in the first half to cut the deficit to 29-27, then hit a step-back three in the corner on the next possession to make it a 31-30 game.

“We didn’t do a very good job on Big Z,” Oats said. “He killed us tonight. I thought we had a decent game plan for him. We executed great at times and he made some tough shots. He’s a super skilled player.”

Grant Nelson and Youngblood scored 15 points apiece for the Crimson Tide, and Mouhamed Dioubate added 14.

Alabama guard Mark Sears, the preseason SEC player of the year, scored 11 points to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 turnovers in 34 minutes. The Crimson Tide committed 9 turnovers before halftime and 14 overall.

Neither team capitalized much on miscues. Arkansas scored 13 points off turnovers and Alabama scored 15 on the Razorbacks’ 11 turnovers.

Davis scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime to help the Arkansas rally. D.J. Wagner had 8 points and a season-high 9 assists, but he only made 1 of 6 attempts from the floor.

Arkansas shot 28 of 65 (43.1%) and 7 of 20 (35%) from three-point range. The Razorbacks were 18 of 21 (85.7%) from the line.

Why Arkansas Lost

The Razorbacks had no answer defensively for the Crimson Tide in the paint, and Arkansas was to find its offensive flow for an extended time after its top scorers got into foul trouble in the closing minutes of the first half.

Series Update

Alabama won its fifth consecutive game over Arkansas and improved to 6-2 in the series since Oats was hired for the 2019-20 season.

The Razorbacks’ win in Oats’ first season gave them their sixth in a row over the Crimson Tide but the series has flipped since, with Alabama winning all 4 matchups in Tuscaloosa and 2 of 3 games in Fayetteville.

Arkansas leads the all-time series 36-34. Alabama won for the eighth time in 26 trips to Bud Walton Arena.