Alabama basketball rallies but can't stay with UConn late in first loss of season
Alabama basketball could have given up the way the game started, but it showed some fight and rallied by halftime.
It just couldn't close the deal and stay with UConn late in the second half.
Going cold offensively late in the second half, the Crimson Tide fell to the Huskies 82-67 on Friday in Portland, Oregon, in the Phil Knight Invitational. At one point in the final minutes, UConn went on a 17-1 run.
Star freshman Brandon Miller finished with 18 points but went 5-for-15 from the field. He didn't have a field goal in the second half until about 2:35 remained in the game.
"They took Brandon out of it," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "They were pretty physical with him. They didn't let him get any easy catches. They did a good job with him. We needed to get him going. And two, their ball-screen coverage, our smaller guards struggled with it. They had some good size, they were aggressive in it, their bigs came up."
Next, Alabama will face No. 1 North Carolina in the third-place game Sunday (2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN).
Here are observations and takeaways from the game between No. 18 Alabama (5-1) and No. 22 UConn (7-0).
CHARLIE WILSON:'Living the dream': Remembering Alabama basketball manager Charlie Wilson
ALABAMA BASKETBALL:What Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats has to say about each member of 2023 signing class
Alabama can't handle Adama Sanogo late
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward had to sit early in the second half with three fouls, but he had a dominant stretch late.
At one point, Sanogo turned in a dunk, then he denied Miller on a jumper. Then Sanogo hit a triple on the ensuing possession.
His efforts fueled an 11-1 run for UConn with 5:30 left, and UConn snagged a 63-53 lead.
Sanogo had eight points in the first half. He finished with 25 points.
Noah Clowney battles early in second half
Clowney was willing to do whatever it took to keep Alabama right with UConn early in the second half.
First, he turned in a three-point play with 13:18 left to draw Alabama within 44-41. Then he grabbed a defensive rebound on UConn's next possession. That gave Alabama its next possession, and on a free-throw that didn't fall, Clowney snagged an offensive board.
He used that rebound to drive and draw another foul. He hit both free throws to tie the game at 44.
Clowney's tenacity and physicality was needed in the close game early in the second half.
Turnover troubles in first half, but Alabama settles by halftime
The Crimson Tide was in a giving mood early.
Alabama kept getting in its own way offensively, finding all kinds of ways to turn the ball over. After the Crimson Tide limited them in the win over Michigan State on Thursday, turnovers plagued Alabama early against Michigan state.
In the first half, the Huskies had 17 points off 16 Alabama turnovers. At first, UConn couldn't capitalize, shooting 4-for-16 from the field. Then shots started falling for the Huskies. UConn led 33-18 at one point in the first half.
Meanwhile, Alabama was struggling to get shots to land.
But just as the Crimson Tide looked like it was going to get run out of the arena, Alabama steadied the storm as Miller started to get going offensively.
The Crimson Tide ended the first half on a 9-0 run, capped by a Clowney dunk, to close the score to 35-30 UConn at the break. Alabama forced the Huskies into making mistakes in the last few minutes. UConn had five turnovers over the final 3:09 in the first half.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball falls to UConn in Phil Knight Invitational
