Number 13 Alabama needed an extra five minutes to knock off No. 24 Florida, 98-93, in overtime at Coleman Coliseum Wednesday night.
While struggling to make their three-pointers, Alabama had to rely on driving to the basket for points and maintaining a tenacious presence in the paint to edge out a victory against a red-hot Florida team.
Here are a few takeaways from the game.
All-Around Game From Nelson
At times in the season, Grant Nelson has looked like a liability on defense, but with each game, he has continued to get more grit about him. Wednesday night, Nelson put together a complete performance on both sides of the court. Nelson finished the game as the Crimson Tide’s leading scorer with 22 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds and recorded a season-high six blocks on the defensive side of the ball.
Wrightsell Was Missed
Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. could not suit up against Florida due to a head injury. Wrightsell being out gave Nate Oats a chance to play a bigger starting lineup, but Wrightsell’s presence was missed. Being one of Alabama’s most consistent three-point shooters at 44.5% on the season, the absence of Wrightsell was felt as the Crimson Tide had one of their worst three-point shooting performances of the season.
Cold From Behind the Arc
Alabama couldn’t buy a bucket from behind the arc on Wednesday. Coming into the game as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation, the Crimson Tide went cold, going 2-for-18 from behind the arc in the first half. The second half was much better for the Tide, shooting 5-for-8 from three, but overall, on the night, the Crimson Tide finished with just eight three-pointers on 32 attempts. As a result, Alabama had to do their scoring inside the paint.
4. Estrada Picks Up the Slack
With Wrightsell out, someone had to pick up the scoring to cover his average of nine points per game. Aaron Estrada used his quickness and tenacity in the paint to grind his way to 20 points on the night. Estrada did a little bit of everything for the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night. With his 20 points, Estrada pulled down eight rebounds, dished out eight assists, and recorded four steals on defense.
Next for No. 13 Alabama is a tough road test as they travel to play No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday, February 24, at 3 p.m. CT on CBS.
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