Alabama basketball showed much improved defense in a thrilling victory over Houston

Despite Alabama reaching the Final Four for the first time in program history, its 81.2 points per contest last season ranked bottom ten in the nation. To help improve this key element of the game, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats was hired along with longtime NBA defensive assistant Brian Adams.

No. 9 Alabama showed inconsistent signs of improvement defensively to open the season, as the Crimson Tide allowed under 81.2 points in three of its first five games. But Tuesday’s 85-80 overtime victory over No. 6 Houston at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas reinforced that trend in a positive way.

There is no doubt that the Houston Cougars defense has been the most solid and outstanding in all of college basketball over the last few years. By comparison, the Cougars have since ranked in the top three in the country in fewest points allowed per game each season.
2020-21 and the same applies to the start this year.

In other words, Alabama knew it was going to be a close contest when they had the ball, and the Crimson Tide had to return the energy when Houston had the ball.

Alabama State sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate doesn’t typically play a lot of minutes, but when he’s on the floor, he often makes an impact on both sides of the ball, especially defensively. Tonight was no exception as he held strong both up and down, which had a big impact on Houston’s 36.9 field goal percentage. Dioubate recorded his first career double-double, scoring 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds and three blocks in 28 minutes against one of the most highly regarded basketball programs in the country.

“Honestly, I’m just playing my game,” Dioubate said during his post-match press conference. “Even if we played like any other team, I would bring the same intensity to the game. I know I do it on the field. The coach told me before the game, “This is Mo Dioubate’s game,” so I was prepared for it, even if we played against any other team tonight (with the same intensity) and won.

While Dioubate led the way on that end of the court, the Crimson Tide as a whole held the Cougars back with multiple misses throughout the evening, including one that went more than seven minutes without a field goal in the second half. Alabama also committed 12 turnovers and recorded a solid 28 defensive rebounds (plus a season-high 20 offensive rebounds) – a statistical category in which it was poor at the beginning of the season.

However, Alabama’s stellar defense came to an end as Houston couldn’t help but miss shots when it mattered most and found ways to consistently get to the free throw line, where the Cougars capitalized several times. Houston went on to win the series 10-0 and even took the lead late in the game after a dominant performance by guard L.J. Cryer, but decisive free throws by Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr., followed by a last-second save, led to a field goal. basketball .

Nevertheless, Alabama returned to its defense at the perfect time, holding Houston scoreless in the final three minutes of overtime. Dioubate also shined in the third quarter, helping his team escape a thrilling evening in Las Vegas.

“Mo was great on defense, rebounding and had three timely blocked shots,” Oats said. “He fixed some bugs. He had a bit of Noah Clowney in him, so to speak. Our defense was third in the country when Noah was with us and he cleaned up a lot of the mistakes. We kind of need a guy who can play the four, and at the five, pair him with Grant (Nelson) or Cliff (Omoruyi).