Tide Hoops Continue Losing Skid

Tide Hoops after dark provided an entertaining game between Alabama and No. 4 Arizona, but the Crimson Tide found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard again, dropping their third straight top-10 game 87-74.

Grant Nelson led the Crimson Tide with 17 points, while Mohamed Wague led in rebounds with 7, and Aaron Estrada led in assists with 6.

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The record hasn't been what Alabama wants so far this season, but that is partly due to Alabama head coach Nate Oats scheduling such tough opponents, which is rewarded in the college basketball sphere.

Alabama's loss against Arizona is the Tide's third straight road game against a top-10 opponent. The Crimson Tide started the road trip in Toronto, Canada on December 9, losing to the Boilermakers 92-86. A week later, Alabama traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to play against the Creighton Bluejays, losing that game 85-82.

Shooting the three did not heat up much for the Crimson Tide against the Wildcats, with Alabama shooting 8-for-40 from three, just 20%.

Alabama sacrificed a 14-0 run during a four-minute stretch in the second half, and it was too much for the Crimson Tide to overcome. Foul trouble once again played a role in the loss; Nick Pringle fouled out with 6:21 left in the contest and Mohamed Wague fouled out less than a minute later.

Alabama also had 18 turnovers, which is something that Coach Oats has emphasized will lose them ball games. To make matters worse for Crimson Tide fans, Alabama did not score for 3 minutes to close out the contest.

Grant Nelson left the game with an injury with 7:20 left in the second half but returned with just under six minutes left in the game.

The Crimson Tide dropped to 6-5 on the season with the hardest portion of its schedule, at least until March, in the rearview mirror. Alabama returns to Coleman Coliseum for the first time in almost three full weeks on Saturday to take on Eastern Kentucky (4-6) at 3:00 p.m. CT.