Alabama’s bench could be key to the Tide making another deep run in the NCAA tourney

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By Brett Hudson

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — With versatile point guard Mark Sears and mustachioed forward Grant Nelson, Alabama has two of the more recognizable players in the NCAA Tournament.

The duo led the Crimson Tide to the Final Four last year and returned to school in hopes of delivering the program’s first national title. But Bama’s supporting cast — specifically its bench — might be the key to making another deep run, especially with Nelson dealing with a left knee injury.

The second-seeded Tide (25-8) open NCAA play against No. 15 seed Robert Morris in Cleveland on Friday, giving Nelson an extra day to recover from an injury sustained in the first half of a loss to Florida in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Saturday.

The good news? Alabama ranks seventh in the country in bench points, averaging 34.19 a game from its reserves. It’s the kind of diversified scoring that makes coach Nate Oats’ squad a daunting matchup for anyone in the field, especially on short notice.

“We have guys that have been battle-tested, and we have some guys that have some savvy about them to stay in those games and make plays, and we’re going to need that to make runs here in March,” Oats said.

Because of injuries, Alabama’s bench might not be quite as stout as Purdue coach Matt Painter insisted in November when he said the Tide’s backups could form their own team — and would be ranked.

But the group was more than solid down the stretch and in the SEC Tournament. Jarin Stevenson scored 16 points in 19 minutes in a win against Kentucky, and fellow sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to Florida in the semifinals.

The Tide also got highly touted freshman Derrion Reid back after he missed nearly a month while recovering from a hamstring injury.

“We knew he was going to be rusty,” Oats said. “It’s hard when you don’t practice for a few weeks in a row. Only had a few practices. … I thought he was able to get a little flow, knock some of the rust off. We were able to get him almost 10 minutes. … He wasn’t bad in his minutes.”

With Sears and Nelson leading the team in minutes (and points), the Tide have the No. 1 scoring offense in the country at 91.4 points a game. Alabama has topped 100 points a whopping eight times, including five in SEC play.

Those five came without Latrell Whitesell Jr., who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in November, as well as Pepperdine transfer Houston Mallette, another guard who played just six games in December and January before lingering knee issues sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Who stepped up? The bench.

Sophomore Aden Holloway, who traded sides in a fierce rivalry when he transferred from Auburn, is averaging 11.4 points while playing mostly in Sears’ shadow.

“I can’t get him aggressive enough, to be honest with you,” Oats said. “What kind of 3s do I want him to take? I want him to take every single one that’s open.”

Dioubate has more than doubled his points and minutes as a sophomore, averaging 7.1 points in 16 minutes a game.

“He’s always had it. He needed to learn how to do it with the correct spacing, when the opportunities are there,” Oats said. “He’s got opportunities because people are so concerned with our guards. His guy is jumping out to hedge a screen and he can just score.”

Alabama played nine consecutive ranked teams to end SEC play and went 4-5 in that stretch, with two losses to Florida and two more on the road at fellow NCAA Tournament teams Missouri and Tennessee.

The start of the tournament could provide some relief for the Tide — and a chance for the reserves to continue to prove their worth, especially if Nelson is slowed or unable to go.

“It’s ideal (that) you play the toughest schedule,” Alabama guard Chris Youngblood said. “Whoever you face in March, have to win six tough games. We’ve done it before. … Played a lot of tough teams. We’ll be ready.”