The three-pointer: Lessons learned from Alabama's win over UNC Asheville

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama basketball looked like part of a Final Four team in the season opener. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes against UNC Asheville and never looked back. No. 2 Alabama showcased its strength and improvement on both ends of the floor with a resounding 110-54 win.

Aside from Chis Youngblood (out until December with a leg injury) and fellow redshirt seniors Houston Mallette and Naas Cunningham, Alabama's other 10 players all played over 15 minutes and made steady contributions while avoiding a second-half exit after the decision by Tide coach Nate Oats clearly prevented play was unacceptable after problems in the final stages of the second-half exhibition game against Memphis.

It was a different style of victory than Alabama fans have been used to in recent seasons. The Crimson Tide was dominant inside, scoring 110 points while attempting just 18 3s – a relatively low number by the Tide's standards. However, Alabama's free-scoring offense made most of those attempts, hitting 44.4% of its three-point shots. Guard Mark Sears got his National Player of the Year campaign off to a good start, leading Alabama with 20 points.

After a brilliant start to the highly anticipated 2024-25 season, here are three takeaways from Alabama's first win of the new season.

UNC Asheville's players threw down some impressive dunks during warmups. But that was the biggest impression the Bulldogs would make on Monday.

Alabama flexed its muscles from the start. The Tide had a larger starting lineup that included forwards Derrion Reid, Jarin Stevenson and Clifford Omoruyi, who immediately blocked the middle on defense. Omoruyi had an early block and finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

The Crimson Tide was strong in the paint on both ends. Alabama outscored UNC Asheville 54-18 in the lane, moving the ball freely around the Bulldogs' defense. Omoruyi continued to be open for easy dunks inside, Reid finished the game with nine points and six rebounds and looked comfortable as the link in Alabama's offense. Backup forwards Mouhamed Dioubate and Aiden Sherrell maintained Alabama's strong presence off the bench. Sherrell was effective on both ends and became Alabama's leading rebounder with nine goals.

Alabama also tracked the glass as a whole glass in Game 1. The Tide outrebounded UNC Asheville 55-29 and captured 14 offensive boards. Alabama's dominance of the team without relying on a high volume of threes is a testament to its newfound depth up front.

Oats praised Dioubate for his progress this offseason and discussed his potential versatility in Alabama's rotations. He even talked about Dioubate's potential as a small-ball center in certain lineups.

Dioubate did not disappoint in his first game of his second season. He was once again an energetic presence on both ends and finished the game with 11 points and seven rebounds. He was even used as the Tide's center for a brief stretch of the first half.

One of the key areas of improvement for Diobuate entering year two was his development as a shooter. While he didn't make many 3-pointers in the Tide's two exhibition games and Monday night, Dioubate looked more confident behind the arc, making 3-pointers in all three games.

Although Alabama dominated, there would never be a flawless performance in the season opener. The Crimson Tide scored freely from beyond the 3-point line and in the lane, but struggled to capitalize on opportunities when they drew fouls.

Alabama shot just 70.3% from the free throw line on Monday, a mark that continued a trend of struggling with the charity jersey in recent games. Alabama reached its 63% mark against Memphis and shot just 73.1% against Wake Forest.

Following its foul-laden win over the Tigers, Oats also stressed that Alabama needs to improve in the turnover department. The Crimson Tide had 20 turnovers against Memphis and 14 of them against Wake Forest. In its first game that mattered, the Tide couldn't stay below double digits in turnovers on Monday, finishing with 10, including three consecutive possessions in which it had the ball just before the timeout with under eight minutes left in the first half gave away.

Alabama (1-0) will look to build off an overall strong performance in its first game of the season. The Crimson Tide will return to the field Friday night against Arkansas State at Coleman Coliseum at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.