Despite a slow start, No. 20 Alabama men’s basketball spoiled an upset bid from Arkansas State on Friday, in former Crimson Tide assistant coach and Red Wolves head coach Ryan Pannone’s return to Coleman Coliseum, winning 101-86.
Both Alabama and Arkansas State matched up in Coleman Coliseum on Friday night with 2-0 on their minds.
The Red Wolves are projected to be one of the best mid-major teams in the country, and Pannone spent multiple seasons under Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats as an assistant before getting the head job in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Oats said Thursday that Pannone was excited to return and that his family was coming to such a full-circle event in the coach’s life.
With so much emotion in the air and two good teams getting ready to battle it out, the game tipped off.
Much like the Sam Houston game, Alabama got off to another slow start offensively, shooting just 3/19 from the field to open the contest and trailing by as many as eight at the under-12 timeout of the first half.
In fact, Oats’ team spent most of the first half just trying to keep themselves within striking distance, not regaining the lead until Boise State transfer Drew Fielder knocked down a triple with 4:13 to go in the half.
With 2:28 to go in the half, Arkansas State guard Aaron McGee laid it in to draw the deficit back to three, now trailing just 37-34.
The Crimson Tide were getting the open looks they wanted all night and just not cashing in.
Then the scoring barrage finally happened.
Alabama finished the half on a 14-0 run with eight of those points coming from star guard Amari Allen. Drew Fielder was also able to cash in from long-range at the buzzer to extend the lead to 51-34 at the break.
Those eight crucial end-of-half points boosted Allen’s historical night.
He finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming the fifth player in program history to record a triple-double and the first since Aaron Estrada in 2024.
Alabama finished with 36 first-half three-point attempts, matching their season average from a season ago that was the highest 3-point rate in college basketball history.
Rebounding was also much improved from game one.
Alabama totaled 20 offensive rebounds in the first half alone, with Fielder, Garrison, Bristow, Davis-Fleming and the aforementioned Allen all grabbing five-plus boards.
Kentucky transfer Brandon Garrison finished the game with a double-double, scoring 14 points to go along with his 10 rebounds.
After the game Oats said he was “super happy again with Brandon’s effort” in a hard-hat award performance.
The second half was played pretty evenly, with Alabama extending their lead up to 23 points and Arkansas State rebounding from that deficit to get the game within 12.
By the end of the night, Alabama was able to finish strong, skating by the Red Wolves 101-86.
While Pannone’s return to Tuscaloosa didn’t go as he hoped, he was open postgame and shared how gracious he was for his time at Alabama:
“I want to say thank you to the University of Alabama. This is such a special place,” Pannone said. “I was fortunate to coach two years here. If you ever get the opportunity to coach under Nate Oats or play for him, you take that opportunity.”
Oats shared a similar sentiment, praising the job he has already done with the Red Wolves.
“Great to see Ryan Pannone back in Tuscaloosa,” Oats said. “It was not that fun to coach against him, though. They can generate a lot of good looks on offense.”
Fans should keep an eye on Pannone’s team as they are one of the favorites to win the Sun Belt and could very well make their second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
As for Alabama, the Crimson Tide are now 2-0 for the sixth straight season and will look to get their third win Monday in Coleman Coliseum against Oakland. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
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