Going into Saturday evening, Alabama basketball had won one close game all season. On Jan. 25 in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide beat Kansas State, 77-74. Among its 10 losses for the season, Alabama basketball lost three of those games by a total of four points. Another loss, against Arkansas, came after the Tide led inside four minutes. The bitterest loss of the season, in double-overtime at Florida, happened after the Tide led by six points with 46 seconds left in regulation.
After losing three-in-a-row, any win on Saturday was going to be big. Winning a close game, on the road – let’s just say, history was not in favor of the Crimson Tide.