In what’s been a pretty rare occurrence in the Avery Johnson era, Alabama actually jumped out to a lead midway through the first half and held it steady for the entire game without any real scares. They played consistently and well enough to keep the lead. An exciting development for the up-and-down streaky teams we’ve become accustomed to over the last few years.
The Tigers started hot, hitting a couple of three pointers in the opening minutes, but Alabama scored enough to stay with them, and the teams traded the lead back and forth for the first 9 minutes of the game.