A letdown would've been understandable coming off of four straight wins away from Coleman Coliseum. Throw in the fact that the Tide would be without second leading scorer Shannon Hale with an undisclosed medical issue and a letdown would almost be expected. Just don't tell that to Avery Johnson and company, who delivered what was possibly their most impressive performance to date.
Down two starters against a team expected to contend for its conference title, the Tide would need to set the tone early on the defensive end. For the most part, they did.