No. 24 Alabama basketball (2-0) shot lights out from three-point range on Friday night against the Indiana State Sycamores (1-1).
The new look Crimson Tide went back and forth with the Sycamores in the first half, but were able to pull away in the second en route to a 102-80 victory in Coleman Coliseum.
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Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s win:
Aaron Estrada’s hot start offensively
Aaron Estrada continued his good start shooting the ball against the Sycamores, knocking down four three-pointers in less than 10 minutes to bring Alabama back from an early 9-0 deficit in the first half.
The Hofstra transfer shot 7-of-10 from the field in his Crimson Tide debut on Monday. He finished the first half with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from three.
Estrada was the only player on Alabama to have double-digit points at halftime. He finished with 27 points, five rebounds and five assists, shooting 9-16 from the field and 6-8 from three.
Alabama’s three-point shooting
The Crimson Tide stuck to what they knew best offensively in the first half, the three-point shot.
In the first half, Alabama made 64% of its threes — attempting 14 and making nine of them. The three-point shot remains an emphasis for the team going forward this season, and particularly heading into SEC play.
Coach Nate Oats believes that Alabama should attempt more threes than they did against Indiana State.
“I don’t believe we have attempted enough threes like we should’ve in the first two games. We average close to 30 since I got here, and I believe that we’ll have games where we attempt close to 40. That’s where I’d like us to be,” Oats said.
The Crimson Tide finished the game shooting 57% from three, making 13 out of 23 attempts.
Mark Sears and Grant Nelson come up big in second half
Alabama needed someone to step up offensively in the second half.
Enter Mark Sears and Grant Nelson.
Nelson, a transfer from North Dakota State, had a quiet first half with just two points in 12 minutes, but came out of the second half with a head of steam, getting to the basket with ease and drawing fouls, as well.
Nelson finished the game with 20 points, eight rebounds and two blocks on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
Sears entered the second half with just seven points on 2-of-5 shooting and a team high three turnovers.
However, Sears scored eight points at the start of the second half to give Alabama the boost it needed offensively, beside Aaron Estrada. He helped Alabama take a 19-point advantage with 5:38 left in the second half hitting his third three pointer of the game.
He finished the game with 24 points, four rebounds and two assists, shooting 6-of-10 from the field.
Up next
Alabama continues its home stand against South Alabama (1-1) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.