Credit South Carolina: This is a team that doesn’t sit around. They shot well from the ground most of the night. They attach great importance to boxing out and establishing the post position. They forced Alabama into some pretty ugly turnovers at times.

In short, everything South Carolina needed to do to have a chance in this game, they largely accomplished (particularly the great start from the dynamic Collin Murray-Boyles).

And in the first five minutes it looked like it was going to work, as South Carolina jumped out to a 9-5 lead over the visiting Tide. The two got into a merciless exchange of blows with ball losses and failed to get out of the outside throws. South Carolina had set its pace and it showed. Even though Alabama went ahead by about a half-dozen for ten minutes, the visitors simply couldn’t find that other equipment.

Then Alabama woke up, especially Mark Sears, and the final 28 minutes weren’t particularly close.

Buoyed by Cliff’s hot start on the interior, Mark Sears’ 4 of 5 shooting from three points and much better defensive energy, Bama built a 45-28 halftime lead by suffocating the Gamecock perimeter shooters and continuing to play truly unselfish basketball . The Tide flirted with 2-1 assist-to-turnovers all night and were often 3-1. That meant the best ground shooting team in the country could find simple looks and make the most of them.

From 8:00 minutes into the first period, South Carolina would never really threaten again. The Tide made great use of their reserves, recording significant minutes for Holloway, Youngblood et al., and was able to largely fend off lulls of inattention. With 11 minutes left in the game, the Tide had extended its lead to 20.

That wasn’t necessarily a statement from the opponent, but it was Was a statement game. We wondered how ‘Bama would respond to the loss to Oklahoma in the home opener – they did so by shooting even better and playing even better defense on the road. And in the process, the nation was reminded why Mark Sears was a Wooden Award candidate in the preseason and how dangerous this team is when it can make some shots.

Roll Tide