With a familiar face on the opposing bench, Alabama men’s basketball delivered a performance many of those have grown accustomed to inside Coleman Coliseum.

The Crimson Tide had its best defensive performance in nearly three weeks and an efficient shooting performance to blow out Arkansas State and former assistant Bryan Hodgson. After losing two of its last three, Alabama went on a 12-0 run early in the first quarter. UA then followed it up with a 20-6 stretch, allowing head coach Nate Oats to empty the bench and further figure out the 2023-24 rotation.

With the 89-65 victory, Alabama improved to 6-2. Mark Sears and Jarin Stevenson led Alabama with 13 points apiece. Grant Nelson sunk a pair of 3-pointers. Arkansas State’s Taryn Todd led all scorers with 15 points on 18 shots.

Hodgson followed Oats from Buffalo to Tuscaloosa in 2019 and handled recruiting duties. He helped Alabama amass its best class in history which came to fruition a year ago with freshmen Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney and Jaden Bradley helped lead the Tide to the Sweet 16. His new squad, though, fell to 2-7. Hodgson got to be on the receiving end of a textbook blue-collar performance: Alabama forced 14 turnovers, distributed 17 assists and shot 43% from 3-point range.

Overall, Alabama shot much better than it did in its rare home loss to Clemson last week (43.8% compared to 34.3%). It started with Mark Sears, who scored his 1,500th point with an early layup. Aaron Estrada, who’s played at St. Peter’s, Oregon and Hofstra, scored his 1,600th point later in the first half.

Playing his second game as a starter, Mohamed Wague scored 12 points with seven rebounds and three blocks. Davin Cosby converted three 3-pointers in 13 minutes, setting a career-high in points.

The bounce-back performance comes before one of the hardest three-game tests any team will face. The Tide is set to take on No. 4 Purdue, No. 10 Creighton and No. 1 Arizona in an 11-day span starting on Dec. 9.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].