After the Philip Pearson era started much like the Mark Gottfried era finished, Alabama returns home tonight to face a Georgia team that can match the Crimson Tide tick for nervous tick.

Alabama (12-8, 2-4 SEC) rallied within striking distance of Arkansas before the Razorbacks earned their first SEC victory 89-80 Thursday night in Fayetteville.

It was an all-too-familiar result for senior Alonzo Gee.

“It’s frustrating. We had a lot of mental breakdowns,” Gee said after the game. “Coach Pearson did a great job preparing a gameplan, we just couldn’t execute it completely.”

Pearson’s team cut a 14-point deficit to six in the final two minutes before Arkansas held up at the free-throw line. The Tide was beaten badly at the foul line — Arkansas was 28-for-35 to Alabama’s 8-for-10 — and the 3-point line — the Hogs shot 9-for-21 from long range to Alabama’s 4-for-17. Rotnei Clarke scored 26 points, including 6-for-10 from 3-point range.

“This was a typical SEC basketball game,” Pearson said. “Give Arkansas credit, we were doing everything we could and just couldn’t get over the hump. It seemed like everything we did, they had an answer for.”

Alabama has less than 48 hours to prepare for a Georgia team that will make its debut with an interim coach.

Pete Herrmann coached on Dennis Felton’s staff at Western Kentucky and Georgia, just as Pearson followed Gottfried to
Alabama.

“I know everyone’s going to think of this as the ‘interim’ game, and that’s too bad,” Herrmann said. “These are two proud schools with great traditions in athletics and in basketball.”

Georgia (9-11, 0-5 SEC) was crushed 83-57 at Florida on Wednesday night. Felton was fired Thursday morning.

“The hardest part is we have to get ready to compete in a terrific league and we’ve got 48 hours to prepare for the next game,” Herrmann said Thursday. “That’s got to be our priority here. And we’re going on the road, so it’s out of our comfort zone.

“We just want to make sure that our players are on the right path to preparing to compete in the SEC. I think that’s the hardest part for the players at both schools — to look at the situation and to have a good practice and have a good preparation in getting ready to compete.”

The Bulldogs rank last in the league in scoring offense, averaging just 65 points per game. Senior Terrance Woodbury averages 12.7 points per game. Trey Thompkins, a freshman, averages 12.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Gee, who leads Alabama in scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg), understands that both teams are desperate to win.

“We need to win this home game Saturday against Georgia,” the senior said. “We need a home SEC game to get us back on track. Coach Pearson did a great job preparing us, but we’re the ones playing the game. It’s our fault and we need to fix it.”