The 23rd-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide bounced back from Saturday’s loss to Tennessee by defeating the Missouri Tigers 90-64 on Tuesday night. The Tide improved to 14-6 overall and 4-3 in the SEC, while the Tigers fell to 14-7 and 4-4 in conference play.
Coach Nate Oats fielded his 13th different starting lineup of the season, as Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell were joined by the twin towers of Aiden Sherell and Charles Bediako. Holloway returned from his latest injury after missing the Tennessee game and Bediako is in his second game since rejoining the team after a two-and-a-half-year detour to the G League. Tide freshman superstar Amari Allen missed his second straight game and Keiteen Bristow, Davion Hannah and Collins Onyejiaka remained unavailable.
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After making just six 3-pointers in Saturday’s loss, the Tide came out firing with Holloway and Sherrell hitting from deep on the team’s first two possessions for a 6-0 lead. Mizzu showed some fight and took a 13-12 lead with 14:45 left in the half. When Philon hit a 3-pointer at the 11:30 mark to tie the game at 16-16, Bama was on a roll. London Jemison hit a line three from the corner for a 19-16 lead. Wrightsell hit two from deep and Jemison hit another and the Tide took a 32-23 lead with 5:15 left on the clock. Philon and Bediako connected on a beautiful alley-oop, followed by two Philon shots from behind the arc, helping the Tide take a 42-29 halftime lead.
Bama shot 14-33 (42%) in the first half, including 9-23 for 39% from deep and scored 5-6 at the free throw line. The Tide had 21 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals and committed just four turnovers. Philon led the way with 11 points and five assists. Sherrell added eight points and Bediako contributed six points and four rebounds. Wrightsell showed signs of breaking out of his 2-4 slump from three-point range, but he was just getting started.
Missouri shot 12-31 for 39%, 2-9 for 22% from deep and a miserable 3-10 at the free throw line. The massive Tigers, with five players 6’10 or taller, including 7’5″ Trent Burns, were limited to 20 rebounds. The Tigers had five assists, two steals and committed six turnovers. Shawn Phillips led the team with eight points and five rebounds.
Alabama used the same starting lineup in the second half. Sherrell and Bediako started the scoring with two free throws each. When Wrightsell hit his first of five 3-pointers in the second half, the Tide led 49-37 with 17:24 left. Holloway and Bediako made it to their own basket on the next possession. Starting at 12:37, Wrightsell had a heat check and hit four long-range jumpers in a row. When the run ended with 9:24 remaining, Bama led 69-46. Most of the rest of the Tide’s points came from the free throw line, aside from another assist from Philon to Bediako for a dunk and a 3-pointer from Houston Mallette. Oats emptied his bench with Preston Murphy, Jr. and Jacob Martin walking into action. Murphy made two free throws to close out the scoring in Bama’s 90-64 victory.
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Bama shot 12-29 in the second half on 6-16 from three and made 18-20 free throws. Overall, the Tide finished 28-62 for 42%, including 15-39 for 38% from deep and a slick 23-26 for 89% at the charity stripe. Wrightsell’s long-awaited big game was much needed. The graduate student shot 7-10 from behind the arc for 21 points and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Philon had 18 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Sherrell added 16 points, made 7-9 free throws and somehow only had one rebound, but blocked two shots. Bediako appears to be regaining his form scoring 16 points and four rebounds. The big man made 6-6 free throws. Taylor Bol Bowen was extremely active and led the team with 10 rebounds and only scored four points. Mallette won the helmet with three points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Mizzu shot 14-35 with 2-12 from deep in the second half. The Tigers once again struggled at the free throw line with a 5-13 record. Overall, the visitors went 29-66 for 39%, 4-22 for 19% from deep for 19% and a shocking 8-23 for 35% at the charity stripe. Missouri came alive on the boards and finished with 44 total rebounds, 15 of them offensive. The Tigers had 10 assists, two blocks, three steals and 13 turnovers. A Barrett led the team with 13 points, Mark Mitchell scored 11 points with five rebounds and four assists. Last year at CoMo, Mitchell torched the Tide by 35 points. Phillips finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds.
The Tide bounced back with a great performance. Defensively, Bediako is making a difference with his presence in the paint. After the Oklahoma game, Alabama was ranked 80th in KenPom defensively, after Bediako’s first game that number had improved to 69th, and after tonight’s win it dropped to 59th. Any offense Bediako adds is just an added bonus to his threat in the defensive paint. Bol Bowen’s changeup has been activated in recent games, and his effort and results have been much better. In tonight’s game the ball movement and selfless play were exceptional. Wrightsell had a breakout game when Holloway struggled offensively and it was perfect timing. The biggest key for the Tide is to get and keep everyone healthy.
Next up is a road trip on Sunday to Gainesville, FL to face the Gators. The game will be televised nationally on ABC at noon CT.
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