Alabama
14-4,9-0SEC
Oklahoma
11-4,6-3Big 12
No. 24 Oklahoma Defeats No. 9 Alabama, 66-61, in SEC/Big 12 Challenge
1/30/2021 2:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide snaps a 10-game winning streak with the loss
NORMAN, Okla. – The No. 24-ranked Oklahoma Sooners snapped No. 9 Alabama's 10-game winning streak with a 66-61 victory on Saturday afternoon inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. In a game that featured eight ties and six lead changes, the Sooners ended the contest by scoring six of the final seven points to capture their fifth-straight win.
Alabama (14-4) was led by forward Alex Reese who scored a season-high 15 points, while guard Jaden Shackelford added 14. Forward Herbert Jones, who was hobbled and a game-time decision, played 37 minutes and finished with team highs of six rebounds, five assists and three steals to go along with seven points in the loss.
Oklahoma (11-4), who was missing two starters, was led by De'Vion Harmon's 18 points to lead all scorers.
With the defeat, Alabama had its 10-game winning streak snapped – the program's longest streak since 1996-97.
Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"We didn't come out ready to play. Oklahoma is a good team and we tried to warn our guys before the game that sometimes when a team is down a couple of players, it has a galvanizing effect. I've been coaching for a while and I've seen it happen a number of times – both for us and against us. I thought they really brought it being down two starters. We had six turnovers in the first five minutes and they started on an 11-2 run. We talk about starting and closing halves, they start on a 11-2 run and close the half on a 6-0 run. We had a decent start to the second half but struggled to close the half. It was a one-point game at the under four media timeout, but we went 0-of-7 from the floor and missed some open shots. Not our best performance. I told our guys that if we can learn from it, this will end up helping us in the long run. I like our leadership. I think they are saying the right things. I thought Reese had his best game this season. He gave us some great energy. It just wasn't enough to beat a quality team like Oklahoma.
Team Stats
- The contest featured six lead changes and eight ties throughout the contest
- The Sooners outrebounded the Tide, 42-34, which included a 13-6 edge on the offensive glass to result in a 10-0 advantage in second chance points
- Alabama shot just 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the field and went 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from the three-point line while the Sooners shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) and hit 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from beyond the arc
- In all, Oklahoma lead for 29:51 of the game and Alabama just 6:07
- Alex Reese scored a season-high 15 points on 6-of-14 from the field and three three-point baskets (3-of-10) in his 27 minutes of action
First Half
- Oklahoma took advantage of six Alabama turnovers in the opening five minutes to take an 11-2 lead at the first media timeout
- The Crimson Tide responded with a 9-1 spurt to cut the Sooners lead to 12-11 at the 10:46 mark of the opening stanza
- After a 5-0 run by the Sooners, Alabama answered with a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 20-17 with 6:43 left in the half
- After a back-and-forth next few minutes, the Tide held the 27-24 lead at the under four media time out
- After UA took a 29-26 lead, Oklahoma ended the half with back-to-back threes, to take a 32-29 lead into the locker room
Second Half
- Alabama opened the first few minutes of the second half with a 5-0 run to regain the 34-32 lead over the Sooners
- With things even at 40-40, Oklahoma went on a 15-3 run over a span of 3:57 to take its largest lead at 55-43 at the 11:43 mark
- Alabama responded with an 11-0 run of its own to shrink Oklahoma's lead to 55-54 with 6:52 left to play
- A pair of free throws from Keon Ellis gave Alabama its first lead of the second half at 60-59 with 3:44 remaining in the second half
- The Sooners scored seven of the game's final eight points, holding UA to 0-of-7 from the field over the final 4:57
The Tide return to SEC action when it welcomes the LSU Tigers to Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
