Alabama
8-2,0-0SEC
Memphis
6-4,0-0AAC
No. 6/8 Alabama Falls on the Road to Memphis, 92-78
12/14/2021 11:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide snaps its four-game winning streak in first true road game of the season
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The No. 6/8 Alabama men's basketball team fell on the road at Memphis Tuesday night, dropping a 92-78 decision inside the FedExForum. The loss snapped the Crimson Tide's (8-2) four-game winning streak while the Tigers (6-4) won their first game after dropping four consecutive entering the contest.
Senior guard Keon Ellis led the team with 19 points to go along with six boards, while junior guard Jaden Shackelford added 10 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.
Junior Jahvon Quinerly added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists on the night. Freshman JD Davison also had a solid performance, matching his season high of 10 assists to go along with eight point in the loss.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"I didn't think we came ready to play tonight and that's on us coaches. I warned our guys that we were going to get their best shot and I think they wanted to make a statement that if they wanted to get this thing turned around, they were going to do it against a top-10 team. When you look at their schedule, they had one chance to do that, they were at home and came ready to play. I thought out of the gate, our energy wasn't where it needed to be and I didn't think we were locked in. We had multiple guys not play their best basketball game. That's the best Memphis has played all year so you have to give them a lot of credit. We had issues rebounding the ball once again. It's been a major problem, particularly with our bigs. We also had a major problem turning it over. We didn't do a good job in our major points of emphasis. We have got some work to do."
Team Stats
- For the second-straight game, the Crimson Tide lost the battle of the boards, getting outrebounded 33-31, which helped result in a 17-11 deficit in the category
- The 55 second half points scored by Memphis were the most points allowed by any opponent in any half during head coach Nate Oats' three seasons at Alabama
- The Tide racked up 20 turnovers on the night which are the second-most in a game this season (22 vs. Miami)
- Alabama concluded the night 30-of-65 (46.2 percent) from the floor and 10-of-33 (30.3 percent), while Memphis shot 53.3 percent (32-of-60) from the field and 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from beyond the arc
First Half
- After a fast start gave the Tigers a 9-2 lead at the 17:36 mark, Alabama responded with its own 9-2 run to tie the game at 11-11 with 15:54 remaining in the half
- That run continued as the Tide scored seven of the next nine points to make it a 16-4 run overall which gave UA its largest lead of the half at 18-13 with 12:17 left
- Memphis closed the half with an 8-0 run to take a 37-32 lead into the break
- JD Davison recorded seven assists, two steals and a block in the half
Second Half
- With Memphis holding a seven-point lead (49-42) at the 15:04 mark, the Tigers scored 12 consecutive points over the next 2:28 to take its largest lead of the game, 61-42, with just over 12 minutes remaining
- Trailing by 17, 78-61, with six-and-a-half minutes left to play, the Tide scored eight of the game's next nine points, which included threes from Shackelford and Ellis, to trim the lead to 79-70 at the under four-minute timeout
- The Tide would not get any closer as Memphis sealed the 14-point win
- Ellis hit three threes on his way to 13 points in the half as Davison and Jahvon Quinerly both added eight points over the final 20 minutes
Up Next
- Alabama will return home to face Jacksonville State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network
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– UA –
