Alabama
14-7,4-4SEC
Baylor
18-3,6-2Big 12
Alabama Stuns No. 4/4 Baylor, 87-78, for Fifth Win Over a Top-15 Team This Season
1/29/2022 6:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jahvon Quinerly (20), Jaden Shackelford (19) and JD Davison (14) combine for 53 points in the win
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama took down reigning NCAA champions, No. 4/4 Baylor, 87-79, Saturday night in front of a sold out Coleman Coliseum crowd. The Crimson Tide's win over Baylor (18-3) was its first non-conference loss in the last 36 games, dating back to Nov. 2019.
It marked Alabama's third victory this season over a team that participated in last year's NCAA Final Four, having defeated Gonzaga (91-82) and Houston (83-82) earlier in the year. The Crimson Tide (14-7) also improved to 5-1 on the year versus teams ranked among the Associated Press Top 15. It is the first time in program history Alabama has two wins over AP Top-5 non-conference teams in the same season.
Guards Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Shackelford led the Tide with 20 and 19 points, respectively, with Shackelford pulling down a team-leading nine rebounds. Quinerly and JD Davison each recorded five assists to lead the Crimson Tide.
Alabama is now 4-2 all-time in Big 12/SEC Challenge contests, including a perfect 4-0 at home in those games.
?????? ??????#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/9LaomsTKID
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 29, 2022
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"First of all, this was the first official sell out of the year. That was a huge crowd, it was unbelievable. I thought our defense was a lot better when we needed stops. I told our guys before the game we have got to get back to having fun. This is why we started playing the game of basketball. When you were a kid, this is what you play for. Those are fun environments, it's great to coach in an environment like that. I thought Quinerly and JD (Davison) both made big turns since the Georgia game and hopefully we continue to keep them playing like that. I felt like they were back having fun, being themselves, playing hard, aggressive, and I thought they both made big plays during a lot of the game for us. Shackelford ends up winning the blue collar. He was really good on all that stuff. He got steals, he ended up with five assists and only one turnover. I thought we did a good job keeping them off the offensive boards, especially in the first half. Our defense fell apart there for a little bit there in the second half when they took our 15-point lead down to five. I thought we had the intestinal fortitude, grit to then open it back up and close the game and get the win. So, a lot of credit to our guys, a lot of credit to them for staying in there after we easily could afford it after a tough loss like we had at Georgia. But I think our guys, mind you, we're back playing the way we need to. Hopefully we use this to build some confidence and keep us moving forward from here."
Team Stats
- Alabama has now defeated five teams ranked among the AP Top-15 in the nation, including a pair of top-5 wins (then-No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 4 Baylor)
- The last time the Crimson Tide recorded two wins over AP Top-5 teams in the same year came in 2003-04 when UA defeated then-No. 4 Mississippi State and then-No. 1 Stanford in the NCAA Tournament
- Quinerly recorded 20 points or more for the second time this season and the fifth of his career
- Shackelford added nine rebounds, five assists and three steals, all of which either led the team or tied for the team lead
- Gary returned from missing the last two games with a facial injury to finish with 15 points off the bench on 7-of-8 shooting from the field
- Alabama shot a season-high 59.2 percent from the floor including 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the field in the second half alone
First Half
- Alabama came out of the gate hot, opening up an 11-3 lead and forcing four Baylor turnovers in the opening 5:49 of play
- The Bears responded with a 16-6 run to take a 19-17 lead before Alabama tied it back up at 19-19 with 9:01 remaining
- A three-pointer from Quinerly kicked off a 7-0 run for the Tide to establish a 26-20 lead with 6:39 to play
- The game remained tight, with Ellis knocking down three free throws with 0:02 remaining to give Alabama a 38-34 lead heading into the break
- Quinerly led the Tide in scoring with 12, knocking down 4-of-8 from the field, while Shackelford pulled down a team-leading five rebounds
What a crowd. What a win.????#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/g0OwoG7VI7
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 30, 2022
Second Half
- the three point line and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes
- Both teams traded baskets to open the half before the Tide went on a 14-2 run, that turned a 43-40 UA lead into a 15 point advantage, 57-42, with just under 12 minutes left to play
- The run was highlighted by the Tide scoring nine straight points, capped by an emphatic dunk from Ellis
- With the Tide holding a 65-52 advantage at the 9:25 mark, Baylor scored eight straight points to lead 65-60 at the under eight-minute media timeout
- Clinging to a 75-71 advantage, the Tide closed out the game on a 12-7 run, with Davison contributing a three-pointer, dunk and layup in the final minutes
Up Next
- Alabama will travel to Auburn Arena to face off against No.1/2 Tigers Tuesday night. The game tips off at 8 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN.
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facer the book. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
