Alabama
4-0,0-0SEC
Jacksonville State
1-2,0-0ASUN
No. 18/16 Alabama Dominates Jacksonville State in a 104-62 Win
11/18/2022 11:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide knocked down 21 three-pointers making it the third time in program history to hit 20 or more threes in a game
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 18/16 Alabama men's basketball team hit 21 three-pointers in a dominating shooting effort inside Coleman Coliseum Friday night, taking home a 104-62 win over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
The win marked the third time in program history that Alabama (4-0) has made 20 or more threes in a game, with all three instances coming under head coach Nate Oats. It's also the seventh time over the last four years that the Tide has hit the century mark.
Freshman Brandon Miller had a stellar performance, posting a season-best 28 points including 20 in the second half to lead the team in scoring. The freshman shot 9-of-12 shots from the field and 7-of-9 from three. Nimari Burnett and Mark Sears both contributed 18 points, marking a career-high for Burnett.
The Tide, which entered the contest leading the nation in rebounding, continued to dominate the glass in the win, out-rebounding the Gamecocks 49-25. Alabama is now outscoring teams by and averaging of 27.3 points (84.8-57.5) and out-rebounding the competition 24.5 boards per game for the year.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"That was nice to make shots. I thought our defense picked up in the second half, I give them credit. They played really hard, and they (Jacksonville State) made it hard for us to open it up in the first half, even as well as we shot it. We didn't really start opening it up until late in the first half. We kind of challenged our guys at halftime on defense. Our numbers weren't great; we were giving up way too many points per possession on the defensive end. The first four minutes of the second half still weren't great but the next 16 minutes after that first media timeout in the second half, they scored 14 points the rest of the way. We talked to our guys about not playing the scoreboard. We didn't care what the score was; we were going to play every possession. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. I thought our guys stayed pretty locked in, the ball moved well, and we shot it better. We ended up with a season high in assists. That always helps to make shots, but I did think we had the ball moving a little better. The turnovers were down significantly, I think we only had 10 going in the last four-minute stretch of that last media time out and we left with few out there, but multiple guys did a lot better job taking care of ball. All in all, it was a good win. It is great to be 4-0 going into the stretch we have next week, and it's going to be a pretty tough stretch there with the teams we will see in Portland."
B Miller went ?????????? tonight ?? pic.twitter.com/LPfemyWig9
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 19, 2022
Team Stats
- Alabama made 20 or more threes for the third time in school history, with all three coming under Oats (23 at LSU on 1/20/21, 22 at Auburn on 2/12/20)
- As a team, Alabama shot 51.5 percent from the field and 45.7 percent (21-of-46) from beyond the arc
- The 104 total points marked the seventh time in the Nate Oats era and the 74th time in program history that Alabama has scored over 100 points in a game
- The Tide hit seven of its first 11 threes, along with starting the game 11-of-16 from the field
- Nimari Burnett came into tonight's game 1-of-10 on the year but knocked down 5-of-6 tonight to finish with a career-high 18 points
- Jahvon Quinerly led the team in assists in his return to Coleman Coliseum, posting eight total
- Alabama posted a season-high 23 assists on 34 made baskets
First Half
- Alabama scored a season-high 51 first half points, highlighted by 16 points from Mark Sears
- The Crimson Tide shot 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from three in the first half
- With Alabama trailing 24-19 with 10:41 left in first half, the Tide went on a 13-2 run to turn a five-point deficit into a six-point lead, 32-26
- UA ended the half on an 8-0 run to take a 51-39 lead into the locker room
- Alabama out-rebounded the Gamecocks 18-14 in the first half
- The Crimson Tide dished out 14 assists in the first half, with Jahvon Quinerly leading the way with five
Second Half
- The Tide went on a 20-2 run over a 4:53 span in the second half to take a commanding 82-50 lead
- Miller exploded offensively in the second half, scoring 20 of his 28 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from three
- Noah Clowney pulled down six boards, matching Miller for the most on the team in the half, on his way to a game-high 10 rebounds in the win
Up Next
- Alabama will travel to Portland, Ore. to compete in the 2022 Phil Knight Invitational from November 24-27
- The Crimson Tide will tipoff the preseason tournament against the Michigan State Spartans on Thanksgiving night at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN
- Alabama will face either Oregon or UConn on Friday, Nov. 25, and then wrap up the tournament against TBD on Sunday, Nov. 27
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
