Alabama
1-0,0-0SEC
Longwood
0-1,0-0Big South
No. 20 Alabama Opens Season with a 75-54 Victory Over Longwood
11/7/2022 11:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Two Alabama newcomers recorded their first double-doubles as members of the Crimson Tide
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team had four players score in double figures and four pull down 10 or more rebounds as the Crimson Tide pulled out an impressive 75-54 victory over Big South preseason favorites Longwood in Coleman Coliseum on Monday night. The contest was the season opener for both teams.
Freshmen Brandon Miller and Rylan Griffen led the way in scoring with matching 14-point totals, while Miller and graduate transfer Mark Sears each earned double-doubles in their Crimson Tide debuts.
As a team, Alabama pulled down 67 rebounds, including 22 on the offensive glass. The 67 boards were 15 better than the Tide's highest rebound total a year ago.
Hello America, may we introduce Brandon Miller?@SECNetwork | #RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/AJgHVTN1y4
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 8, 2022
HEAD COACH NATE OATS POSTGAME COMMENTS
"We had a great defensive game to start the year out. Our defense is much improved. I've been telling you we're going to be a better defensive team, but also told you we would be a better shooting team and that didn't show up tonight. But look, that's a good team. They've got NCAA Tournament experience and they won their league regular season tournament last year. I think you can tell we're going to be much improved defensively with some more length and size out there. So, I think the shooting numbers will take care of itself. We must figure the turnovers out of 19 turnovers is not good. But I'm really happy with the effort and the defense for game one."
TEAM STATS
- Alabama's newcomers combined to score 67 of the team's 75 points, while the freshmen combined for 48 points in the win
- Longwood's 54 points were the fewest points allowed in a season opener since Nov. 11, 2016, when the Crimson Tide defatted Coastal Carolina, 70-53
- Miller and Griffen finished the night with 14 points to lead all scorers
- Miller also grabbed 13 rebounds to pick up his first career double-double, with transfer Mark Sears posting a second double-double for UA with 12 points and 10 rebounds
- With double-doubles from Miller and Mark Sears, it is the first time that two players from an Alabama team recorded a double-double in the same game since Nov. 16, 2020, when Herbert Jones and Jaden Shackelford recorded double-doubles in an opening night win over Jacksonville State
- The Crimson Tide dominated the glass, outrebounding the Lancers 67-38, including a 22-12 edge on the glass to help result in a 19-8 edge in second chance points
- Alabama doubled Longwood in points in the paint, 48-24
- All five Alabama starters finished with a positive plus-minus, with Miller posting a +27, with Griffen registering a +23 off the bench
FIRST HALF
- Alabama jumped out to an early 13-5 lead on an 9-0 scoring run, highlighted by six early points from Brandon Miller
- Rylan Griffen led all scorers with nine first half points, shooting 4-7 from the field
- Alabama dominated the glass, grabbing 32 boards to Longwood's 15
- Alabama's defense tallied eight blocks and three steals in the first half
- The Tide led 30-17 going into the final media timeout, but Longwood would cut the lead to 34-26 thanks to a 9-4 run over the final 3:18
SECOND HALF
- Freshman Jaden Bradley led the Tide with 11 second-half points, shooting 3-of-4 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe
- Bediako dominated the glass, posting nine second half rebounds, including five offensive boards
- Noah Clowney increased the Bama lead to 42-27 with 16:00 to play thanks to a dunk followed by his first three as a member of the Crimson Tide
- The Tide used a 14-5 run to increase the lead to 48-31 at the 12:00 media timeout
UP NEXT
- Alabama will continue its two-game homestand to open the season when it hosts Liberty in Coleman Coliseum Friday night.
- The game will tip off at 7:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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.
