Alabama
19-3,9-0SEC
Vanderbilt
10-12,3-6SEC
No. 4/5 Alabama Routs Vanderbilt 101-44 in Largest SEC Victory in Program History
1/31/2023 10:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide had five players reach double figures in the lopsided affair
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 4/5 Alabama men's basketball team recorded its largest SEC win in program history with a dominant 101-44 victory over Vanderbilt Tuesday night inside Coleman Coliseum. With the 57-point win, the Tide improved to 9-0 in conference play, 19-3 overall and 11-0 when playing in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama was dominant on both ends of the court in the opening period, taking a 43-15 lead heading into halftime. Vanderbilt (10-12, 3-6 SEC) opened the game by scoring the game's first five points, but the Tide responded by scoring 21 consecutive points to take control of the game.
The Tide shot 59 percent (36-61) from the field and 46 percent (19-41) from the field while holding the Commodores to just 25 percent (16-64 from the floor and 15 percent (3-30) from deep.
The Tide had five players score in double figures, led by Brandon Miller with 22, his eighth time surpassing the 20-point mark in a game this season. Nimari Burnett (16), Rylan Griffen (12), Noah Gurley (11) and Charles Bediako (10) joined Miller in leading the offensive effort.
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— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 1, 2023
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HEAD COACH NATE OATS POSTGAME COMMENTS
"I thought our guys answered the bell after the Oklahoma game – it was a great way to respond. I was expecting a lot from us. It was just unfortunate for them that they were the team that followed the Oklahoma game. I told our guys we've kind of shown who we are and I think we're a tough, hard-nosed, blue collar, gritty team. Vanderbilt's tough, we showed a little highlight of Vanderbilt's tough plays before the game, like this is a game where we're going to try to be the tougher team. I think our guys answered the bell. They get the message. They really coached each other over the last three days, to be honest, they're a great group that kind of talked among themselves. This is who we want to be, this is what we got to do to get better. They did just about all that tonight. We were obviously aided by good shooting night and they didn't shoot it well, which happens. And I think for the most part we played pretty hard and locked into the defensive end tonight. So, it's good to see the improvement."
TEAM STATS
- Alabama is 9-0 in conference play for the second time in the past three seasons
- The 57-piont victory surpassed Alabama's previous program-best margin of victory which came against Ole Miss on Feb. 15, 1947
- Alabama dished out 29 assists on 36 makes, the second-most assists in a game in school history. It was the most assists since racking up 25 assists vs. Alabama A&M (11/17/17) and just one behind matching the school record of 30 vs. East Tennessee State (12/1/04)
- Alabama now has four victories of 30-plus points this season, matching the total from the 2020-21 season
- The Tide's average margin of victory in Tuscaloosa this season is +25.7, including +23.0 margin of victory against league games
- Alabama has now scored 100-plus points in four games this season which is the most in a single-season since doing it a school record-tying five times during the 1971-72 season
- Brandon Miller earned his eighth 20-plus point game of the year with his 22 points against Vandy, leading the Tide in scoring for the 12th time this season
- The Tide shot 59 percent (36-61) from the field, holding the Commodores to just 25 percent (16-64)
- UA owned a 48-20 advantage in bench point and 27-2 edge in fast break points
FIRST HALF
- Alabama finished the half with commanding 43-15 lead, marking the first time since Nov. 29, 2016, the Tide has held an opponent to 15 points or less in a half
- After Vanderbilt scored the opening five points of the half, Alabama responded with a 21-0 run to establish a commanding 21-5 lead with 10:16 remaining
- Alabama continued to shut down the Commodores defensively throughout the rest of the half, while continuing to shoot over 50 percent from the field and from the three-point line to extend its lead
- Alabama shot 52 percent (10-19) from three in the first half, with Nimari Burnett and Brandon Miller making three apiece
- The Tide shot 57 percent (15-26) from the field in the opening period, with the Commodores only making 15 percent (5-33)
- Burnett was perfect from the field in the half, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, to lead all scorers with 11
- The Crimson Tide's bench outscored the Commodores' 23-5
- Mark Sears dished out six first-half assists, leading the Tide to 13 total in the opening stanza
SECOND HALF
- Alabama outscored the Commodores 58-29 in the second half, the most the Tide has scored in a second half in this season
- The Tide went on a 17-0 run over 3:28 of play to extend its lead to 74-28 with 11:18 remaining
- Alabama extended its lead to 51 points, 85-34, with 6:59 remaining and did not let off the gas, finishing with a game-best 57-point lead
- The Tide outrebounded the Commodores 26-11 in the second half
- Jahvon Quinerly dished out six second-half assists, leading UA to 16 in the second stanza
UP NEXT
- Alabama will travel to Baton Rouge, La., to face the LSU Tigers Feb. 4 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center
- The contest will tipoff at 3 p.m. CT and air live on ESPNU
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.
