Alabama
6-4,0-0SEC
#8 Creighton
9-2,0-0Big East
Alabama Falls to No. 8/8 Creighton 85-82
12/16/2023 11:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Nick Pringle scored a season-high 15 points along with seven rebounds
OMAHA, Neb. – For the second straight game the Alabama men's basketball team went down to the wire with a top-10 team in the country Saturday night on the road at No. 8/8 Creighton in front of a sold crowd of 17,401 fans. The game went back-and-forth with 11 ties and 10 lead changes and with Alabama down three points with two seconds left in regulation, the Crimson Tide had a chance to send the game to overtime, but a half-court shot by Mark Sears went in-and-out as the Tide fell to the Bluejays, 85-82.
Alabama (6-4) had four players score double-figures led by Mark Sears' 19 points while Creighton's (9-2) Trey Alexander (22 points) and Baylor Scheierman (20 points) scored 42 of Creighton's 85 points.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"That is a tough loss and they (Creighton) are a good team. It definitely wasn't one of our better shooting nights but they didn't shoot it great either. I thought (Ryan) Kalkbrenner affected the rim in the second half and we were able to get downhill and finish at the rim more in the first half. We are not doing enough to win against good teams right now and Creighton is a really good team. Hopefully Kalkbrenner is healthy and they go on and win a bunch of games because that would help us. They did a good job defensively guarding the three-point line, which led to our season-low in three's made. We didn't shoot it great and they had a large part in that. We have got to do a better job defensively and our big's have to guard without fouling because that is two games in-a-row where Nick (Pringle) and Mohamed (Wague) foul out and they combined for just 30 minutes. We played well in stretches but we have to figure out how to win a close game against a good team."
Team Stats
- Alabama's 62 points in the paint was the most this season for UA in a game (previous high was 50 vs. Mercer)
- Alabama's bench outscored Creighton's 39-6
- Nick Pringle scored a season-high 15 points and matched his season-best in rebounds (7)
- UA made a season-low four three-pointers
- The Crimson Tide committed a season-low four turnovers
- Both Pringle and Mohamed Wague fouled out for the second straight game
- Alabama was 8-13 from the free throw line while Creighton converted 21-29 from the charity stripe
First Half
- The first half featured seven ties and six lead changes
- Nick Pringle led Alabama with 12 points and five rebounds in the first half
- Trey Alexander (15 points) and Baylor Scheierman (13 points) scored 28 of Creighton's 44 points
- Alabama shot just 1-11 from three-point range in the first half
- After a slow start on offense to begin the game Alabama trailed 10-3 and UA responded with an 11-4 run to tie the game (14-14) with 12 minutes left in the half
- The Crimson Tide's defense held Creighton without a made field goal for nearly five minutes midway through the half.
- Alabama's first lead came at the 4:13-mark off an Aaron Estrada layup
- The Tide and the Bluejays went into halftime tied at 44-all
Second Half
- Creighton shot 51 percent (15-29) in the second half led by Kalkbrenner's 17 points
- Mark Sears (13 points) and Grant Nelson (11 points) scored 24 of Alabama's 38 points in the second half
- Alabama's largest lead of the game was six points (58-52) with 14:46 left in the game and Creighton went on an 11-4 run to retake the lead
- After exchanging the lead, Creighton took the lead with just under seven minutes left in the game (68-66) and the Bluejays would never relinquish the lead
Up Next
- Alabama will return continue its road trip next week against No. 1/1 Arizona on Wednesday, Dec. 20 in Phoenix, Ariz. at the Footprint Center in the Hall of Fame Series Phoenix
- Tipoff is slated for 10 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN
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