Alabama
28-5,16-2SEC
#25 Missouri
24-9,11-7SEC
No. 4/5 Alabama defeats No. 25/RV Missouri 72-61 to Advance to SEC Championship Game
3/11/2023 4:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide earned its school record 28th win of the year and reached the league’s championship game for the second time in the last three seasons
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 4/5 Alabama men's basketball team defeated No. 25/RV Missouri 72-61 on Saturday afternoon inside Bridgestone Arena to advance to the SEC Tournament championship game. With the win, the top-seeded Crimson Tide has reached its second tournament title game in the last three years.
Alabama's 28th victory of the year (28-5) sets a school record for wins in a season, surpassing the 2002 team's 27 victories.
Alabama's defense came up clutch as it held Missouri to just 33.8 percent (23-of-68) from the field in the contest, with the Tide shooting 49.1 percent (28-of-57) in the victory. The Tide also owned a big advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Tigers 44-28 on the night.
Alabama opened a 24-14 lead with just under three minutes remaining before the Tigers went on a 21-7 spurt that spanned halftime to take a 35-31 lead early in the second half. The Crimson Tide would respond with a game-changing 16-3 run that turned a three-point deficit into a 52-42 Alabama lead. Mizzou would not get any closer than within six points of the lead the rest of the way.
Brandon Miller collected his eighth career double-double, leading the Tide with game highs of 20 points, 16 of which came after intermission, and 12 rebounds. Miller has now reached the 20-point mark 13 times this season and led UA in scoring 20 times. Additionally, Miller surpassed Collin Sexton for most points scored in a freshman season in school history (645 points).
Noah Clowney contributed 19 points in the effort, making 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Charles Bediako added 10 points in the win, scoring in double figures for the second consecutive game.
Missouri (24-9) had three players in double figures, led by D'Moi Hodge with 21 points. DeAndre Gholston (17) and Noah Carter (10) combined with Hodge to lead the Tigers' offensive effort.
The SEC Player of the Year!!
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 11, 2023
??: https://t.co/CvnYdAYKls#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/NnN0q5bTC9
HEAD COACH NATE OATS POSTGAME COMMENTS
"If you're going to win a conference tournament, you're going to have to do it in different ways. We said that from the beginning. Today, we found different ways to win. Today wasn't our best game. I thought we came out of the gate fairly strong once again, but defensively we let down in the first half. Beginning of the second half we weren't great. We were forced to call a timeout on the inbounds play. We got after our guys a little bit, they responded well."
TEAM STATS
- The Crimson Tide advances to its 15th championship game in program history, and second in three years, which stands as the second-most championship appearances in the SEC behind Kentucky
- Today's game marked the first time Alabama and Missouri have met in the SEC Tournament, with the Tigers joining the conference in 2012
- UA has now won three straight against the Tigers, with an 85-64 win earlier this season on Jan. 21, 2023 and an 86-76 win on Jan 22, 2022
- Alabama leads 15-7 in the all-time series against Missouri
- Noah Clowney contributed 19 points, his second-highest point total of the season (22 vs. South Dakota State)
- After starting out the game 0-of-10 from beyond the arc and making just 2-of-15 in the opening stanza, the Tide made 6-of-12 (50 percent) in the second half
- Alabama dished out 18 assists compared to 10 from Missouri, led by Jahvon Quinerly with seven
- The Tide has racked up 39 assists across its two NCAA Tournament contests
FIRST HALF
- Alabama and Missouri both started off the game slow offensively, making a combined 5-of-20 from the field, with the Tigers taking a 7-5 lead into the first media timeout
- The Tide responded with a 6-0 run to force a Missouri timeout, opening up a 11-7 lead with 12:05 remaining
- Alabama extended its lead to 10 points at 24-14 just over four minutes left to play, but the Tigers ended hitting six of their last eight shots to finish the half on a 15-7 run to cut UA's lead to just two, 31-29, heading into the break
- Clowney led all scorers in the opening half with 11, making 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc
- Alabama outrebounded Missouri 25-12, while dishing out eight first half assists compared to five from the Tigers
- Of UA's first half point total, 22 came in the paint compared to 14 from Missouri
- Alabama shot 43 percent (13-of-30) from the field and 13 percent (2-of-15) from three, while Missouri made 36 percent (12-of-33) from the field and 33% (4-of-12) from beyond the arc in the opening frame
SECOND HALF
- Alabama shot 56 percent (15-of-27) from the field while holding the Tigers to just 31 percent (11-of-25) in the second stanza
- After making just two threes in the opening half, the Tide connected on 6-of-12 (50 percent) from deep in the final 20 minutes
- Missouri began the half on an 8-3 run to take a 37-34 lead, but the Tide responded with a 16-3 run over the next 5:41 to establish a 52-42 lead with 8:42 left to play
- The Tigers cut the Tide lead to six on three different occasions, but did not get any closer
- Brandon Miller contributed 16 second-half points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc
- Jahvon Quinerly dished out four second-half assists, leading the Tide to 10 as a team
UP NEXT
- Alabama will play No. 18/18 Texas A&M in Sunday's SEC Championship game in Bridgestone Arena
- The contest will tipoff at noon and air live on ESPN
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.
