Alabama
8-2,0-0SEC
Creighton
7-4,0-0Big East
No. 7/8 Alabama defeats Creighton 83-75 in Coleman Coliseum Return
12/14/2024 10:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide leads for nearly 38 minutes to secure the home victory
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 7/8 Alabama men's basketball team avenged last season's loss to the Creighton Bluejays with an 83-75 victory at home Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd at Coleman Coliseum. Mark Sears scored a season-high 27 points to go with six boards and a team-best four assists to lead the Crimson Tide to its eighth win of the season (8-2).
In addition to Sears, Labaron Philon added 16 points and Derrion Reid tallied 12 off the bench for his third double-digit scoring night in the last four games. The Crimson Tide controlled the rebounding battle from beginning to end, led by Grant Nelson's game-high 10 boards to account for his third double-digit rebounding game this season.
The Bluejays (7-4) had four players reach double-digits, led by Steve Ashworth's 20 points, while preseason All-American Ryan Kalkbrenner ended with 18 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Tonight was a good win for us. That (Creighton) is a good team and they're going to win a lot of games in the Big East. That wasn't necessarily the prettiest game at times, but I thought our guys were resilient. We built the lead in the first half, but you have got to give Creighton a ton of credit. They kept hammering away. I think they finished the first half on a 21-10 run. So, we didn't close like we needed to.
"They're good. (Ryan) Kalkbrenner is one of the better bigs in the country. You have got to pay attention to him in the post. I thought we had a decent plan, and we executed it for the most part. Our pick and roll defense wasn't great, they exposed it there in the second half. We didn't do a good job of closing the game - we gave up way too many threes. (Steve) Ashworth is one of the better guards in the country and we fell asleep on some stuff with him. I thought for large parts of the game we were good defensively. We've got three more games before conference play. I think this will be a win that goes a long way come March. That's why we schedule games like this. I appreciate them coming and scheduling this series. I think it's good for both programs. I think we get to learn a little bit from it."
Team Stats
- After a few lead changes in the first couple of minutes of the game, the Crimson Tide took control and lead for the remaining 37:50
- Alabama shot 30-70 (43 percent) from the field and 6-30 (20 percent) from deep, while limited Creighton to 45 percent (27-60) shooting from the floor and 30 percent (8-27) from beyond the arc
- Alabama dominated in the paint, outrebounding Creighton 46-32, including a 17-5 advantage on the offensive glass, and a 44-34 advantage in points in the paint
- Behind Derrion Reid's season-high 12 points, the Crimson Tide reserves outscored the Bluejays bench, 28-8
- The Tide also had a 12-2 edge in fast-break points
- Chris Youngblood, who has been sidelined with an injury, made his season-debut and finished with five points in 16 minutes
- For the first time in 10 games, UA, which entered the game averaging over four swats per game, was held without a blocked shot
First Half
- Following a couple of traded baskets at the beginning of the contest, Alabama went on a 9-0 run to create some early separation on the scoreboard
- The Crimson Tide had an efficient start from the floor as well, shooting 62 percent (8-13) through the first eight minutes of the game
- After the second media timeout, the Alabama offense added to its lead, using an 11-0 run which gave the Crimson Tide a 17-point cushion, 27-10, with just under nine minutes remaining in the period
- The backcourt duo of Mark Sears and Labaron Philon got off to a hot start themselves, combining for 15 of Alabama's first 29 points
- Creighton was able to claw its way back with a 13-4 run to close out the half and make it a six-point game at the break (37-31)
- Nate Oats' squad led the rebounding battle 29-18 over the Bluejays, with 11 of them coming from the offensive glass
- The Crimson Tide shot 39 percent (15-39) from the field and 19 percent (3-16) from deep in the period
Second Half
- The Crimson Tide struggled from deep at the start of the period, going 1-7 across the first eight minutes of the half, but still held a 10-point lead with under 12 minutes remaining (53-43)
- Once again, Sears and Philon kept the offense alive, combining for 16 of Alabama's first 24 points of the half
- From there, both squads continued to trade baskets down the stretch
- Following a three by Sears and a fastbreak layup by Reid, the Crimson Tide closed out the victory by hitting its final eight free throws
- Sears led the offensive charge, scoring 20 of his 27 points by shooting 5-7 from the field, 3-4 from deep and 7-8 from the charity stripe
- The Crimson Tide shot 48 percent (15-31) over the final 20 minutes and sank 87 percent (13-15) from the foul line
Up Next
- Alabama will take its final road trip during the non-conference slate, facing North Dakota on Wednesday, Dec. 18
- The contest will be a homecoming for Devils Lake, N.D., native Grant Nelson, who spent three seasons at North Dakota State before he transferred to Alabama prior to the 2023-24 campaign
- Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on the CBS Sports Network
