Alabama
3-1,0-0SEC
#8 Illinois
4-1,0-0Big Ten
No. 11/11 Alabama Bests No. 8/8 Illinois 90-86 in the United Center
11/19/2025 11:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide defeated its second road victory over an Associated Press Top 10 opponent this season
CHICAGO, Ill. – The No. 11/11 Alabama men's basketball team claimed a come-from-behind victory on Wednesday night, taking down No. 8/8 Illinois Fighting Illini 90-86 in the United Center.
The matchup saw just one lead change as Alabama took the lead in the beginning of the second half and never surrendered the advantage for the remainder of the contest.Â
The Crimson Tide (3-1) was led by Labaron Philon Jr.'s 24 points, 19 of which came in the second half, as he finished 9-for-18 shooting from the floor and added team highs of five assists and three three-pointers made. Four other Alabama players finished in double figures, including Taylor Bol Bowen (12 points), Aden Holloway (11 points), Keitenn Bristow (10 points) and Houston Mallette (10 points).Â
Alabama's bench had its best outing of the season, tallying a season-high 32 points, led by Bristow and Mallette with 10 each. Amari Allen also came off the bench and led the team in rebounds, grabbing a season-high 11 boards to go along with nine points.
Illinois (4-1) was led by Andrej Stojakovic's 26 points, off 11-for-16 shooting, with 14 of those points coming in the second half. Trailing him was Kylan Boswell who scored 20 points in the second half alone after scoring just two in the first frame.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame CommentsÂ
"That's a good team we just played. They're going to be competing for a national championship in my opinion. They're going to be in the mix. They're talented, they've got depth, they're hard to keep off the glass. I thought our guys fought and we still got outrebounded, but we fought a lot harder than we did against Purdue. It certainly helped to have Keitenn Bristow, but Amari Allen showed up with 11 rebounds. For a freshman, he's really stepped up in some big games. We still got outrebounded by two, but it's a lot better than 24 against Purdue. I'm happy our guys answered the bell."
"I felt Labaron, being in foul trouble in the first half, kind of slowed him down a little bit and he played with four fouls. We needed all his points in the second half. He's been good. We had Houston Mallette coming off the bench for some rotational purposes to help with some rebounding and different stuff. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. has been great for us. He's still coming back off that Achilles injury, and he's had a finger injury, so he's not close to 100 percent, but we put him in. Houston thanked me for giving him an opportunity; he comes off the bench, scored in double figures and seals the game with two free throws. I think he deserves to play well. A lot of different guys answered the bell. It's a pretty tight-knit group. They're pulling for each other. We were down the whole first half and we were fighting to be within one at the half with how much we were being outrebounded. I thought we were fortunate and came out in the second half a lot better by taking the lead and making a run to hold them off down the stretch."
Team StatsÂ
- The victory marks Nate Oats' sixth win over an AP Top-10 opponent and his 33rd overall win vs. and AP Top 25 team
- After being sidelined for the first three games with an injury, Keitenn Bristow made his Alabama debut as the Tarleton State transfer finished the contest with 10 points and eight boards in 20 minutes of action
- Alabama won its fifth consecutive game over Illinois, dating back to March 16, 1986
- The Alabama bench outscored its counterparts 32-17 on the night led by Bristow and Houston Mallette (10)
- Overall, the matchup saw just one lead change as the Illini led the entirety of the first half, and the Crimson Tide led nearly the entire second periodÂ
- Neither team was able to take a double-digit lead all night, with the biggest lead at nine points from both teams (Illinois led 19-10 with 13:35 left in the first half and Alabama held its largest lead of 64-55 at the 9:27 mark of the second half)
- Alabama had the advantage at the charity stripe, connecting on 17-of-23 (74 percent) from the foul line compared to 13-of-22 (59 percent) by Illinois
- As a unit, Alabama shot 30-of-66 (46 percent) from the floor and 13-of-36 (36 percent) from three while Illinois finished 31-of-73 (34 percent) from the field and 11-of-32 (34 percent) from deep
First Half Â
- Illinois took the early advantage on the scoreboard, eventually jumping out to a 19-10 leadÂ
- AÂ 12-4 Alabama run over the span of 4:32 trimmed the deficit down to just one, 23-22 with 9:03 left in the opening stanzaÂ
- Illinois would not give up the lead the entire half, however, the Crimson Tide never trailed by more than five points over the remaining nine minutes of action
- The Crimson Tide held the Fighting Illini scoreless from 11:58-7:08 (4:50) but was unable to take the lead in the first half as Illinois entered halftime leading 42-41
- Alabama's defensive effort caused the Illini to shoot just 5-for-19 (26 percent) through the final 11:58 of the half
- Amari Allen and Taylor Bol Bowen led Alabama offensively at the break with eight points each, combining for four three-pointers
- The Crimson Tide bench unit contributed over half of the scoring effort in the first half, totaling 21 of 41 total points
- Illinois held the advantage on the glass in the first half, grabbing 21 boards compared to 16 from Alabama
- As a team, Alabama shot 14-for-33 (42 percent) from the field, 8-for-21 (38 percent) from deep and 5-for-6 (83 percent) from the free throw line
Second Half Â
- Alabama quickly flipped the scoreboard at the start of the second half, going on a 15-6 run across the first 6:47 to and claim a 56-48 advantage with 13:14 remaining
- The Crimson Tide defense forced the Illini to make just two of its first 13 shots of the half
- Despite the defensive effort from Oats' squad, the Illini was able to take advantage of a 3:43 scoring drought by Alabama to trim the lead down to two points, 64-62, at the 6:35 mark
- The Crimson Tide made clutch shots down the stretch, converting on seven of its last 11 field goal attempts, with Philon accounting for nine of the last team's final 11 pointsÂ
- Philon led the team offensively with 19 points in the second half, shooting 7-for-12 from the field including two three-pointers
- Oats' squad outrebounded Illinois 22-19 in the second half after being outrebounded 16-21 in the first half
- Alabama got to the free throw line much more effectively in the second half, sinking 12-of-17 attempts from the charity, compared to just 5-for-6 in the first half
- The Tide shot 16-for-33 (49 percent) from the field and 5-for-15 (33 percent) from beyond the arc
Up NextÂ
- Alabama will make the trip to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival, taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs for the first game of the event on Monday, Nov. 24
- Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. CT inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena and can be seen on TNT
