Alabama
7-3,0-0SEC
#1 Arizona
9-0,0-0Big 12
No. 12/12 Alabama Falls to No. 1/2 Arizona 96-75 in the 2025 C.M. Newton Classic
12/13/2025 11:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide matched the school record for total blocks in a game (15)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 12/12 Alabama men's basketball team held a 41-39 lead at intermission over No. 1/2 Arizona, however, the top-ranked Wildcats would go on to outscore the Crimson Tide 57-34 over the final 20 minutes to result in a 96-75 victory Saturday night in Legacy Arena.Â
Alabama (7-3) was led by Labaron Philon Jr. (24 points and 10 rebounds) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (21 points) who combined to score 45 of the Tide's point total on the night. In addition to Philon collecting his first career double-double, Aiden Sherrell added seven points, eight blocks and five boards in the losing effort.
Behind Sherrell's efforts, the Crimson Tide matched a school record of 15 blocked shots, which was set on Feb. 10, 1996 vs. Georgia.Â
Arizona (9-0) was led offensively by Brayden Burries, with 28 points while Motieju Krivas added 14 points and 14 rebounds in the win.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame CommentsÂ
"They are the number one team in the country for a reason. We came out, didn't have a good start and it just progressively got worse. They scored 39 in the entire first half and had 39 in less than 12 minutes to start the second half. So, starting the second half was bad. Obviously, they came out of halftime ready to play and we didn't. It's nearly impossible to win a game whenever your opponent has 28 more field goal attempts than you. If you look, we outshot them from the field and the free throw line, percentage wise. They made one more free throw than we did and got 28 more field goal attempts. You can't win games by giving your opponent 28 more field goal attempts. We lost the rebounds by 20 again which has been a reoccurring issue with us."
"We had two solid wins with St. John's and Illinois but the three elite teams we've played, we've gotten beat on the glass. If you include turnovers, we only turned them over four times and we got turned over 15 times. When you lose the possession game by 30 and your opponent gets 28 more field goal attempts, it's nearly impossible to win a game like that."
Team StatsÂ
- Alabama lost the battle of the boards, as Arizona outrebounded the Tide 52-32, including a big 22-3 edge on the offensive glass that resulted in a 15-2 Wildcats advantage in second-chance points
- The 75 points scored by Alabama was a season low and the first time it has been held under 80 points on the year
- Arizona had just four turnovers compared to 15 for Alabama, which resulted in a 22-9 advantage for the Wildcats in points off turnovers
- The contest featured 11 ties and six lead changes, with all but one lead change occurring in the opening 20 minutes of play
- The Crimson Tide drops to 7-12 in program history when playing the nation's top-ranked team and head coach Nate Oats falls to 3-5 in those contests                                   Â
First Half Â
- Neither team gave an inch in the opening stanza as the contest saw 10 lead changes and six ties
- Arizona took the early advantage after an 11-2 run from 16:12-14:24 (1:48), but the Tide immediately responded with a 14-3 run that spanned 4:30 (14:24-9:54) to take a 26-22 lead
- Alabama caught fire from the floor, shooting 9-for-12 from the field after opening the game hitting just 3-of-10 shots
- After the Tide took its largest lead of the half at 37-30, Arizona clawed its way back with a 9-0 run while holding Oats' squad scoreless from 7:01-1:07 (5:54)
- Back-to-back buckets by Labaron Philon Jr. and Aiden Sherrell gave the Tide a 41-39 lead at the break
- A huge part of Alabama's lead came from rim protection, as the Tide collected nine blocks in the first half, with Sherrell accounting for five of them
- Philon led UA in scoring in the frame with his 14 points off 5-for-10 shooting from the field, along with six rebounds and five assists
- Alabama had an efficient scoring output in the half, shooting 15-for-30 (50 percent) from the field and 7-for-17 (41 percent) from beyond the arc, compared to 14-for-42 (33 percent) shooting from the floor and 5-for-17 (29 percent) from deep by the Wildcats
Second Half Â
- Arizona flipped the scoreboard in the opening stretch of the half, outscoring Alabama 33-11 through the first 10:36 of the frame to take control of the game, 72-52Â
- The Tide struggled to get it going offensively in the half, shooting 4-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-9 from the field by the 7:36 mark in the second frame
- Arizona controlled the boards in the second half, outrebound Alabama 28-13 which included an 11-1 edge on the offensive glass
- Alabama had 9 turnovers in the half, leading to a 15-2 Arizona advantage in points off turnoversÂ
Up Next
- Alabama returns home for a matchup on Wednesday night against South Florida, which is led by former Alabama assistant coach and current head coach Bryan Hodgson
- Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT inside Coleman Coliseum and can be seen on SEC Network+
