Alabama
8-3,0-0SEC
South Florida
6-5,0-0American
No. 16/16 Alabama Rolls Past South Florida 104-93 In Third Straight Home Victory
12/17/2025 10:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide tallied a season-high 20 offensive rebounds in the contest
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 16/16 Alabama men's basketball team surpassed the century mark for the fourth time this season, defeating the South Florida Bulls 104-93 inside Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Labaron Philon Jr. (29 points) and Aden Holloway (24 points) combined for 53 points to lead the Crimson Tide (8-3) with the duo hitting seven threes throughout the night. The scoring output marks the second time this season that the pair have scored 20 or more points in the same game.
South Florida (6-5) was led by Izaiyah Nelson's 25 points off 9-for-12 shooting from the field, along with converting 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. Nelson also grabbed 12 rebounds in his seventh double-double of the season.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame CommentsÂ
"They're a good team. I was pleased with our effort coming out. We've been emphasizing the rebounding issues and we were up 10 in the first half, so I think they got the message. It's the first time all year we've had three or more guys have seven rebounds with Aiden Sherrell, Houston Mallette and Taylor Bol Bowen. It would've been nice is London Jemison could've played more in the second half because I think he would've added to the rebounding. Overall, I thought the rebounding was good for a half. It was decent at the beginning of the second half and then it kind of fell apart. They ended up getting 25 offensive rebounds; they're great on the glass. We had 20 defensive rebounds and they had 25 offensive rebounds which isn't ideal. We have to continue to work and continue to get better. We have guys who can rebound it and we have to continue to look at our lineups.
"We challenged the guards to rebound a lot. I thought Aden Holloway did a really good job tonight with four defensive rebounds; him and Houston Mallette led the team in defensive rebounds. Holloway ended up leading the team in plus/minus with +17, I thought he played really well all around. We made the lineup change to get rotations with better rebounds mixed with the other guys. We tried to mix it up and do that a little bit. We'll continue to work on it and emphasize it. We're going to have to get better at it before we get to SEC play for sure."
Team StatsÂ
- Alabama had nine players grab three or more rebounds with Taylor Bol Bowen leading the team with a season-high tying nine boards, including six on the offensive glass
- The scoring output marks the 34th time that Nate Oats has surpassed the century mark during his tenure
- Labaron Philon Jr.'s career-high tying 29 points passed the 20-point mark for the fourth straight game
- The Tide forced a season-high tying 15 turnovers from the Bulls, with four players swiping away multiple steals (Sherrell, Mallette, Holloway and Williamson)
- Alabama's bench contributed 42 points, led by Holloway's 24, compared to 22 from South Florida
- The whistle-heavy game saw 69 combined free throw attempts from both teams, with Alabama shooting 29-for-35 (83 percent) and South Florida shooting 27-for-34 (79 percent) from the line
- The Bulls were led by head coach Bryan Hodgson, who was an assistant coach under Oats at Alabama
First Half Â
- Neither team gave an inch in the opening stanza, with the biggest lead being eight points held by Alabama at the 12:15 mark
- South Florida took a 36-35 lead with just 2:43 left in which the Tide responded with an 11-3 run to close the half and enter the break with a 46-39 advantage
- Overall, the opening frame saw three lead changes and six ties
- Alabama controlled the rebound battle 32-22 at halftime, with 16 boards coming from the offensive glass
- Houston Mallette led the Tide offensively in the first half, scoring 13 points off 5-for-8 shooting, including three triples to go along with six rebounds
- UA had nine different scorers in the first half, with seven of them scoring in the first eight minutes of the game
- Both teams struggled to convert from the field with Alabama shooting 15-for-40 (38 percent) and South Florida shooting 13-for-34 (38 percent)
Second Half Â
- The two teams traded baskets through the first four minutes of action before a 17-4 Alabama run from 17:40-12:44 (4:56) put the Tide ahead 69-53Â
- The Tide stayed on the gas offensively, holding a double-digit lead through the remainder of the half to secure the victory
- Philon and Holloway put up 19 points apiece in the second half, shooting a combined 6-for-7 from three
- South Florida controlled the boards in the closing frame 24-13, with 15 of the Bulls rebounds coming on the offensive glass resulting in 19 second chance points
- Alabama shot a much more efficient second half, shooting 16-for-29 (55 percent) from the field and 8-for-15 (53 percent) from three
- Both squads had no trouble getting to the line, with Alabama converting 18-for-21 (86 percent) from the charity stripe, compared to South Florida's 20-for-22 (91 percent) shooting from the line
Up Next
- Alabama travels to Huntsville to take on the Kennesaw State Owls in the Rocket City Classic on Sunday afternoon
- The Owls are coached by another former Oats assistant coach and Alabama fan favorite Antoine Pettway
- Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT inside Propst Arena and can be seen on SEC Network+
