Alabama
11-4,1-1SEC
#11 Vanderbilt
15-0,2-0SEC
No. 13/12 Alabama Falls to No. 11/10 Vanderbilt in First SEC Road Contest
1/7/2026 11:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The contest saw 63 combined fouls from both teams
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -Â The No. 13/12 Alabama men's basketball team erased a 13-point deficit in the first half, but was unable to capitalize in the whistle-heavy second half as the Tide fell 96-90 to the unbeaten No. 11/10 Vanderbilt Commodores inside Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Alabama (11-4, 1-1 SEC) was led offensively by Amari Allen's career high 25 points. The Tide had three others achieve double figures, including Aden Holloway (22 points), Labaron Philon Jr. (18 points) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (13 points).
Vanderbilt (15-0, 2-0 SEC) had all five starters reach double figures in the contest, led by Tyler Tanner's 29 points, shooting 8-for-15 from the floor, along with converting 12-of-15 attempts from the free throw line.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"I have to give Vanderbilt a lot of credit; they were ready to go and we weren't. I have to do a better job of making sure our guys are ready at the beginning. We had four turnovers out of the gate and I think Labaron had three of them. Eventually we slowed down and didn't turn it over as much as it went on, but we didn't move the ball well enough tonight. A lot of that is because of Vanderbilt's defense; they're good, they play hard on defense. I thought Tyler Tanner was great; our guards couldn't stay in front of him and he got by us pretty much any time he wanted. I thought our guys did a decent job of answering after we weren't ready to go to start the game. We took a one-point lead, but we didn't close the half like we needed. And then we came out in the second half and they just played better than us."
"A lot of that is due to Vanderbilt being tough and physical; they have good guard play. Duke Miles led the way in the first half and Tanner had six in the first half and ended the game with 29 points. He's one of the better guards in this league. If they end up winning the league championship, he'll probably end up being league MVP and he deserves it. We're going to have to play a lot better to beat these teams. We're going to have to play a lot better to beat a lot of teams in this league. So we have to get back, regroup, get some guys healthy and then give a lot better effort on Saturday."
Team Stats
- Overall, Alabama picked up 34 personal fouls in the game, compared to 29 from Vanderbilt
- The Tide shot 29-for-38 (76 percent) from the free throw line, while the Commodores converted 35-of-50 (70 percent) attempts from the stripe
- Alabama struggled offensively from the floor, shooting 26-for-70 (37 percent) from the field and 9-for-40 (23 percent) from beyond the arc
- Nate Oats' squad won the rebound battle despite the loss, grabbing 49 boards compared to Vanderbilt's 38, including 18 on the offensive glass resulting in 23 second chance points
- The matchup saw 10 different lead changes and five different ties throughout the evening
First Half
- Vanderbilt came out hot on both sides of the ball, opening the first 3:28 on an 11-3 run, helped by forcing four Alabama turnovers in its first five possessions
- The Commodores continued to stay on the gas, claiming its biggest lead of the half at 13 points (30-17) at the under-eight media timeout, thanks in large part to a 10-2 run from 10:39-8:19 (2:20)
- However, the Tide returned from the media timeout and found its offensive spark down the stretch, going on a 20-6 run from 8:19-2:49 (5:30) to retake the lead, 37-36
- Both squads traded baskets in the closing minutes and finished the half knotted up at 43 points apiece
- Labaron Philon Jr. led Alabama offensively in the first half with 15 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the floor
- The Tide led the rebound battle, 24-16, in the opening stanza, with Amari Allen (7) and London Jemison (6) combining for 13 of them
- Nate Oats' squad opened the contest shooting 6-for-16 from the field and then closed the final 5:07 shooting 6-for-11 from the floor
Second Half
- Both teams started off slowly on the offensive end in the second frame, with Alabama making just four of its first 12 attempts from the field and the Commodores converting three of its first nine
- The whistle-heavy second half had both teams enter the bonus with 14:00 to go as neither team gave an inch on the scoreboard
- Vanderbilt eventually broke free with a 19-7 run from 14:14-9:24 (4:50) to take a 69-61 lead down the stretch
- From there, the Commodores stayed in control despite a late 15-9 run from Alabama to secure the win
- Amari Allen scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, shooting 3-for-6 from the floor and a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe
- Overall, the second half saw 39 combined fouls between both squads, with Alabama accounting for 21 and Vanderbilt with 18
- Both teams got plenty of work at the free throw line in the half as the Tide shot 19-for-25 (76 percent) from the stripe compared to 24-for-33 (73 percent) from the Commodores
Up Next
- Alabama returns home to take on the Texas Longhorns on Saturday, Jan. 10
- Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. CT inside Coleman Coliseum and can be seen on ESPN
