Alabama
22-8,12-5SEC
Georgia
21-9,9-8SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 43 | 45 | 88 |
| Georgia | 50 | 48 | 98 |
No. 16/16 Alabama Drops Mid-Week Game Against Georgia 98-88
3/3/2026 8:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide had its eight-game win streak snapped with the loss
ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 16/16 Alabama men's basketball team had its season-long eight-game winning streak sanpped Tuesday night, falling to the Georgia Bulldogs 97-88 inside the Stegeman Coliseum.Â
The Crimson Tide (22-8, 12-5 SEC) was led by Labaron Philon Jr.'s 26 points, four rebounds and three assists. Latrell Wrightsell continued his hot streak, adding 19 points, including five three-pointers. Alabama forced 14 Georgia turnovers and recorded 11 steals as a team, its most in SEC play this year.Â
Georgia (21-9, 9-8 SEC) was led by a career-high night from Kanon Catchings, which included 32 points on 12-20 shooting and seven three-pointers.Â
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame CommentsÂ
"I gotta give Georgia a lot of credit, they needed the win and played like it. They came out, played harder than us, turned us over – they had 21 points of turnovers and destroyed us on the second chance points. If you add those two numbers up, that's 46 points for them to our 24. When you lose those that battle by 22 points, it is going to be really hard to win the game. We didn't get our first second-chance point until 12 minutes left in the game. Our rebounding has been killing us lately. For our leading rebounder to have five and then two people with four of them, it's going to be hard to win games.
"We're also good at giving up career highs to people and we did it tonight with (Kanon) Catchings. He was super comfortable and got a lot of open shots off and ended up with 32 points. We had no resistance on him all night. Big credit to Georgia for having their guys ready to go, they're fighting for a lot, but so are we with SEC tournament seeding.
"We have some young guys that have no idea what it takes to win at this level, particularly on the road, and this was our last chance to get a quality road win. This was our third time coming off a great road win or neutral site win and then we dropped the following game. We've got to get some maturity about us, and our guys need to understand that nothing comes easy in this league."
Team StatsÂ
- Alabama's 11 steals are its most in SEC play this year and its most since forcing 11 against South Florida on Dec. 17
- The Tide's 16 made three-point baskets extended its streak of 10 or more threes to 11 games in a row, its longest streak of the season
- UA's 16 made threes are also the most allowed by the Bulldogs all season, with the previous being 14Â
- Georgia's 14 turnovers are its most times giving the ball away since it had 17 against Arkansas on Jan. 17, and its third-most turnovers all year
- Alabama shot a near-perfect 22-of-24 from the free throw line for 91.7 percent from the stripe, the Tide's second game this season shooting above 90 percent
- UA's 14 forced turnovers are the most it has forced in SEC play and the most it has forced since 16 against Kennesaw State on Dec. 21
- Labaron Philon Jr.'s 26 points are the second-most scored on Georgia this year
First Half Â
- After an early 6-0 Georgia run to start the game, the Tide closed the gap, going on an 8-2 run over the next two minutes to tie the game 8-8 with 16:11 remainingÂ
- After missing its first two shots from the field, Alabama would make six of its next eight shots to take a 17-15 lead with 11:38 until halftime Â
- Three UA turnovers over the course of a minute played a part in a 10-0 run by the Bulldogs to regain the lead and extend it to 28-20 with 8:14 remaining until intermission
- After going down by as much as 11, Alabama cut the lead to five points, 41-36, with 2:42 left in the first halfÂ
- Georgia outscored Alabama 9-5 to take a 50-43 lead thanks in large part to 20 points from Bulldogs' guard Kanon Catchings
- Labaron Philon Jr. led UA with 14 points in the first half on 5-of-10 shooting to go along with three boards and two dimes
- Alabama had seven steals in the first half, forcing eight Bulldog turnoversÂ
Second Half Â
- A 6-of-9 shooting saw the Bulldogs extend their lead back to double digits by the first media timeout, 63-51, with 15:40 remaining on the game clock
- A 10-2 run by the Tide over two minutes cut the lead to single digits, 68-62, with 11:16 left in the half
- UA forced five turnovers by UGA to keep them within striking distance, 78-72, with 5:22 remaining in the gameÂ
- Both teams got hot from three-point range, with the game seeing a combined seven made baskets in a row, all being from deep
- Georgia to extend the lead back to double figures, 90-80, with 2:58 left on the clock and held on from there to seal the victory
Up Next
- The Tide hosts its regular-season finale at home against rival AuburnÂ
- Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum and can be seen on ESPN
