3 takeaways from the Alabama basketball team’s road win over North Carolina

Alabama men’s basketball went on the road Wednesday for a rematch of last season’s Sweet 16 matchup against North Carolina. The Crimson Tide left Chapel Hill with a 94-79 victory to secure victory in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

The Tide has a long break after the win and will next play Dec. 14 against Creighton in Tuscaloosa. The win moved Alabama to 7-2 on the season.

As the break begins, here are three takeaways from Alabama’s win on Wednesday.

Burn the redshirt

Alabama originally planned to give Houston Mallette a redshirt to retain his eligibility from last season for a year in which he could make more of an impact on the field. Then Latrell Wrightsell Jr. injured his Achilles tendon and was sidelined for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.

Nate Oats said Tuesday that the Crimson Tide was considering burning Mallette’s redshirt to fill Wrightsell’s vacancy. On Wednesday, UA did just that.

Mallette, who transferred from Pepperdine this offseason, played nine minutes on Wednesday. He scored six points, grabbed three rebounds and contributed two steals.

“We just thought it was best for the team,” Mallette said after the game. “In my opinion, in society we often have what is best for me, but I feel that in my life what is best for me is also what is best for the team. And I’m willing to do whatever I can to impact people and the team.”

In addition to Mallette, Alabama will soon have Chris Youngblood. The transfer guard from South Florida missed the start of the season due to injury but is likely to return against Creighton.

Happy homecoming

Jarin Stevenson had a chance to play against his hometown team in last year’s NCAA Tournament win over North Carolina in Los Angeles. He actually returned home on Wednesday and said he brought over 20 people to the game.

“It’s definitely a surreal feeling,” Stevenson said. “I went to a lot of their games. My mother also played here. So yeah, it was nice to be back and it was great to get the win.”

Stevenson scored six points in 12 minutes of play for the Crimson Tide. He also had three rebounds, one assist and one block.

He scored all of his points on three-pointers, and Stevenson shot 2-3 from long range in a 2-3 victory.

“Jaren kind of settled in and made some big threes for us,” Oats said. “I did some stuff, I think he did a great job on (UNC’s) RJ Davis, who isn’t easy to guard.”

The newbie

Mark Sears, as he often does, led Alabama with 20 points. Freshman guard Labaron Philon took second place with 15, as did Aden Holloway.

Philon has been at his best in both of the Crimson Tide’s true road games this year and also scored a season-high 18 points at Purdue in November.

“He’s a competitor,” Oats said of Philon. “He trained hard. You have to deserve to play well and he deserves to play well. He puts it into practice every day. He’s been bringing it with him since he stepped on the court.”

Philon had four rebounds and four assists to go along with his points. He also earned three steals.