Alabama Basketball destroys North Carolina for its first road win of the season

Coming back from defeat is rarely an easy task. Very few teams can come back from a loss by going on the road and dominantly defeating a top blue blood college basketball program.

Here’s No. 13 Alabama defeating No. 20 North Carolina 94-79 in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Alabama had many advantages and disadvantages with its 6-2 start to the season leading up to this game, but turnovers and inconsistency on both sides were two of the biggest disadvantages. But in a game where both battles had to be turned around if the Crimson Tide had a chance of winning, Alabama prevailed, especially in the first half.

Preseason All-American guard Mark Sears was certainly one of the main subjects of Alabama’s inconsistency narrative, but that wasn’t the case early in the game as he scored a team-high 11 points on 5-of-7 from the field He led the Crimson Tide to a 17-of-37 start in the first half before heading to the locker room. Additionally, transfer guard Aden Holloway’s 4 of 8 three-point attempts in the opening period helped the Tide go a very efficient 7 of 18 from inside the box at the break.

Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. tore his Achilles tendon against Oregon last Saturday, leading head coach Nate Oats to burn guard Houston Mallette’s redshirt. Mallette, a transfer from Pepperdine now in his final year of eligibility, made the most of his first nearly three minutes on the floor in a crimson jersey, making his only three-point attempt and notching two steals. He played a little more the rest of the evening and made a noticeable impact all over the floor, but of course was subject to a minute restriction.

In addition to Mallette’s steals, Sears also recorded two steals, while forward Mouhamed Dioubate also grabbed one, center Clifford Omoruyi recorded two blocks and two-way guard Labaron Philon grabbed one. Overall, the Tide’s defensive performance in the first half was notable as they forced nine turnovers, leading to a 43-34 score at halftime, including over 16 minutes of more points than the Tar Heels. Thanks, among others, to Alabama forward Derrion Reid and UNC’s high-scoring guard trio of preseason All-American RJ Davis, Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble, who combined for 15 points on 5-of-20 shooting the field (entered the game) averaged 48 points per night).

The start of the second half was a similar story as Alabama couldn’t be stopped offensively and the Tar Heels held the ball for a while and turned the ball over way too often, sometimes they couldn’t afford to do so.

The Crimson Tide climbed to a 15-point lead several times before midway through the second half. Alabama’s numbers continued to be positive in the first half, while North Carolina continued to struggle in several areas. Philon, Omoruyi and forward Grant Nelson – Alabama’s hero against UNC in last season’s Sweet 16 – were the main reasons for this as they managed to generate even more momentum on both sides.

The game slowed down a bit in the latter part of the second half as Alabama chewed up time to prevent a Tar Heels comeback. The Crimson Tide didn’t get many late shots, but their strong defense made up for it.

Davis and Trimble combined for 30 points, but also shot 11 of 37 from the field, including 2 of 15 from deep – which was a hugely disadvantageous stat category for the Tar Heels. Cadeau didn’t make a field goal all night. Instead, guard Ian Jackson was UNC’s most efficient offensive weapon as he scored 23 points on 10 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 5 from long range.

But that wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with Sears, who finished with 20 points while Philon and Holloway each scored 15 points. Sears distributed the ball liberally to his fellow guards and other teammates as he dished out a team-high seven assists on the night.

This story will be updated.