Alabama Crimson Tide basketball continues to dominate North Carolina, 94-79

The 10th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the 20th-ranked UNC Tar Heels 94-79 in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night. The game was played at the prestigious Dean Dome in Chapel Hill. The Tide win gave the SEC an 11-1 victory over the ACC, with four more games remaining. Alabama improved to 7-2 on the year, while UNC fell to 4-4. Both teams have played some of the toughest schedules in the country. Oats improved to 3-1 against Carolina and Hubert Davis, also stole Jarin Stevenson from their backcourt and drafted Clifford Omoruyi from the portal over the Tar Heels, so something of a rivalry is brewing.

Coach Nate Oats had to change his starting lineup because Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was sidelined with a torn Achilles tendon. Oats opted to use Chapel Hill native Stevenson to start the game along with Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, Grant Nelson and Omoruyi.

Neither team is known for their defense, but both emphasized it early on, playing hard and physical. That didn’t hold up against the home team, but the Tide played one of their best defensive games of the year. With 16:39 left in the half the score was only 2-2. Nelson hit two free throws and Derrion Reid came in and hit a corner three-pointer to put the Tide up 7-4. Sears drove downhill to the basket and finished at the rim. With 13:58 left, Bama led 13-12, and Aden Holloway was called in and immediately hit a long three-pointer for an 18-12 lead. Sears kicked a long play from behind the arc and the Tide had breathing room at 21-14.

With Wrightsell out for the season and Chris Youngblood still not back, the decision was made to redshirt Houston Mallette. Mallette struggled with injuries throughout the summer and early fall and was forced to sit out the entire year. However, after a conversation with Mallette and his family, he was activated. The Pepperdine transfer played strong defense and scored a three-pointer from the corner in his four minutes on the court in the first half.

Holloway drilled three more balls from behind the three-point line to help the Tide take a 43-34 halftime lead. At halftime, Bama shot 17:37 from the field with a hit rate of 46%, 7:18 with a hit rate of 39% from three balls and made 2-2 free throws. The Tide had 18 rebounds, five steals, eight assists, three blocks and had seven turnovers. Holloway scored 12 points and Sears added 11. Reid contributed five points and six rebounds in just eight minutes.

UNC shot 13-36 for 36%, including 2-13 for 15% from three, while making 6-7 free throws. The Heels won the backboards by 24 and had four steals, one block and nine turnovers. Ian Jackson with 11 and RJ Davis with 10 led the scorers.

Oats stuck with the same starting lineup for the second stanza. Playing against the much smaller Davis, Stevenson made life difficult for him, trying to make good shots while maintaining his suddenly red-hot shooting from behind the arc. After missing his first 18 attempts from three-point range this season, Stevenson hit seven of his last nine. Stevenson’s third long-range bullseye of the night gave the Tide a 54-40 lead with 15:59 to play.

The Tide got a few dominant minutes from Philon and some contributions from Nelson to extend the lead to 18 points. Mallette hit his second three-pointer with 10:09 left to lead 70-52. The turnover bug hit Bama for a few minutes to keep UNC within striking distance, but the Tide never really got into trouble. Philon drives, Omouryi dunks and more threes from Holloway and Sears propelled Bama into the final 94-79.

In the second half, Alabama shot 18-34 for 53% shooting, 5-15 from three games and 10-11 on the road. Overall, the Tide shot a solid 49% from 35-71, including 36% from 12-33 from behind the arc and 92% from 12-13 at the free throw line. Bama finished the game with five blocks, eight steals, 40 rebounds, 18 assists and 14 turnovers. Sears led the way with 20 points and added seven assists and two rebounds. Philon won the helmet with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in 34 minutes. Holloway made 5 of 9 from three-point range for his 15 points. Nelson was close to another double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. In just 18 minutes, Reid contributed 11 points and seven rebounds, while Omoruyi scored 11 points with five rebounds and two blocks. Mallette played nine minutes in his season debut and made both three-point attempts for six points.

UNC shot 19-42 in the second period, going 3-15 from deep and 4-9 at the line. Overall, the Tar Heels shot 41% on 32-78 shooting, going just 5-28 from three for 18% and just 10-16 for 63% at the line. The Heels won the boards with 42, had two blocks, 10 steals, 12 assists and 13 turnovers. Jackson finished with 23 on 10-17 shooting while Davis scored 18 in 35 minutes, but he shot just 7-24 with 1-11 from three-point range. Stevenson and Reid were particularly tough against the All-American.

Another win for the Tide over a true blue blood of the basketball world, and blood can’t be bluer than the Carolina blue. Sears hasn’t discovered his three-point shot yet – just 2-7 tonight – but he’s been great in the paint and distributing the basketball. Holloway, Stevenson and Mallette made up for Wrightsell’s loss with their long-range shots. Reid is getting better and better every game. Nelson delivers a solid game every time. Omoruyi was able to stay on the ground longer – thanks to the referees for letting the players play tonight – and his performance was better. Stevenson’s opportunity and confidence to regain will be huge going forward. Mo Dioubate plays as hard as anyone in the country, and even though he didn’t score and only grabbed four rebounds tonight, he still contributed with his toughness. The sky is the limit for the Tide as long as they value the basketball more and continue to improve defensively. Tonight was a step in the right direction.

Since the final is approaching, the team is scheduled to take a 10-day break from competition. Next up is (FINALLY) a game in Tuscaloosa for the first time since November 11th. The Tide will host their nemesis Creighton on December 14th at 7:30 pm CT on the SEC Network.

Roll Tide

Blue collar basketball