On Saturday, No. 5 Alabama hosted then-No. 12 Oklahoma in the Sooners’ first SEC contest since joining the SEC in July 2024.
The Crimson Tide avoided a third straight loss to the Sooners with a 107-79 victory.
Saturday’s win comes nearly two years after unranked Oklahoma upset No. 2 Alabama 93-69 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
At the time, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats credited Oklahoma’s offense for making it difficult for Alabama to mount a comeback effort.
“They jumped on us from the beginning, and we never really got back in it,” Oats said in a press conference following the loss. “They shot almost 70% from three. … We didn’t shoot it well. They shot it great.”
Much like the Sooners did in the 2023 contest, Alabama jumped on Oklahoma early, stretching out a 19-point lead in the first half. However, Alabama’s points did not come from efficient 3-point shooting like Oklahoma’s did in the previous meeting.
The Crimson Tide only connected on 9 of 29 attempts, continuing to struggle from beyond the arc. Despite the 3-point woes, Alabama once again found success in the paint.
For much of this season, Alabama has turned to its big men when 3-point attempts are not falling, and that was the case again. The height and physicality of Alabama’s bigs overpowered Oklahoma on the boards, with forward-center Grant Nelson and center Clifford Omoruyi recording 11 and 7 rebounds, respectively.
The two’s performance helped the team out-rebound the Sooners 51-26 and score 25 second-chance points.
Oklahoma limited then-Alabama stars Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney to just 21 combined points in its upset of the Crimson Tide in 2023. This was not the case in Saturday’s contest, as Alabama’s starters scored 69 of the team’s 107 points, with star guards Mark Sears and Labaron Philon combining for 38.
Sears and Philon also combined for 15 assists and no turnovers.
Oats praised the two guards, calling their performance “the kind of play you’re looking for” and added how impressive it was that Philon was a freshman.
Turnovers played a major part in the 2023 loss and have been Alabama’s Achilles’ heel this season. Entering the contest, the Crimson Tide were averaging 12.8 turnovers per game, but on Saturday Alabama took care of the basketball and won the turnover battle overall with 9 to the Sooners’ 11.
Defensively, Alabama forced 10 turnovers, recorded 8 steals and blocked 6 shots. Oklahoma was limited to shooting just 26.3% from behind the 3-point line in the contest, a far cry from the 69.2% 3-point rate the Sooners sported in its upset two years ago.
Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser spoke to the media following Saturday’s game and praised the effort from Sears, calling him “one of the best, most experienced All-American point guards in the country.”
Alabama played much more polished basketball on Saturday against a tough Oklahoma team hungry for another upset victory. The Crimson Tide showed how dangerous it can be when certain players get going on offense and defense despite not yet consistently making its 3-point attempts.
The 12-2 Crimson Tide continues SEC play this week, with a trip to South Carolina on Wednesday and No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday. Wednesday’s matchup can be streamed on SEC Network, while Saturday’s matchup can be streamed on ESPN.
