No. 15 Alabama men’s basketball opened the 2025-26 season with a 91-62 victory over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Monday in Coleman Coliseum.
Star guard Labaron Philon Jr. showed improvement from last season, as he led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He made two of four attempts from 3-point range and tallied 8 assists and a block.
“Besides the four turnovers, I think I played a really solid game, but I’ve still got things to work on,” Philon said. “We’re going to get in the gym and take care of that.”
The team’s defense stymied North Dakota’s offense, holding it to just 0.861 points per possession and a 38.7% field goal rate. The Fighting Hawks’ leading scorer, guard Garrett Anderson, tallied just 13 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
Alabama’s defense also recorded 7 blocks and 8 steals. Center Aiden Sherrell accounted for 4 blocks and a steal.
The Crimson Tide took an early 13-9 lead through Philon, who tallied 8 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the opening 4:29 of play. The lead grew to 13 at the 9:45 mark and peaked in the first half at 18 points with 26 seconds remaining, in part due to 9-of-12 shooting from inside the arc.
Alabama went into the half with a 48-32 lead, largely in part to a 54.8% shooting performance in the first period of play, and seven made 3-pointers. Philon ended the first half with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, to pair with seven assists and a steal.
“He’s going to have plenty of games where he’s got eight or more assists,” head coach Nate Oats said of Philon. “He’s going to have plenty of double-doubles. I think if he gives us a little bit better effort on defense and the rebounding stuff, he could push triple-double here.”
The team began the second half on a 10-4 run, expanding its lead to 24 points at the 17:20 mark. Much of the minutes following saw the game slow down, as North Dakota improved its defense through the use of traps, which helped cut the Alabama lead down to 20 at the 11:50 mark.
Despite improved defense, North Dakota was unable to muster enough offense of its own before the Crimson Tide offense woke up again. The lead rose to 27 points at the 3:49 mark after Philon capped off his stellar night when he drew a foul on a layup for an and-one.
Several true freshmen made their Alabama debuts in the win and gained experience, which could help them in their development.
“All in all, for the first game, playing as many freshmen as we did, as many men as we did, there’s a lot of good stuff we can get out of this game,” Oats said.
No. 15 Alabama will begin a stretch of facing four ranked opponents in a row when it travels to New York to face the No. 5 St. John’s Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT. Fans can stream the game on Fox Sports 1.
