The Alabama men’s basketball team defeated Stanford 66-54 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on Saturday, March 23.
The top-seeded Crimson Tide (23-12) will advance to the quarterfinal round to face No. 2 Maryland on Tuesday, March 26 at Coleman Coliseum.
“Alabama’s a very good team,” Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins said. “They were as advertised, very good defensive team, really aggressive. They played that way for 40 minutes. Our hats are off to them for the way they played.”
Stanford scored the game’s first basket to take the lead via a 3-point shot from Chasson Randle, but Alabama controlled the rest of the contest from there. The game saw one lead change and one tie.
Head coach Anthony Grant said he was pleased with the consistency his team played with to control the entire game.
“I didn’t think today that we really had a gap where we lost focus or we were lulled offensively or defensively,” Grant said.
The Tide held Stanford star Dwight Powell to two points on 1-of-6 shooting. He committed four fouls and was forced to watch a lot of the game from the bench.
Sophomore guard Levi Randolph credited his coaching staff’s efforts in breaking down Powell’s tendencies and skill set for the team to exploit them.
“I think it was an overall team effort,” Randolph said. “We locked into the scouting report and did the things that coach asked us to do. We came together and got the job done.”
Grant praised his team for its ability to shut down the entire Cardinal team offensively.
“I thought, start to finish today, our defense was outstanding,” Grant said.
Randolph led all scorers for the second-straight game. He scored 16 points with six rebounds. Trevor Releford and Nick Jacobs tacked on 10 points each.
But Alabama’s freshmen stepped up and played key roles in the victory. Retin Obasohan posted 14 points with six rebounds. Devonta Pollard only scored four points, but he pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and matched up well against Powell.
“I think we got really good play out of both of those guys,” Grant said. “It was good to see them understanding what’s needed and continue to improve and develop like they are.”
The 14-point performance from Obasohan was a career-high. But he was reluctant to take any credit for his filled stat sheet.
“It’s due to my teammates and coaching staff,” Obasohan said. “They drive me and push me every day in practice and just tell me to go out there and be comfortable and just play. That helps me a lot.”
The Tide shot 39 percent (20-52) from the floor, converting 4-of-12 of its 3-points attempts. Despite the mediocre shooting performance, Alabama was able to get to the free throw line 26 times compared to Stanford’s nine trips. The Tide converted 85 percent (22-26) of its free throws.
“Just excited for the win,” Grant said. “Excited to continue to have a chance to play in the tournament. We’re one game away from making it to the final four in New York and having a chance to play for a championship.”
The quarterfinal game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and be televised on ESPN.
