Alabama men's basketball trolls South Carolina with 'Sandstorm' after blowout win

After a dominant second half to topple the one-loss South Carolina squad visiting on Tuesday night, Alabama men’s basketball took a nice victory lap after the win. And they of course trolled the Gamecocks after handing them a second loss on the season.

Darude’s infamous song “Sandstorm” is a staple for various South Carolina sporting events. Men’s basketball is no exception to the tradition, which the Crimson Tide turned on its head following a 74-47 win.

“Hey Siri, play Sandstorm,” the Alabama men’s basketball account posted on social media with the final score.

Hey Siri, play Sandstorm 🔥#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/nbwz5HPWeO

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 10, 2024

After leading the Gamecocks by a point, 30-29, at the half, Alabama turned it on in the second half. The Crimson Tide started the frame on a 13-0 run that grew to 24-5 until the half finished a lopsided 44-18, turning a close game into a laugher.

Guard Mark Sears dazzled for the Crimson Tide, pouring in 31 points and pulling down six rebounds while adding a trio of assists. Fellow guard Aaron Estrada tacked on 17 points of his own, the only other Alabama player in double figures. All but four Alabama players scored on Tuesday and none who scored had fewer than three points.

Head coach Nate Oats recently complimented his squad’s growing competitiveness

Oats has been looking for an improved competitive nature out of his team, especially now as the enter conference play. That effort came with some mixed results in their opener in the league this past weekend.

Oats analyzed how Alabama finished off their 78-75 win at Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon. On one hand, he thought that their work from the 12 minute mark down to the four minute mark in the second half was good enough inside Memorial Gymnasium. However, on the other hand, how they finished the game against the Commodores over the last four minutes was not.

“I thought we were better from 12 to eight and eight to four. Then the last four was not at all what we’re looking for, to be honest with you,” Oats said. “I thought we were better at the 12 to eight than we’ve been.”

While Alabama played well overall, at least well enough to win, they didn’t close either half well against Vanderbilt.

In the first half, the Crimson Tide took as much as an 18-point lead in Nashville. Then, after cutting it down a tad, the Commodores closed the half on a 9-0 run to shrink the halftime margin down to just four.

Come the second half, Alabama again earned a double-digit lead that reached as much as 13 points. Still, after letting Vandy hang around, the Commodores made a push at it again. That included a 14-6 run over the final four minutes to cut what was an 11-point lead with three and half left to just two with five seconds left.

Again, the Tide put on an acceptable enough performance to win their first conference game of the year, especially on the road. With that said, they’ll have to be more cutthroat, especially at the end of halves, to get where Oats wants them to be moving forward.