Alabama advances to SEC Tournament title after beating Mizzou 72-61
The Alabama men’s basketball team (28-5, 16-2 SEC) continued its impressive run in the SEC Tournament on Saturday with a 72-61 victory over Missouri in the semifinals. The win came 24 hours after the team beat Mississippi State 72-49 in the quarterfinals. Now, Nate Oats and company will play in the title game on Sunday.
Once again, Saturday’s game wasn’t perfect. For most of the game, Alabama struggled to find its shot the three-point mark. At one point, the Crimson Tide was just 2-of-20 (10%) from beyond the arc, but a 6-of-7 finish put them at 29.6% for the game.
Click here to join Alabama fans on the Talk of Champions message board
The biggest reason for the turnaround was freshmen Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney each hitting three of their six attempts. All of Miller’s makes came in the second half, too. He finished as the Player of the Game after scoring a game-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists and a block.
Clowney wasn’t far behind on the scoring though.
He posted 19 points, but he only had three rebounds to go with one block. Center Charles Bediako was the only other Alabama player to score in the double digits (10 points). He did add another block on the defensive end though, giving the 7-foot, 225-pound sophomore six in two SEC Tournament games.
Top 10
- 1New
Johntay Cook
Headed to ACC
- 2Hot
Fan who fell from stands
20-year old former CFB player
- 3Trending
Donald Trump
Wants Saban back as Alabama HC
- 4
Kentucky, St. John's
Set to play in 2025-26
- 5
Bracketology
Way Too Early Tournament projection
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Transfer Mark Sears continued his cold streak though. After hitting 3-of-8 three-point attempts against Auburn (aiding him in his 17-point night), Sears is a combined 3-of-22 (13.6%) over the last three games. That’s also included him only averaging 5.7 points per game during that span.
The biggest surprise might’ve been Jahvon Quinerly though.
After averaging 15.5 points over his previous four games, the fifth-year senior only scored one point against Missouri while going 0-for-9 on field goal attempts (0-for-4 from the three-point line). He did prove to be a good facilitator, however, finishing with a game-high seven assists. Alabama will likely need more from Quinerly and Sears on the scoring end come Sunday, though.
Alabama will play the winning of the Texas A&M-Vanderbilt game on Sunday. Tipoff is once again set for noon CT (1 p.m. ET), and the game will air ESPN. Soon after, Selection Sunday will get underway, and we’ll learn the Crimson Tide’s seeding, as well as the rest of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
Not a member? Join BamaInsider!
Have you subscribed to BamaInsider.com? You can sign up now for $29.99, which gets you premium access until Aug. 31, 2023! Or, you can also get monthly access for just $9.99 per month. Get access to premium articles covering the University of Alabama athletics, recruiting content and also join thousands of Crimson Tide fans on the Talk of Champions message board! CLICK HERE!
