Alabama basketball gets impressive 101-56 win over Liberty

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — On Saturday afternoon, the Alabama men’s basketball team moved to 8-5 on the year after soundly beating Liberty 101-56 inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham (Ala.). That’s now makes back-to-back wins for the Crimson Tide, who had dropped three of their last four games going into the weekend.

How It Happened

Liberty kept it close for the first 6-7 minutes of the game. After Alabama got out to a 5-0 lead, the Flames closed the gap and had it tied up at 7-7 with 13:42 remaining in the first half. From there, UA went on an 11-0 run and never looked back. It was the second longest run of the game with the first being a 13-0 run with just under six minutes to go in the second half. Then by the time the clock had struck zeros, it was a 47 point victory for the Crimson Tide after entering the game as only a 9.5-point favorite.

Key Stats

For a second-straight game, Alabama was extremely hot from three-point land. Against Eastern Kentucky, the Crimson Tide converted 19-of-38 attempts, which is good for exactly 50%. Then on Saturday, they once again hit 50% of its attempts from three (14-of-28), which included a 60% rate in the first half. Considering UA had shot just 19.3% in its previous two games, I’d say that’s been quite the improvement.

Alabama was also dominant in the paint with 42 of its 101 points coming inside. Liberty, on the other hand, only had 17 while also getting out-rebounded 46 to 24. Obviously, the size discrepancy between these two teams played a role in those lopsided stats, but it was nice to see the Tide play balanced offensively while also getting effort on the defensive end. That’s going to be important with conference play starting next weekend.

One of the other intriguing stats came from the points per possession. Alabama finished with 1.53 points per possession while Liberty was only at 0.85. This is a better team than some of others UA has faced and scored more than 100 points against this season, so that’s a really impressive number for Nate Oats and company.

Players of the Game

Transfer guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was outstanding on Saturday, especially from downtown. He had a season-high 19 points while shooting a whopping 5-of-7 from the three-point line. He also posted four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Combine his 71.4% three-point shooting day in his last performance against Eastern Kentucky, and he’s now 8-of-13 (61.5%) over his last two games. Hopefully, that hot streak continues with SEC play about to start. Wrightsell finished +40 in plus-minus on Saturday.

Alabama also got double-digit performances from the following players:

• Mark Sears – 16 points (+28)
• Aaron Estrada – 13 points (+34)
• Grant Nelson – 12 points (+32)
• Rylan Griffen – 10 points (+14)
• Sam Walters – 10 points (-3)

What’s Next

SEC play is finally set to get underway next weekend. After 12 non-conference games to start off its season, Alabama will now face off against Vanderbilt (4-8) on Saturday, Jan. 6. Tipoff for that road contest is set for 2:30 p.m. CT (3:30 ET), and it will air on the SEC Network. Afterwards, UA will welcome a South Carolina squad that’s currently sitting at 11-1 to Coleman Coliesum only three days later on Jan. 9.

Not a member, Alabama fans? Join BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $9.99! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting and also join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the globe on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!