Alabama basketball handles business against Mercer

The Alabama men’s basketball team moved to 4-0 on Friday night after yet another impressive performance against Mercer. With a final score of 98-67, the Crimson Tide barely missed having four-straight 100-point games. That run started with a 105-73 win over Morehead State in the opener, and since then, we’ve seen a 102-80 final over Indiana State, a 102-46 victory over South Alabama and Friday night’s impressive scoring output.

According to the broadcast, the last time Alabama scored in the triple digits in four-straight games was during the 1956-57 season when it beat Jacksonville State (102-56), Birmingham-Southern (110-69), Eastern Kentucky (103-88) and Howard (109-88). The Bears were extra motivated in the final minutes to end this year’s 100-point run, but the Crimson Tide still had a streak they were able to maintain. Friday’s win means UA hasn’t lost in Coleman Coliseum in 19-straight games, which is the second longest streak in Division I.

Not only that, but Alabama was already No. 4 nationally in points per game (103) going into the weekend. That only trails Eastern Kentucky (120.5), UTEP (110.7) and Gonzaga (104.5). Plus, it was also the most points per game in the SEC by a wide margin with Arkansas coming in at 88.3. Florida is ranked No. 3 (84), Auburn and Kentucky are tied at No. 4 (83.7) and Tennessee sits at No. 5 (80.7).

For a second consecutive game, veteran guard Mark Sears led Alabama in scoring. He posted a game-high 24 points with forwards Nick Pringle and Jarin Stevenson each putting up 14. Hofstra transfer Aaron Estrada was the fourth and final UA player to score in the double digits, putting up 10 to go with four assists. Sears also led the team in assists (6) while North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson was the one to lead in rebounds (7).

Speaking of Nelson, this has been an interesting start for the 6-foot-11, 230-pound senior.

After back-to-back 20-point games to start the season, he’s now posted just six and five points over his last two while only attempting 10 total field goals. That’s been on limited minutes though, so there isn’t any cause for concern. With Nelson’s production capped on Friday, Stevenson stepped up, especially with his scoring effort. The emerging freshman shot 5-of-7 (71.4%) from the floor while hitting two of three three-point attempts (66.7%). He’s now scored 10 or more points in three of Alabama’s first four games.

Alabama also got a good performance out of Pringle. As I mentioned earlier, he put up 14 points on the offensive end while shooting 87.5% from the field, but he also added six rebounds and two blocks. Alabama coach Nate Oats has been asking for more rim protection from his guys recently, and he’s certainly gotten more of it from Pringle over the last two games (three total blocks).

While it’s been an impressive run to start the year, the schedule starts to heat up for Alabama now. First, it’ll be Ohio State next Friday at 6 p.m. CT. Then the following Tuesday, the Crimson Tide will face off against Clemson in an 8:30 matchup on ESPN. We should know a lot more about this team after that short stretch, but there won’t much time to gather your thoughts. Starting on Saturday, Dec. 9, UA will start a three-game stretch that consists of No. 2 Purdue, No. 8 Creighton and No. 3 Arizona. Talk about a gauntlet.

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