Alabama men's basketball beats Jackson State 84-64
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama men’s basketball team didn’t play its best game of the season on Tuesday night, but it still managed to get back into the win column after an 84-64 victory over Jackson State (1-11) to move to 10-2 on the season.
The Crimson Tide got more scoring contributions from veteran forward Noah Gurley, who scored a season-high 16 points against the Tigers. He also added five rebounds, two blocks and a steal. It was also a solid bounce-back performance from Ohio transfer guard Mark Sears, who was second on Alabama with 15 points.
Before the Gonzaga game this past Saturday, Sears had averaged 18 points in his previous four games. Against the Bulldogs, he only scored five, so it was good to see him back to being a big-time contributor. Overall, five different Alabama players scored in the double digits. That list includes Gurley, Sears, Charles Bediako (10), Brandon Miller (10) and Nick Pringle (14).
Miller might’ve only been the fourth-highest scorer, but he led both teams in rebounds with 14 while adding three assists and three steals. That gave the star freshman only his second double-double of the season and the first since the season opener against Longwood.
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The biggest surprise was the new JUCO arrival in Pringle.
After averaging less than a point with only 1.7 rebounds per game this season, the junior forward added nine rebounds to go with his 14 points. He also had two assists, two steals and one block. His uptick in minutes came on the heels of star freshman Noah Clowney missing the game due to an illness.
It was unfortunate to see Pringle and Bediako account for eight of Alabama’s nine missed free throws. Bediako, in particular, has seven in the last two games alone, which will likely drop his percentage (currently at 42.9%) closer to 40%. Overall, the Crimson Tide shot 65.4% from the free throw line and only 25.9% from beyond the arc.
Alabama will not play another game until it travels to Starkville to open up SEC play against a top-15 Mississippi State squad. Tipoff time is set for 8 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) and will air on the SEC Network. Three of the Crimson Tide’s next four opponents currently rank in the top 25 with the Bulldogs (No. 15), No. 19 Kentucky and No. 10 Arkansas.
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