No. 4 Alabama torched by No. 15 Missouri, suffers second straight loss

No. 4 Alabama dropped its second straight game on Wednesday night, falling on the road at No. 15 Missouri by a final score of 110-98. The loss drops the Crimson Tide’s overall record to 21-5, and SEC record to 10-3.

Nate Oats went with a change in the starting lineup this game after teasing the possibility during the week. He started three guards for the first time since non-conference play, going with Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, Chris Youngblood, Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The changed starting lineup didn’t help the poor starts in this one. Missouri blitzed Alabama out of the gate, jumping out to a 12-0 advantage in the first two and a half minutes of the game, missing three shots from the field and turning it over twice.

The Tigers continued its utterly absurd shooting display, making six of its first eight looks from downtown and keeping its huge early lead over the Crimson Tide. Though Alabama tried to stay in the game thanks to a quick eight points off the bench from Aden Holloway, it still found itself down 31-17 at the under-12 timeout, the lead having only grown.

Missouri continued to play excellent offensive basketball, doing nothing but extend its lead throughout the first half. It looked like Alabama was starting to come back, cutting the lead down to 12, but a wild sequence that featured a flagrant foul on Sears and Oats’ first technical of the year ballooned the lead right back to the 20-point mark.

Alabama actually made a solid run towards the end of the half to cut the 20-point deficit down to 13 points at halftime. The Crimson Tide shot very well from the floor in the first half at 61 percent, and made half its 3-point looks, but could not buy a stop. It was easily the worst defensive half of the year, allowing 59 points.

Alabama got a much better start to the second half, outscoring Missouri 9-8 through the first four minutes after the break. It wasn’t a huge run, but much better than the 12-0 start that began the first half. The Tide found itself down 12 at the under-16, a possible comeback, but a tough one in front of it.

The Crimson Tide kept battling, and while not going on a massive run, found itself back down single digits with about 10 minutes to play in the game. Philon made a particularly big impact in the second half, commanding the offense well. A deep Sears three cut the lead as low as six, but by the under-8 Missouri had it quickly back to 15 off a 9-0 run in 90 seconds.

That run was the ultimate nail in Alabama’s coffin, as the Tigers rode the double-digit lead all the way to the final buzzer.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Mark Sears — 35 points, 5 assists

Labaron Philon — 14 points, 4 assists

Mo Dioubate — 13 points, 10 rebounds

WHAT’S NEXT

Alabama will head back to Tuscaloosa for a 2-game homestand, beginning with No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday. It will be the Crimson Tide’s third of seven straight games to end the season against AP-ranked teams. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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