Alabama Basketball earned a hard-fought win on the road in Mobile against the South Alabama Jaguars. It was an ugly, low-scoring affair that featured poor shooting and a lot of turnovers. The Tide jumped out to an early first-half lead, and was able to stretch it to 20 before the Jags tightened the score up towards the end of the contest.
For the game, Alabama basketball shot 32.4 percent from the field. It also shot 28.6 percent from the three-point line, just days after it shot over 45 percent from three against Liberty. Bama even struggled from the free throw line, making just 11 of 20. Alabama’s amalgamation of talent continued to struggle with cohesiveness and careless play, turning the ball over 21 times in the game.
In spite of its offensive shortcomings, the Crimson Tide’s defense and rebounding allowed it to maintain control of the game. Alabama held South Alabama to below 30 percent from the field and just 2-23 on three-point attempts.
The Tide outrebounded USA by a margin of 63-40. This Alabama team has shown the potential to be a dominant rebounding squad. It has out-boarded each of its first three opponents by 20-plus, and has now exceeded 60 rebounds in a game twice already. Bama was especially effective on the offensive glass, setting a season-high with 25 offensive rebounds. Alabama basketball fans should keep an eye on this trend to see if the Crimson Tide can continue to rebound well against high-major competition.
Freshmen Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney largely led the Tide to victory. Miller was the best player on the floor, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Clowney had eight points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Fellow freshman Jaden Bradley finished with seven points.
Transfer point guard Mark Sears had nine points, veteran Noah Gurley scored eight points and snagged seven rebounds, and Nimari Burnett contributed seven points.
All-SEC point guard Jahvon Quinerly made his season debut, briefly appearing in the second half when the Crimson Tide seized an extended lead. The Alabama basketball schedule is quickly about to get a lot tougher, as Bama plays four high-major opponents in its next six games. It would help to have Quinerly back in some capacity for this stretch.
As a fan base, we will learn a lot about this team as a whole over the next month. Alabama will play at least three ranked teams in that time, and could potentially face three top-5 opponents before Christmas.
For now, Alabama basketball is preparing for Jacksonville State. It will take the court Friday night in Coleman Coliseum against the Gamecocks.
