Alabama basketball defeated North Carolina for the third time in three seasons with its best performance of the season so far.
Alabama basketball left no doubts in this game. Trailing for the first two minutes of the game, Alabama was on cruise control in Chapel Hill, routing North Carolina 94-79 on the road in the SEC/ACC challenge. Head coach Nate Oats now moves to 3-0 over Hubert Davis.
Labaron Philon won the hard hat tonight.
Houston Mallette, who was supposed to be redshirted for the season, came through in the absence of Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who is out with a ruptured Achilles and had surgery today. Mallette came off the bench hitting 2-2 from three with two steals and six points in only nine minutes of action.
“Latrell is a big reason why I came here. What’s best for me in my life is what is best for the team, and anything I can do to impact people and the team is what I will do, and that is how the decision came into play,” said Mallette on getting the chance to play this season.
Takeaway #1: Alabama Guards Dominate
Alabama’s guards set the tone early, with Mark Sears scoring 11 of 24 points to start the game. Between Sears, Aden Holloway, and Labaron Philon the guards put up 50 of the team’s points and just kept pushing the pace of the game especially Philon, who was firing at all cylinders with big-time finishes around the basket. Holloway continues to be a sniper from behind the arc, shooting 5-9, and continues to be a great addition coming from the team in the southeastern part of the state.
Takeaway #2: Alabama’s defense comes up big
Alabama’s defense, which has struggled much of the season so far, had its best game. Whether it was Philon jumping passing lanes with three steals that led to fast break points, or Clifford Omoruyi blocking two shots and being a disruptor around the rim. The Tide forced the Tar Heels into mid-range shots and guys with low percentages to take threes, which led to missed shots.
Takeaway #3: RJ Davis struggles from 3
Despite still putting up 18 points on 24 shots, tonight, RJ Davis but was held in check for most of the night, especially from behind the three-point line shooting 1-11. Putting size on Davis with guys like Derrion Reid and Jarin Stevenson made it tough on Davis to be able to get good looks, and had to take contested midrange shots.
“We tried to keep some size on Davis, and he got his shots up, which we knew, but we just wanted to make them as tough as we could,” said coach Oats on the defensive gameplan.
Next up for Alabama (7-2): vs. Creighton (6-3) -Dec. 14 at 8:30 p.m. EST
Next up for North Carolina (4-4): vs. Georgia Tech (4-4) -Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. EST