Alabama basketball struggled offensively in the first half, but it made a big surge in the second half to get the 20-plus point victory over Georgia before a week-long break before its next game.
Alabama basketball ends the first half of the SEC schedule going 8-1 and protected the home floor in a big 90-69 win with a 51-point second half despite the Bulldogs having 19 more shot attempts.
This year, Grant Nelson is the first SEC player with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks in under 30 minutes of action.
Alabama had 20 turnovers on the night with 17 assists.
Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate barely beat out Nelson for the hard hat.
“I try to win the hard hat every night, but it’s tough with Mo D out there doing whatever he does, somehow getting 20 (blue collar points) every night,” said Nelson.
The Tide had nine blocks and dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 52-36.
“Unbelievable effort from our guys. Really the effort we’ve been looking for,” said head coach Nate Oats.
Takeaway #1: The Tide limited Asa Newell from a big scoring game.
Asa Newell struggled to get going despite leading the Dawgs in scoring with 16 points. He only did it on 6-15 shooting, and he had difficulty getting easy looks around the basket.
Newell was another five-star recruit who chose Georgia over Alabama in the 2024 class and has been the anchor of this Georgia team all year.
The Tide left Newell open for plenty of threes, dared him to shoot them, and led to going 0-4.
Georgia only had one other scorer in RJ Godfrey, who finished with double-figures on the afternoon.
Alabama held Georgia to 69 points, the lowest point total allowed in SEC play. The Tide also held the Bulldogs to shoot 17% from three.
Takeaway #2: Aiden Sherrell’s big first-half performance
Aiden Sherrell entered the game 4-24 from three but shot the ball with confidence, sinking back-to-back threes in the first half to lead the Tide in points with 10 points on 3-4 shooting.
“My teammates found me, and I was creating for others, and it just comes with the work we’ve been putting in practice,” said Sherrell on the big game.
Sherrell played his most minutes all season, 20, while Clifford Omoruyi was in foul trouble.
Sherrell did a good job guarding Newell in the paint and was all over the glass, with seven rebounds.
“We just keep encouraging him to shoot. I tell him, in my mind, he’s a 40 percent shooter. Don’t worry about what the numbers say,” said Oats on Sherrell’s struggles.
Takeaway #3: Alabama’s second-half offensive surge
Alabama struggled with only 39 points in the first half but had 12 turnovers. The team came out of the locker room on fire, with Nelson and Mark Sears scoring the first 15 points out of the half, allowing Sears to explode for 13 points and finish the game with 20 points.
Chris Youngblood had another good second half following Wednesday’s big game with seven points on 3-3 shooting and continues to be a marksman from deep.
Jarin Stevenson only had three points in the second half but finished with eight points on the game after struggling to hit a shot from the floor in the last game.
Next up for Alabama basketball (19-3, 8-1): at Arkansas (15-6, 3-5) – Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. EST
Next up for Georgia basketball (15-7, 3-6) vs. LSU (12-9, 1-7) – Feb. 5 at 9 p.m. EST