No. 2 Alabama will try to recover from its most one-sided loss of the season by beating Vanderbilt for the second time in less than two weeks in Tuesday’s Southeastern Conference game in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Crimson Tide (18-3, 8-0 SEC) continued their nine-game winning streak with a 93-69 loss in Oklahoma in Saturday’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Vanderbilt (10-11, 3-5) lost his second straight game, a 72-66 loss at Texas A&M on Saturday.
Oklahoma ended the first half on a 15-7 run and took a 50-33 halftime lead before the Sooners’ lead grew to as much as 32 points in the second half.
Rylan Griffen, who averages 6.4 points per game, posted a team-high 15, while Brandon Miller, who averages a team-high 19.0 points per game, opened up against Oklahoma in a 4-of-14 shooting 11 points was held.
Mark Sears, who averages 14.0 points per game, shot 4 of 10 and finished with 11 points, while Noah Clowney, who averages 10.1 points per game, shot 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting against the Sooners adds.
The Crimson Tide’s second place finish is its highest since New Year’s Day in a season and its highest since it was placed at the top of the poll on December 30, 2002.
“Our boys aren’t used to finishing second in the state this late in the year,” said Alabama coach Nate Oats. “They literally stormed onto the floor after the game. The team will be ready. The fans will be ready. Everyone will be ready. … I don’t think we realize we’re getting everyone’s A game and our defense wasn’t anywhere near where it needed to be to play in that game.”
The loss of the Commodores was much closer.
Vanderbilt was 8:29 with 13 minutes remaining before taking a 15-1 lead to take a 66-65 lead after Tyrin Lawrence’s two free throws with 2:59 left. But the Aggies responded by ending the game on a 7-0 run to stay in first place in the SEC within a game.
Myles Mare tied a career-high by notching seven 3-pointers in 14 attempts to finish with a game-high 22 points, while Jordan Wright added 15 points and five rebounds and Trey Thomas had 13 points and five rebounds.
“Both teams came out and fought really hard, it was execution that mattered,” said Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse. “I didn’t think we were great in our late game execution. It’s both on both sides, attacking and they had a couple of key games down the line where we didn’t really look at the basket.
Vanderbilt continues to struggle without Liam Robbins, the team’s top scorer (13.2 points per game) and rebounder (5.9), who has not played since Jan. 14. He is expected to be sidelined for a few more weeks with a bruised bone and a sprained foot.
Wright averages 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while Lawrence averages 10.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Mare averages 10.6 and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Alabama defeated host Vanderbilt 78-66 in the team’s first meeting on Jan. 17 in Nashville.
The Crimson Tide led by 10 points at halftime and 23 points in the second half.
Miller posted a game-high 30 points while Jaden Bradley and Noah Gurley added 12 points each.
Vanderbilt was led by Lawrence and Wright, who scored 20 and 15 points, respectively.
–Field level media