Alabama basketball falls 100-90 to No. 15 Gonzaga
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Alabama men’s basketball team is now 9-2 after dropping its second game on the season on Saturday. The No. 4-ranked Crimson Tide came up short in a hard-fought game against No. 15 Gonzaga at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
The final score was a 100-90 defeat.
At one point, Alabama had established a nine-point early lead, but 14 first-half turnovers allowed the Bulldogs to get back into the game. Eventually, the Tide fell behind to a point where there was just no coming back, especially with star Gonzaga big-man Drew Timme having his way on the offensive end of the court.
Timme converted 12-of-18 field goals for 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Six different Zags joined him in scoring in the double-digits. Alabama wasn’t without some offensive firepower of its own, especially from star freshman Brandon Miller.
The former five-star recruit had a game-high 36 points while hitting 6-of-11 shots from beyond the arc. Miller also went 6-for-6 on his free-throw attempts while also adding six rebounds, an assist and a block. Fellow freshman Jaden Bradley put up 18 points, making him the only other Tide player to reach double digits.
Miller hit over 50% of his 3-point attempts, but the rest of the team went just 2-for-14. At one point, it felt like Miller and Timme were playing one-on-one with a constant back-and-forth. Alabama just couldn’t get enough scoring from its supporting cast to close the gap.
Another star freshman, Noah Clowney, did have nine points to go along with a game-leading 13 rebounds. That gives him a 10.5-rebound average over his last three games, which has also been extremely helpful. Unfortunately, it just hasn’t been enough.
Nate Oats and company are still missing the defensive prowess of Nimari Burnett, who is out indefinitely with an injury.
Alabama will be back on the court on Tuesday, Dec. 20 to take on Jackson State in Tuscaloosa. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET), and the game will air on the SEC Network. Then, the Tide will be off for Christmas before opening up SEC play against Mississippi State on Dec. 28. That game is set for 8 p.m. CT.
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