The crowd was already rocking. The Alabama bench was on its feet. When a white jersey found some open space behind the arc — a common occurrence on Sunday afternoon — and swished a 3-pointer, Nick Pringle couldn’t take it anymore. The Tide freshman dropped to the ground and got up dazed as if even he couldn’t believe the groove Alabama was in.
The Tide avenged last week’s loss to Texas A&M, taking down the two-seed Aggies, 82-63. A potential storybook season, at least on the court, added another celebratory chapter in Nashville. Alabama won its 17th overall SEC championship, and eighth via the tournament.
The SEC’s glass trophy isn’t the only one the Tide is looking to capture this March. At 5 p.m., the Tide will likely get announced as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will get a home crowd similar to the one it had in Bridgestone Arena on Sunday. Alabama is projected to be in the south region, playing its first two games in Birmingham.
Coach Nate Oats said before the tournament, after a series of struggles in four-straight games, that the six-day rest before the postseason would give Alabama a chance to reset. Fix the uneven shooting performances. Clean up the turnovers. It worked. The Tide’s current form should make it a favorite, if not the team to beat in March Madness.
But to get there, Alabama needed to prove its team shooting and depth in three days with three games. The SEC finals started with a 3-pointer from Mark Sears. He celebrated the reprieve from his shooting slump with a spin and flex toward the Tide bench. As it did against Missouri, Alabama started hot from range, hitting four of five from deep and seven of its first 15 shots overall.
A&M made a few shots early, but eventually, the Tide’s length on defense disrupted shots on the perimeter, challenged putbacks and forced sloppy passes. Noah Gurley pinned a layup attempt off the backboard and Charles Bediako met an A&M big at the rim for another block. Partially due to Bediako’s effort (12 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks), Alabama wrestled away control and A&M couldn’t string together good possessions.
The Aggies started 5-for-25 and had one field goal in the last 11 minutes of the first half.
Brandon Miller picked up two fouls in eight minutes but 3s from Sears, Rylan Griiffen and a trio from Jahvon Quinerly (22 total points) supplemented Miller’s production while he sat on the bench. The dribble drive strategy, a staple of Oats’ gameplan, drew in maroon jerseys, allowing the Tide to spot up along the arch. By the time Miller picked up his third foul late in the half, A&M trailed by 11.
The Aggies came out of the locker room looking to go inside the paint. A&M’s Julius Marble converted a hook shot on its first possession, but the Tide limited second-chance points while winning the rebounding battle.
A&M flashed a 3-2 zone, cutting the lead into the deficit off a Quinerly turnover and dunk by Marble. But just as the A&M fans in attendance started to pick up, Miller tipped away a pass for a steal, cashing a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. When the lead shrunk to eight a few minutes later, it was Miller who nabbed two offensive rebounds on one trip down the floor, eventually getting fouled and converting his free throws.
Oats called for Alabama fans to make the drive from Tuscaloosa and at least by the noise levels during Tide runs, his wish was granted. The supporters gave Alabama multiple standing ovations, including after a timeout by A&M coach Buzz Williams when Alabama kept pushing the lead back up following another Miller deep ball.
The game became a blowout, an opportunity for starters to get serenaded with cheers by the crowd and for the walk-ons to see the floor.
All season, the Tide stormed through SEC play. Sunday gave Alabama its 19th win against an SEC opponent. The Tide’s largest second-half deficit this week was four points.
One of the best teams in SEC history can support its case with two pieces of hardware, as for the fifth time, Alabama took home the regular-season and conference titles.
This post will be updated.
Alabama basketball wins SEC tournament title over Texas A&M in 82-63 blowout - AL.com
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