Rewinding how Alabama men’s basketball won its 17th SEC championship over Texas A&M - AL.com

Alabama basketball may have played its way into an NCAA Tournament one-seed. The Crimson Tide beat Texas A&M, TK-TK, in Bridgestone Arena to capture a Southeastern Conference tournament on Selection Sunday.

Tide coach Nate Oats has now two SEC tournament titles and four outright since he was hired in 2019. For the first time in four tries, he was able to knock off Buzz Williams and the Aggies. AL.com was courtside for the contest. Here’s how it played out.

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SECOND HALF

--Alabama 77, Texas A&M 60 (2:41 remaining): Alabama is cruising now, subbing out a few starters. But Oats just picked up a technical foul from the sidelines.

--Alabama 69, Texas A&M 50 (5:55 remaining): After a big celebration off an Alabama 3-pointer, Quinerly was called for a technical foul.

--Alabama 64, Texas A&M 48 (6:46 remaining): A 6-0 run in 40 seconds pushes the lead to 16. Miller and Bediako both have double-doubles and A&M is running out of answers and time.

--Alabama 58, Texas A&M 48 (7:39 remaining): Miller now draws a charging foul, giving Alabama the ball back after the media timeout.

--Alabama 56, Texas A&M 43 (9:56 remaining): Brandon Miller. Again He scores five-straight points and forces Williams to call another timeout. Miller is up to 18 points and 12 rebounds.

--Alabama 51, Texas A&M 43 (10:50 remaining): Pringle is called for his third foul, leading to a pair of free throws by Manny Obaseki.

--Alabama 50, Texas A&M 38 (11:48 remaining): Before the lead could shrink anymore, Miller forced a turnover and swished a 3-pointer to pop the crowd.

--Alabama 47, Texas A&M 38 (12:53 remaining): Texas A&M is using a 3-2 zone to try and minimize Alabama’s defensive penetration.

--Alabama 45, Texas A&M 32 (14:55 remaining): The teams came out of the break hot, trading buckets. While A&M found some success inside, Alabama has answered by driving into the paint itself. Williams called another timeout with the crowd reaching a crescendo.

HALFTIME Alabama 34, Texas A&M 21: Alabama is halfway to its 17th conference championship. The Aggies have been held to 20.7% from the field and Quinerly leads all scorers with 13 points.

FIRST HALF

--Alabama 33, Texas A&M 19 (2:33 remaining): A&M doesn’t have a field goal in the last 8:33 but Miller did just pick up his third foul and will head back to the bench.

--Alabama 33, Texas A&M 19 (3:52 remaining): Miller and Pringle are on the floor in the last stretch of the half. Alabama is shooting 45.8% from the field.

--Alabama 29, Texas A&M 15 (5:43 remaining): Alabama has its largest lead of the game as Miller checks back in and hits a free throw. Miller assisted Bediako on a fastbreak and the center finished a layup over a defender. A&M coach Buzz Williams called a timeout in response.

--Alabama 24, Texas A&M 13 (7:55 remaining): Bridgestone Arena is operating as a de-facto Coleman Coliseum. The crowd erupts for a pair of blocks by Noah Gurley and Bediako at the rim. Miller hasn’t checked back in but the Tide hasn’t needed his offense yet.

--Alabama 21, Texas A&M 13 (10:13 remaining): Nick Pringle comes in and earns two quick fouls on the interior. Bediako comes off the bench to replace him.

--Alabama 18, Texas A&M 10 (12:35 remaining): Miller picked up his second charging foul and went to the bench. Miller picked up two early fouls yesterday but finished the game with three.

--Alabama 18, Texas A&M 8 (13:54 remaining): Unlike last week in Reed Arena, Alabama’s offense is matching its defensive prowess. A&M has started 3-of-11 with two giveaways.

--Alabama 16, Texas A&M 7 (15:39 remaining): The mostly pro-Tide crowd is loud and active as Alabama hits four of its first five 3-pointers. The dribble drive scheme is moving A&M around and Alabama’s spot-up shooters have had a lot of space.

--Alabama 3, Texas A&M 2 (19:10 remaining): Sears proved Oats right on Alabama’s first possession. He sunk a 3-pointer and turned to flex at the Alabama bench.

PREGAME

--Same starting five that the Tide used in its first two SEC tourney games: Mark Sears, Jahvon Quinerly, Charles Bediako, Noah Clowney and Brandon Miller.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com.

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Rewinding how Alabama men’s basketball won its 17th SEC championship over Texas A&M - AL.com
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