On paper, this one didn’t mean much. No. 8 Alabama basketball headed into Saturday’s road game against Georgia with the SEC regular-season title and the top spot in next week’s conference tournament in hand. Early on, the Crimson Tide looked like a team with its mind on flashier matchups to come. However, it was able to refocus in the second half to pull out an 89-79 victory over the Bulldogs.
With the victory, Alabama (21-6, 16-2 in the SEC) completes a season sweep over Georgia (14-11, 7-11). The Tide also blew out the Bulldogs 115-82 last month in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama’s 16 conference wins match the program’s highest regular-season total set by the 1986-87 team which also finished 16-2 in league play.
"To go 16-2... it shows a lot about what this team is made out of," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "I'm proud of the guys. We got to get back playing better more like we did in the second half more than the first half going into Nashville hopefully in that first game Friday morning."
After securing a bye in the SEC tournament, Alabama will play on Friday at 11 a.m. CT where it will take on the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 8 seed Kentucky and No. 9 seed Mississippi State. The Tide swept both schools earlier this season.
Alabama now stands three consecutive wins from securing its first conference tournament title since 1991. In order to accomplish that feat, it will look for a repeat of its second-half performance against Georgia rather than its forgettable start to the afternoon Saturday.
The Tide slumped its way through the first half, shooting just 37 percent from the floor, including 2 of 12 (17 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, a hot-shooting Bulldogs team headed into the break shooting 52 percent.
Despite its offensive woes, Alabama was able to remain in striking distance thanks to its efforts on the defensive end where it forced 14 first-half turnovers. After trailing by as many as 14 points, the Tide ended the half on a 6-0 run to trim the Bulldogs’ lead to 36-30 at the break.
"I told them, 'Great end of the half,'" Oats said of his halftime message to his players. "The last eight minutes was great, we've got to play like those eight minutes instead of the first 12, the score will take care of itself."
From there, Alabama played like the team many project to be a formidable force in tournaments later this month.
Building on its momentum late in the first half, the Tide scored the first 9 points of the second period, hitting its first four shots after the break. Alabama wouldn’t let go of the lead from there, extending its advantage to as many as 10 points before holding on for the victory.
Georgia chipped away at Alabama's lead several times, trimming it to 3 points in the game's final minute. However, a 3 from Keon Ellis with 46 seconds remaining helped put the game to bed for good.
"That 3 was huge," Oats said. "What was it, 3 points at the time? It was 3, that pushed it to 6. To have guys you can put off the floor who don't start. I mean, look, Keon hit the big 3. He had 9 [points]. Quinerly had 18 [points]. You look at our bench, we ended up with 33 points off the bench."
Alabama's second-half surge was led by Jahvon Quinerly, who scored all 18 of his points on the day after the break. The Tide's sixth man recorded his ninth straight double-digit scoring performance off the bench while shooting also chipping in four assists and four rebounds.
"JQ's maybe the most talented guard in the league when you put everything together," Oats said. "Knocking down 3s, getting into the lane, finishing assists. I think when he's just locked into guarding people and letting the offense flow, he's really good."
John Petty Jr. also had a nice afternoon, scoring 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Jaden Shackelford (14 points), Joshua Primo (11 points) and Herbert Jones (10 points) rounded out Alabama's double-digit scorers.
Georgia was led by point guard Shavir Wheeler, who recorded 18 points and a game-high 10 assists.
Alabama shot 63.3 percent in the second half, including 8 of 10 from beyond the arc. The Tide finished the afternoon 49 percent from the floor, including 10 of 22 from 3. Georgia finished the day with similar shooting numbers, going 47 percent from the floor while making 8 of 19 shots from beyond the arc. However, the Tide held a 45-32 advantage on the boards which led to a 10-2 edge in second-chance points. Alabama also outscored Georgia 46-38 in the paint.
Alabama’s 89 points break up a three-game stretch in which the Tide had failed to score more than 70 points. Alabama has now scored a combined 309 points in its last three games against Georgia.
After forcing a season-high 23 turnovers against Auburn earlier this week, Alabama’s recorded 20 takeaways against Georgia. However, the Tide was also sloppy with the ball, committing 22 turnovers of its own.
"I thought guys weren't ready to play, and it shows up on defense and offense both," Oats said. "Twenty-two turnovers is a lot. To score 89 points in a game where you have 22 turnovers means when you weren't turning the ball over we were pretty good, pretty efficient. If we can get those turnovers cut down, I think we can get our offense back to where we need it to be."
Oats reveals Bruner had additional knee surgery
During his postgame Zoom call with reporters, Oats revealed a bit of news regarding Jordan Bruner’s injury woes earlier this season. The starting forward missed nine games after suffering a meniscus injury against Kentucky on Jan. 12. While Bruner has started in each of the Tide’s last five games, Oats said he was in line to return even sooner if not for suffering an additional setback.
“We haven’t said much, but when he was out with his first knee injury he was ready to come back in two weeks,” Oats said. “He worked his tail off, and then he hurt his other knee. That’s why it took almost six weeks. He ended up having surgery on both knees.
“For him to have surgery on both knees, fight back, do everything he could to come back back and help his team. You know, he ended the game plus 18 in the 15 minutes he played. He was huge in that run in the first half. He was big in both halves really. There’s some credit that goes to some guys that maybe haven’t gotten as much notoriety as maybe they should have. I think this is a team that just pulls for each other.”
Bruner recorded 6 points on 2 of 3 shooting while also tallying a steal and a block against Georgia.
With the victory, Alabama (21-6, 16-2 in the SEC) completes a season sweep over Georgia (14-11, 7-11). The Tide also blew out the Bulldogs 115-82 last month in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama’s 16 conference wins match the program’s highest regular-season total set by the 1986-87 team which also finished 16-2 in league play.
"To go 16-2... it shows a lot about what this team is made out of," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "I'm proud of the guys. We got to get back playing better more like we did in the second half more than the first half going into Nashville hopefully in that first game Friday morning."
After securing a bye in the SEC tournament, Alabama will play on Friday at 11 a.m. CT where it will take on the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 8 seed Kentucky and No. 9 seed Mississippi State. The Tide swept both schools earlier this season.
Alabama now stands three consecutive wins from securing its first conference tournament title since 1991. In order to accomplish that feat, it will look for a repeat of its second-half performance against Georgia rather than its forgettable start to the afternoon Saturday.
The Tide slumped its way through the first half, shooting just 37 percent from the floor, including 2 of 12 (17 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, a hot-shooting Bulldogs team headed into the break shooting 52 percent.
Despite its offensive woes, Alabama was able to remain in striking distance thanks to its efforts on the defensive end where it forced 14 first-half turnovers. After trailing by as many as 14 points, the Tide ended the half on a 6-0 run to trim the Bulldogs’ lead to 36-30 at the break.
"I told them, 'Great end of the half,'" Oats said of his halftime message to his players. "The last eight minutes was great, we've got to play like those eight minutes instead of the first 12, the score will take care of itself."
From there, Alabama played like the team many project to be a formidable force in tournaments later this month.
Building on its momentum late in the first half, the Tide scored the first 9 points of the second period, hitting its first four shots after the break. Alabama wouldn’t let go of the lead from there, extending its advantage to as many as 10 points before holding on for the victory.
Georgia chipped away at Alabama's lead several times, trimming it to 3 points in the game's final minute. However, a 3 from Keon Ellis with 46 seconds remaining helped put the game to bed for good.
"That 3 was huge," Oats said. "What was it, 3 points at the time? It was 3, that pushed it to 6. To have guys you can put off the floor who don't start. I mean, look, Keon hit the big 3. He had 9 [points]. Quinerly had 18 [points]. You look at our bench, we ended up with 33 points off the bench."
Alabama's second-half surge was led by Jahvon Quinerly, who scored all 18 of his points on the day after the break. The Tide's sixth man recorded his ninth straight double-digit scoring performance off the bench while shooting also chipping in four assists and four rebounds.
"JQ's maybe the most talented guard in the league when you put everything together," Oats said. "Knocking down 3s, getting into the lane, finishing assists. I think when he's just locked into guarding people and letting the offense flow, he's really good."
John Petty Jr. also had a nice afternoon, scoring 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Jaden Shackelford (14 points), Joshua Primo (11 points) and Herbert Jones (10 points) rounded out Alabama's double-digit scorers.
Georgia was led by point guard Shavir Wheeler, who recorded 18 points and a game-high 10 assists.
Alabama shot 63.3 percent in the second half, including 8 of 10 from beyond the arc. The Tide finished the afternoon 49 percent from the floor, including 10 of 22 from 3. Georgia finished the day with similar shooting numbers, going 47 percent from the floor while making 8 of 19 shots from beyond the arc. However, the Tide held a 45-32 advantage on the boards which led to a 10-2 edge in second-chance points. Alabama also outscored Georgia 46-38 in the paint.
Alabama’s 89 points break up a three-game stretch in which the Tide had failed to score more than 70 points. Alabama has now scored a combined 309 points in its last three games against Georgia.
After forcing a season-high 23 turnovers against Auburn earlier this week, Alabama’s recorded 20 takeaways against Georgia. However, the Tide was also sloppy with the ball, committing 22 turnovers of its own.
"I thought guys weren't ready to play, and it shows up on defense and offense both," Oats said. "Twenty-two turnovers is a lot. To score 89 points in a game where you have 22 turnovers means when you weren't turning the ball over we were pretty good, pretty efficient. If we can get those turnovers cut down, I think we can get our offense back to where we need it to be."
Oats reveals Bruner had additional knee surgery
During his postgame Zoom call with reporters, Oats revealed a bit of news regarding Jordan Bruner’s injury woes earlier this season. The starting forward missed nine games after suffering a meniscus injury against Kentucky on Jan. 12. While Bruner has started in each of the Tide’s last five games, Oats said he was in line to return even sooner if not for suffering an additional setback.
“We haven’t said much, but when he was out with his first knee injury he was ready to come back in two weeks,” Oats said. “He worked his tail off, and then he hurt his other knee. That’s why it took almost six weeks. He ended up having surgery on both knees.
“For him to have surgery on both knees, fight back, do everything he could to come back back and help his team. You know, he ended the game plus 18 in the 15 minutes he played. He was huge in that run in the first half. He was big in both halves really. There’s some credit that goes to some guys that maybe haven’t gotten as much notoriety as maybe they should have. I think this is a team that just pulls for each other.”
Bruner recorded 6 points on 2 of 3 shooting while also tallying a steal and a block against Georgia.
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