TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A week after proving itself with an upset victory in the Pacific Northwest, Alabama basketball returned home to record a second straight win over a ranked opponent. The No. 9 ranked Crimson Tide avoided an upset of its own Saturday night as it held off No. 14 Houston 83-82 inside of Coleman Coliseum. The victory comes after Alabama knocked off then-No. 3-ranked Gonzaga 91-82 in Seattle last weekend.
The Tide now has back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time since the 2015-16 season when it defeated No. 20 Wichita State and No. 17 Notre Dame in consecutive games during the AdvoCare Invitational.
"We told our guys this is going to be a backyard brawl, I mean this is like an alley fight," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "And it was. It was a tough, physical game."
Saturday’s game marked the first meeting between two top-15 opponents inside of Coleman Coliseum since 2007. The premier matchup lived up to expectations, going down to a wild final minute.
With Alabama leading by two, Houston guard Marcus Sasser hit a 3 to put Houston up 82-81 with 52 seconds remaining. The Tide was able to retake the lead on its following time up the floor as freshman guard JD Davison slammed home a missed layup from Jahvon Quinerly.
Houston (8-2) had a chance to win the game on its ensuing possession. However, Alabama (8-1) guard Jaden Shackelford was able to force a loose ball leading to a desperate 3-point attempt from Houston guard Kyler Edwards. Cougars forward Fabian White Jr. got the rebound, but his layup attempt was swatted away by Davison as the final buzzer sounded. Houston argued for a goaltending call as Sasser chased the referee off the court.
"If I was in their shoes I'd be looking for a goaltend call, too," Oats said. "I think they wanted a review. I looked at the different angles. It looked nowhere close to being in the cylinder from what I saw."
Alabama struggled on the boards all night as Houston held a 21-7 edge in offensive rebounds leading to a 23-8 advantage in second-chance points. Davison's put-back dunk in the final minute was one of just three offensive rebounds for the Tide in the second half. However, it ended up being the most important.
"It was crazy," Quinerly said of the play. "I just looked up and I could see him flying. That was a huge play. His athleticism is off the charts. That's really what we expect of him at this point, but it was an amazing play."
Alabama outshot Houston 52% to 42% but was never able to pull away due to its struggles on the offensive glass. Houston's defense also forced 12 turnovers which it converted into 16 points. Alabama was able to take advantage of an aggressive Houston defense, drawing 28 fouls while going 24 of 31 from the free-throw line.
Alabama was led by Juwan Gary, who earned the team's hard hat award while posting a career-high 19 points with four rebounds. The redshirt sophomore’s previous career-high was 14 points during the Tide’s win over Drake earlier this season. He surpassed that total on a layup with 4:26 remaining in the first half. Gary's fast start included a personal 6-0 run that saw Alabama go up 33-26 with 5:10 left in the half.
Alabama led by as many as eight points in the first half but went into the break clinging to a 44-41 lead as a mix of turnovers and Houston's second-chance points kept the Cougars within striking distance.
Houston took multiple leads in the game's final minutes but each time the Tide was able to answer. With Alabama trailing 76-74 under four minutes to play, Shackelford completed a four-point play, hitting a 3 while drawing a foul before sinking the ensuing free throw. After Houston retook the lead minutes later, the junior once again bailed out Alabama, knocking down a 3 to put the Tide back up 81-79 with 2:58 to play.
Shackelford finished with 18 points and eight rebounds while shooting 5 of 7 from beyond the arc. Quinerly also had a big game for Alabama, recording 17 points and a team-high eight assists while Davison chipped in 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Alabama was able to get Houston into early foul trouble as starters Kyler Edwards and Reggie Chaney both picked up their third fouls late in the first half. Edwards picked up his fourth foul with 19:04 remaining while Chaney was whistled for his fourth with 16:26 to play. The fouls continued to roll in for the Cougars in the second half as they saw two more starters in Jamal Shead and Fabian White Jr. reach the four-foul mark with more than eight minutes to play.
Houston was able to manage its foul trouble while Alabama began to rack up fouls of its own in the second half. The Tide saw freshman center foul out with 3:46 to play before losing graduate forward Noah Gurley on his fifth foul with 2:18 remaining.
Alabama will look to add another notable win to its resume Tuesday as it travels to Memphis for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff. The game will be televised on ESPN.
The Tide now has back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time since the 2015-16 season when it defeated No. 20 Wichita State and No. 17 Notre Dame in consecutive games during the AdvoCare Invitational.
"We told our guys this is going to be a backyard brawl, I mean this is like an alley fight," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "And it was. It was a tough, physical game."
Saturday’s game marked the first meeting between two top-15 opponents inside of Coleman Coliseum since 2007. The premier matchup lived up to expectations, going down to a wild final minute.
With Alabama leading by two, Houston guard Marcus Sasser hit a 3 to put Houston up 82-81 with 52 seconds remaining. The Tide was able to retake the lead on its following time up the floor as freshman guard JD Davison slammed home a missed layup from Jahvon Quinerly.
Houston (8-2) had a chance to win the game on its ensuing possession. However, Alabama (8-1) guard Jaden Shackelford was able to force a loose ball leading to a desperate 3-point attempt from Houston guard Kyler Edwards. Cougars forward Fabian White Jr. got the rebound, but his layup attempt was swatted away by Davison as the final buzzer sounded. Houston argued for a goaltending call as Sasser chased the referee off the court.
"If I was in their shoes I'd be looking for a goaltend call, too," Oats said. "I think they wanted a review. I looked at the different angles. It looked nowhere close to being in the cylinder from what I saw."
Alabama struggled on the boards all night as Houston held a 21-7 edge in offensive rebounds leading to a 23-8 advantage in second-chance points. Davison's put-back dunk in the final minute was one of just three offensive rebounds for the Tide in the second half. However, it ended up being the most important.
"It was crazy," Quinerly said of the play. "I just looked up and I could see him flying. That was a huge play. His athleticism is off the charts. That's really what we expect of him at this point, but it was an amazing play."
Alabama outshot Houston 52% to 42% but was never able to pull away due to its struggles on the offensive glass. Houston's defense also forced 12 turnovers which it converted into 16 points. Alabama was able to take advantage of an aggressive Houston defense, drawing 28 fouls while going 24 of 31 from the free-throw line.
Alabama was led by Juwan Gary, who earned the team's hard hat award while posting a career-high 19 points with four rebounds. The redshirt sophomore’s previous career-high was 14 points during the Tide’s win over Drake earlier this season. He surpassed that total on a layup with 4:26 remaining in the first half. Gary's fast start included a personal 6-0 run that saw Alabama go up 33-26 with 5:10 left in the half.
Alabama led by as many as eight points in the first half but went into the break clinging to a 44-41 lead as a mix of turnovers and Houston's second-chance points kept the Cougars within striking distance.
Houston took multiple leads in the game's final minutes but each time the Tide was able to answer. With Alabama trailing 76-74 under four minutes to play, Shackelford completed a four-point play, hitting a 3 while drawing a foul before sinking the ensuing free throw. After Houston retook the lead minutes later, the junior once again bailed out Alabama, knocking down a 3 to put the Tide back up 81-79 with 2:58 to play.
Shackelford finished with 18 points and eight rebounds while shooting 5 of 7 from beyond the arc. Quinerly also had a big game for Alabama, recording 17 points and a team-high eight assists while Davison chipped in 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Alabama was able to get Houston into early foul trouble as starters Kyler Edwards and Reggie Chaney both picked up their third fouls late in the first half. Edwards picked up his fourth foul with 19:04 remaining while Chaney was whistled for his fourth with 16:26 to play. The fouls continued to roll in for the Cougars in the second half as they saw two more starters in Jamal Shead and Fabian White Jr. reach the four-foul mark with more than eight minutes to play.
Houston was able to manage its foul trouble while Alabama began to rack up fouls of its own in the second half. The Tide saw freshman center foul out with 3:46 to play before losing graduate forward Noah Gurley on his fifth foul with 2:18 remaining.
Alabama will look to add another notable win to its resume Tuesday as it travels to Memphis for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff. The game will be televised on ESPN.
