Alabama Makes Team History in Win Over Vanderbilt
Alabama Crimson Tide (19-3, 9-0) bounces back from it's loss to Oklahoma with a statement win over Vanderbilt Commodores (10-12, 3-6) 101-44, which is the largest SEC win in team history.
"They answered the bell after the Oklahoma game, I thought it was a great way to respond," head coach Nate Oats said after the game. Oats said the team put in extra time with the assistants and that the team practiced on Sunday night which is something the team rarely does in preparation for this game after the Oklahoma loss.
The Crimson Tide went down 5-0 early in the first half before going on a 21-point run to set the tone for the rest of the half. Alabama shot 10-for-19 from the 3-point line in the first half, with forward Noah Clowney making his first 3-pointer in 22 attempts.
The Crimson Tide defense kept the Commodores from having any success from beyond the arc in the first half, with Vanderbilt only able to shoot 3-for-18 from the 3-point line.
The Crimson Tide went into half time leading 43-15.
Alabama came out in the second half with the same intensity on both sides of the ball, leading the Commodores 74-28 with 11 minutes left in the game.
The Tide set new season highs in 3-point percentage and field goal percentage. Alabama finished the night shooting for 19-for-41 from the three point line and 36-for-41 from field goal range.
The Tide defense held the Commodores to only three 3-pointers for the night off of 30 attempts and held them to only 16 field goals on 64 attempts. Paul Lewis lead the Commodores with 10.
Brandon Miller's 22 point performance earned him the Hard Hat award after the game and Nimari Burnett had his best game since he came back from injury with 16 points.
"We needed that loss, it's going to help us get better and it has helped us get better and it revealed some things we needed to work on, and we had a good comeback tonight," Burnett said about how the loss to Oklahoma helped prepare them for this game.
Alabama heads on the road to play the LSU Tigers Saturday, Feb. 4.