The Coleman Coliseum crowd showed up for a show and Brandon Miller nearly finished it off in style.
Early in the second half, Miller opened the court with a loose pass. The highlight was set, but a foul on the same Vanderbilt player who lost the ball ended Miller’s drive just as a freshman threw the ball off the backboard for himself. But he sighed as the Alabama fans in the auditorium rose to cheers. NBA scouts laughed at his athleticism.
Tuesday night will be one of the few times something goes wrong for the No. 4 team in the country. A few days later A wake-up call is requiredNate Oats was given a breath.
The Tide (19-3, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) crushed the Commodores. 101-44. It was the program’s largest margin of victory in SEC history and matched last year’s winning total on the final day of January.
The game ended with 5 scores in 4 minutes. With seven minutes to go in the first half, it was filled with effort and nearly a 20-point lead was converted. A pair of white jerseys dove on a loose ball, Miller hit a 3 and a game-deciding 30-5 run. It was the kind of effort Oats was looking for after showing the team Vanderbilt highlights pregame.
“That’s what we’re going to be tonight,” Oats said of the scrimmage. “(Noah) Clowney did it a few times. We kind of challenged all of our guys. … If we were blue and made plays like that, we were going to reward him on the other end.”
Miller and Nimari Burnett combined for 38 points, the latter sparking a 30-5 game-deciding run by forcing a few turnovers and hitting a pair of 3s. Mark Sears (eight assists) and Jahvon Quinerly (seven assists) frequently created space inside and as a result, 3-point shooters found space behind the arc.
Alabama dominated with 19 3-pointers and 48 bench points. They were the most deep balls made since switching from the 20 to LSU on Jan. 14, setting a season high in 3-point field goal percentage (46.3).
A few screens off the ball created a lot of looks in front of the Vanderbilt bench. Maybe it was some familiarity — Alabama beat Vandy on the road two weeks ago — but the Tide’s offense faced little resistance.
“I feel like our whole team can really shoot. Miller, wearing the team’s trademark hard hat postgame, brings just the energy we need.
Meanwhile, the Commodores (10-12, 3-6) shot 25% from the floor, and 3-for-30 from deep, despite returning one of their best players, seven-footer Liam Robinson, after a two-week injury layoff. Oats mentioned afterward that “a good big-league team can go to work” in Alabama, but Clowney and Charles Bediaco answered any questions for at least one night. They forced Robinson to miss his first five shots and held Vanderbilt to 15 offensive rebounds in the paint for 18 points.
Alabama pressed in the half court and forced the Commodores to beat them off the dribble. Freshman guard Paul Lewis led the visitors with 10, but Vanderbilt eventually had a shot that fell short of the rim. The second half turned into a back-and-forth as the Tide generated Alabama’s streaky alley-oop that Miller and Bediaco finished with.
“After the Oklahoma game, they returned the bell,” Ott said. “Obviously, they respect Vanderbilt and watch the Oklahoma game. It’s unfortunate for them, but I told them we showed our guys what we’re all about.”
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter. @nick_a_alvarez Or send it by email NAlvarez@al.com.
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Alabama Vanderbilt Basketball January 31, 2023