BamaCentral Courtside: No. 4 Alabama 78, Vanderbilt 66

The BamaCentral staff break down the Crimson Tide's win over the Commodores from Memorial Gymnasium to move to 6-0 in SEC play and stay atop the league standings.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It's second-leading scorer only finished with three points. A starter fouled out in the final key minutes of the game. There was a major off-court distraction looming over the program. And yet Alabama still went on the road and collected its seventh straight double-digit win. 

The Crimson Tide beat Vanderbilt 78-66 Tuesday night inside Memorial Gymnasium behind 30 points from Brandon Miller in his homecoming game in the Nashville area. Alabama (16-2, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) remained undefeated in conference play and atop the SEC standings. 

Alabama built up to a 23-point lead in the second half, but just like the two matchups between the teams last season, the Commodores didn't go away quietly. Vanderbilt (9-9, 2-3 SEC) cut the deficit to single digits with 2:07 to go. But the Crimson Tide stepped up at the free throw line to close out the game, making its final eight shots from the line over the final 41 seconds. 

Despite the heaviness coming into the game, Alabama came out of the gates hot, but when the second team came in after the first media timeout, the defense lightened up and allowed Vanderbilt to take the lead at 22-21 with 8:06 in the first half, which head coach Nate Oats was not pleased with after the game. However, that would be the last lead the Commodores had in the game. 

Check out the video above as Blake Byler and Austin Hannon provide their thoughts and takeaways from Memorial Gymnasium. 

See also:

Miller, No. 4 Alabama Win Ugly at Vanderbilt

A Hero’s Homecoming: Brandon Miller Shines in his Return to the Music City

Alabama Basketball's Feelings After Vanderbilt Win: Relief