No. 4 Alabama Doesn’t Have to Rely on Brandon Miller Every Night

The true freshman has been spectacular this season — but the Crimson Tide can win tough games even when he’s not at his best.

Alabama guard Brandon Miller has been highly regarded this season — and for good reason.

The true freshman from Antioch, Tenn. is averaging over 20 points per game and is making a case to win national player of the year at season’s end.

He is single-handedly making Crimson Tide fans across the country believe that this Alabama team could be the first in school history to make the Final Four — and potentially bring home the program’s first national championship.

But the scariest part about this Crimson Tide team? It doesn’t always need Miller to be a superstar. It still beat a good Missouri team on its home floor by 21 points.

“Road games aren’t easy to come by,” head coach Nate Oats said.

For the second time this season, Miller struggled in a big road game for Alabama. The first time, he scored eight points while not making a single field goal in the Crimson Tide’s win over No. 1 Houston on Dec. 10.

In Saturday night’s 85-64 win at Missouri, Miller had 15 points (4-for-12 FG) — but it wasn’t a typical performance for the future NBA lottery pick. He struggled offensively at times — but the rest of the group was there to pick up some of the load that Miller usually carries.

“I think it showed our depth,” Oats said. “We’ve got different guys [stepping] up. […] [Miller] still ends up with 15 points — that's pretty good for most guys. […] We’ve got different guys stepping up on different nights.”

Noah Clowney and Mark Sears had 17 points each — Clowney added 14 rebounds. Jahvon Quinerly came off the bench and had one of his better performances of the season, scoring 13 points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Rylan Griffen knocked down three shots from deep in key moments.

“[Clowney has] played really well for us,” Oats said. “There’s a reason he's playing as many minutes as he’s playing this year.”

Alabama is at its best when Miller is clicking on all cylinders. But even when he’s not, the Crimson Tide is still a very formidable basketball squad.

See Also:

No. 4 Alabama Basketball Downs Missouri on the Road, 85-64