Alabama Basketball Dominates C.M. Newton Classic Against Liberty

The Crimson Tide returned from its holiday break with a big C.M. Newton Classic win in Birmingham.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— The Alabama men’s basketball team returned from its holiday break with its offensive form well intact. Not long removed from its brutal three-game stretch against top teams and a win against Eastern Kentucky after that, the Crimson Tide got back to business in Birmingham and handily defeated the Liberty Flames 101-56. One of the most prolific scoring units in basketball hit the century mark for the second consecutive game. It was head coach Nate Oats' 100th win at the helm, making him the fastest coach to get there in program history.

The perimeter was the name of the game. In the first half alone, nine of Alabama’s 16 made field goals were three-pointers. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. hit four of them in his best game to date. The Flames (10-4) had little answer. Early attempts to facilitate an outside presence through moving and sharing the basketball were no match for a 50% success rate from beyond the arc. It was 67% at the conclusion of the opening 20 minutes.

Offense, of course, has not been among the problems faced by the Crimson Tide this season. However, the team put this fact on display as a reminder to a Birmingham crowd which strongly leaned crimson: They can score. Alabama (8-5) played hard on defense, allowing 56 Flames points seven days after limiting Eastern Kentucky to 67 points.

It was a much-needed win in general, but perhaps the Crimson Tide will feel even better about this result given its past struggles playing inside Legacy Arena. In its final nonconference game, Alabama shook off those problems en route to decimating a 10-win team and playing well in multiple phases. Conference play is up next, starting with Vanderbilt on Jan. 6.

How It Happened:

Second Half:

• The game ends at 2:49 p.m. CT with a final score of 101-56. Alabama handily wins.

• Final media timeout of the game with 3:09 to go. Alabama is winning 96-53. Sam Walters thought he was just fouled on a ball that went out of bounds, giving the crowd something to yell about.

• At the media timeout, Alabama is up 34 with 7:38 to play. The Crimson Tide has 82 points.

• Mark Sears is up to three personal fouls.

• Media timeout with 11:07 to go in the game. Alabama leads 67-41, but both teams are still playing hard. Alabama's defensive effort has been noteworthy, though fouls are still being assessed.

• The Crimson Tide has pushed the lead back to 20.

• The second half gets underway shortly after 2 p.m. CT, and the first points go to Estrada.

First Half:

• Halftime arrives at 1:46 p.m. CT with Alabama handily leading, 48-27. The Crimson Tide picked up some late fouls to end the half.

• Media timeout with 3:22 left in the half and the Crimson Tide up by 17 points.

• Another Alabama three-pointer in the half forces a Liberty timeout. Flames are now down 14. The offensive output is becoming overwhelming: Alabama is at 67% from long range.

• Another media timeout. Alabama is up to 63% from three-point land, compared to just 22% for the flames. That has contributed heavily to the 24-16 Crimson Tide lead with 7:42 left in the first half.

• At the under-12 timeout, the Crimson Tide now leads 18-9. 10:13 to go in the first half. Things are starting to come together offensively.

• The triples are falling for Alabama, and Liberty has done everything well except finish.

• The main thing Liberty has done well so far is share the basketball. This has caused defensive difficulties for Alabama and opened up more avenues for the Flames' possessions.

• The first media timeout comes at exactly the 16:00 mark. Alabama leads 5-3. Liberty is doing some nice things on the interior, trying to work in scoring chances from beyond the arc with this approach.

• The crowd is filling out, and just went wild on a Flames turnover.

• The first points of the game go to Aaron Estrada on a triple.

• Tipoff at 1:01 p.m. CT, and the game is underway.

Pregame:

• Alabama's starters: Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Rylan Griffen, Mo Wague, Aaron Estrada

• Alabama has returned to the floor for warmups.

• Liberty has returned to the floor with the countdown clock showing approximately 36 minutes.

• Tipoff is in less than one hour. The Flames just vacated the floor after a warmup period, while the Crimson Tide just took to the locker room a few moments before that.

See Also:

How Kevin Steele Returned the Alabama Defense to the Saban Standard in Short Time