BamaCentral Courtside: Alabama 101, Liberty 56

Will Miller, Joe Gaither and Edwin Stanton broke down the Crimson Tide's win over Liberty in its final game on the 2023 calendar.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— It was a successful return to action for the Alabama men's basketball team, which dismantled Liberty in the C.M. Newton Classic to the tune of a 101-56 final score. 

Head coach Nate Oats still sees his team as an offensive squad, with strides needing to be made on defense. In spite of this, the Crimson Tide (8-5) has now held back-to-back opponents to fewer than 70 points. A number of players showed out Saturday, including Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Aaron Estrada.

Wrightsell had 19 points and hit five three-pointers. Estrada came close to a triple-double, and Oats said he'd like to draw up some things differently so Estrada can get over that hump in the future. As a unit, the Crimson Tide shot 50% from long range (67% in the first half).

Despite an incredibly difficult schedule up to this point, Alabama appears in good shape heading into SEC play, which commences on Jan. 6 against Vanderbilt. Oats' emphasis was on getting quality wins, and the Flames entered Legacy Arena on Saturday with 10 victories to their name. 

There's some added pressure that comes with being the reigning SEC champion, which Alabama is for the second time in three seasons. Adding to that is the fact that in both such seasons, the Crimson Tide won both the regular season and the conference tournament. Whether any team in one of college basketball's best leagues is flawed or not, that point on the calendar where they almost exclusively play each other looms.

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