BamaCentral Courtside: Alabama 83, Creighton 75

The Crimson Tide took down the Bluejays in its first home game in over a month.

Dec 14, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon (0) shoots for the basket against Creighton Bluejays guard Steven Ashworth (1) during the second half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images / Will McLelland-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No. 7 Alabama men's basketball took down Creighton 83-75 on Saturday night in the Crimson Tide's first home game in over a month.

Alabama couldn't have started much stronger as it took a 17-point lead in the first half against a team that received votes in the latest AP Poll. However, although the Crimson Tide never gave up the lead, they rarely circled around the 17-point differential as Creighton continued to fight back.

Offensively, Alabama as a whole struggled from the three-point line as the Crimson Tide went 6-of-30. But that wasn't the case for Preseason All-American point guard Mark Sears, who turned in his best game of the season after shooting 8-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc, plus a 7-of-8 clip from the free-throw line. Sears also won tonight's Hard Hat after tallying the most blue-collar points.

The Crimson Tide's defensive game plan was made very clear early in the game: attack Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner at all costs when he has the ball in his hands. Although the 7-foot-1 star finished with 18 points on an efficient 8-of-13 from the field, Alabama bigs Clifford Omoruyi, Aiden Sherrell and Grant Nelson did a nice job of forcing Kalkbrenner to take tough shots or pass up the ball fairly often in his 36 minutes on the floor.

Alabama returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 18 as they'll travel to North Dakota to take on the Fighting Hawks in forward Grant Nelson's backyard at 8 p.m. CT.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral writers Joe Gaither and Hunter De Siver share their final thoughts and takeaways after the Crimson Tide's victory over Creighton in the first game back in Coleman Coliseum in over a month.