Alabama Basketball’s Home Winning Streak Snapped in 85-77 Loss to Clemson

The Tigers ended Alabama’s 19-game streak inside Coleman Coliseum.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Coleman Coliseum has been one of the best home-court advantages in college basketball over the last three seasons. The late tip Tuesday night may have kept some fans at home, and the effort from the Crimson Tide didn’t give the fans in attendance a lot to cheer about.

In the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, the Clemson Tigers came into Coleman Coliseum and beat No. 23 Alabama 85-77.

It was the first home loss for Alabama since March 2022 and first non-conference home loss since Dec. 2020 against Western Kentucky.

"Disappointing home loss with a great crowd," Alabama head coach NAte Oats said after the game. 

Alabama struggled from the floor all night. Offense has been the Tide’s strength this season, but against the Tigers, Alabama shot just 34 percent from the floor. The previous season low was 46 percent in the loss against Ohio State.

After shooting just 4 for 18 from beyond the arc in the first half, Alabama made its first five 3-point shots out of the break. But as the offense started to pick up, the defense started to drop off. Clemson had an answer for every big Alabama shot.

When Alabama jumped out to its largest lead at 53-46 with 12:52 left in the second half, Clemson head coach Brad Bownell called a timeout. It killed the momentum of the Crimson Tide team and crowd. The Tigers responded with a 13-0 run and never looked back.

"They call a timeout, and then we don't have enough defensive pride to get stops," Oats said. "Out of that timeout, I think they went on a 13-0 run, 16-2 run. We've got to get some defensive pride about us."

Alabama did cut the deficit to three points around the 8-minute mark, but by the next media timeout, Clemson was already back up by 10. 

Mark Sears led Alabama with 23 points and was often the only player who could get anything going on offense, especially in the second half. Sears, Aaron Estrada and Grant Nelson combined for 45 of Alabama’s 67 field goal attempts while theater players appeared to be content to watch.

The Crimson Tide (5-2) has now dropped two of its last three games. Alabama will host Arkansas State Monday at 7 p.m.

How it happened...

(most recent updates at the top)

FINAL: Clemson 85, Alabama 77

Second Half

• 0:34- Clemson 81, Alabama 76

• 1:47- Nelson misses an open 3 that could've cut the deficit to four. Instead Clemson scores on the other end to make it 81-72. 

• 2:34- Clemson 79, Alabama 72 at the final media timeout

• 3:02- Alabama scored four points out of the timeout to cut the deficit to six, but Chase Hunter answers with another 3-pointer to put the Tigers back up 79-70

• 4:37- Another 3-pointer for Clemson, this one from Chase Hunter, puts the Tigers up double digits, 76-66

• Clemson is 6-of-9 from beyond the arc in the second half with Girard III hitting 4-of-6 shots. His latest puts Clemson up 73-66

• 5:28- PJ Hall picks up his fourth foul for Clemson. Grant Nelson hits both free throws to cut the Clemson lead to 70-66

• 7:10- Clemson 68, Alabama 63 at the third media timeout
• Every time Alabama tries to build momentum, Clemson has an answer. Tigers head coach Brad Brownell has been very strategic and effective with his timeout usage. 
• 8:44- Estrada hits a 3-pointer to bring Alabama back within three points of Clemson

• Girard III hits his third 3 of the half for the Tigers to push their lead to 62-55

• 10:03- Wrightsell free throws end the Clemson scoring run and cut the deficit to 59-55

• 10:07- Clemson is on a 13-0 run and now leads 59-53

• And just like that, Alabama's seven-point lead is gone. 53-53 with just over 11 minutes left

• 11:28- Alabama 53, Clemson 51 at the second media timeout

• Clemson goes on a 5-0 run out of the timeout to cut the Alabama lead to 53-51

• 12:46- Sears is really feeling himself now with that heat check. His deep 3-pointer puts Alabama up 53-46. That wakes up the Coleman crowd, and Clemson calls timeout. Largest lead of the game for the Crimson Tide. 

COLEMAN IS ROCKIN 🔥

📺: https://t.co/rlhYjINktj#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/PcA2dWWfn8

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 29, 2023

• 13:27- Alabama has now made as many 3-pointers in the second half as it did the entire first half with the latest from Latrell Wrightsell there.

• 14:39- Sears is heating up in the second half. His second 3-pointer puts Alabama up 47-44

• 15:10- Alabama can't cleanly rebound a missed Clemson free throw, and it turns into a four-point possession for the Tigers to tie the game up at 44-44. 

• 15:56- Alabama 42, Clemson 40 at the first media timeout
• Grant Nelson will be shooting two free throws coming out of the break. He's missed his first four shots from the floor in the second half. 
• Alabama has made two of its first three 3-pointers this half
• 18:18- Clemson's leading scorer PJ Hall picks up his third foul

• 18:33- Nelson draws two defenders in the paint and then kicks out to an open Sears, who nails the 3-pointer. Alabama leads 40-35

• 19:00- Estrada lays one in to push the Alabama lead to 37-33

• Rylan Griffen hits a 3-pointer to open the second half. Alabama leads 35-33

• Alabama has the possession arrow to start the second half. 

Halftime Notes- Clemson 33, Alabama 32

Halftime Stats / Statbroadcast

• Mark Sears and Aaron Estrada lead Alabama with 9 points apiece
• PJ Hall leads the Tigers with 8 points
• Alabama had just one turnover in the first half. 
• The Crimson Tide was called with just 4 fouls in the first half. 
• Alabama shot 28% from the floor and 22% from 3.

First Half

• HALFTIME: Clemson 33, Alabama 32

• Clemson has made some really tough shots tonight. A nice layup from Beadle cuts it to 32-31

• 0:58- Alabama 31, Clemson 29

• Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Bond, who had the game-winning catch in the Iron Bowl, is sitting courtside in Coleman Coliseum tonight. 

• 3:17- Alabama retakes the lead on Mark Sears' free throws, 27-25 Crimson Tide

• 3:49- Alabama 25, Clemson 25 at the final media timeout
• The Crimson Tide has had the opportunity to take its first lead since the opening minutes on the last few possessions, but hasn't been able to finish at the rim
• Clemson in the midst of a 4:28 scoring drought

• 5:19- Sears ties it up 25-25 on a 3-pointer. 8-0 run for Alabama, timeout Clemson as the Coleman Coliseum crowd starts getting back in it

• 6:30- Nelson hits his first 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 25-22. The basket comes after a great effort from Griffen on the defensive end. 

• Wague makes both free throws out of the timeout for Alabama to cut the Tiger lead to 25-19

• 7:56- Clemson 25, Alabama 17 at the third media timeout
• Alabama is still struggling from the floor with Estrada carrying the offense so far. 
• Meanwhile, Clemson has made its last four shots from the floor to build its largest lead of the game. 
• Freshman forward Jarin Stevenson has been getting bullied inside on defense on the last few possessions by Clemson's Ian Schieffelin. 
• Hall's second 3-pointer of the night pushes Clemson's lead to 21-14

• 9:36- Estrada gets to the basket for an easy layup that ends Alabama's scoring drought, cuts the Clemson lead to 18-14

• Alabama has made just 1 of its last 9 shots from the floor. 

• 10:02- Clemson 18, Alabama 12

• 11:52- Clemson 14, Alabama 12 at the second media timeout
• Alabama is off to a rough start shooting, 5-of-17 overall, and 1-10 from 3
• The officials are letting them play so far. Only three total personal fouls called through the first eight minutes

• 12:46- Walters finally hits Alabama's first 3-pointer after the Tide started 0 for 9. It cuts the Clemson lead to 12-11
• Sam Walters, Jarin Stevenson and Latrell Wrightsell come in off the bench for the Tide out of the timeout

• 15:09- Clemson 9, Alabama 8 at the first media timeout. 
• PJ Hall has five of Clemson's first nine points. 
• Alabama has started 0 for 4 from behind the arc

• 16:18- Hall hits a 3-pointer to extend the Clemson lead to 9-4.

• 18:08- Alabama takes its first lead, 4-2, on a floater from Aaron Estrada

• 19:27- In his first start, Wague answers on the other end, 2-2

• 19:35- Hall makes his presence felt right away, scoring on Clemson's opening possession, 2-0 Tigers
• Clemson wins the opening tip, and this game is underway. 

Pregame

• With the Kentucky game going a little long on ESPN, the Alabama tip is slightly delayed. 
• Starting lineups:

Alabama vs. Clemson Starting lineups / Statbroadcast

• Five minutes until tipoff, it's a pretty slim crowd in Coleman Coliseum, probably largely due to the late tip time. The middle sections are fairly filled, but the corners are pretty empty. The student section, however, is almost full.
• According to Nate Oats on the CTSN pregame radio interview, Mohamed Wague will be getting his first start in an Alabama uniform tonight. 

• Tonight's officials: Joe Lindsay, Don Daily and Steven Anderson