No. 15 Alabama Basketball Blows Out Texas A&M to Stretch SEC Home Win Streak

Nate Oats got his first regular season win over the Aggies on Saturday.

The No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team kept its strong season going on Saturday by defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 100-75.

The Crimson Tide utilized its signature 3-point shooting to run the Aggies out of Coleman Coliseum. Alabama scored 54 of its 100 points from beyond the arc and extended its SEC home winning-streak to 15 games.

Saturday’s effort marks Alabama head coach Nate Oats’s first regular season win over the Texas A&M Aggies moving his record to 2-3 now against their conference rival.

More importantly, the Tide maintains its position on top of the Southeastern Conference standings with just six games remaining.

The Crimson Tide’s four guard starting lineup was too overwhelming on Saturday as all four found themselves in double-figures.

Mark Sears and Rylan Griffen did the driving in the first half, scoring16 and 11 respectively, while Latrell Wrightsell and Aaron Estrada handled the second half, scoring 16 and seven each.

Alabama returns to Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday as they host the Florida Gators at 6 p.m.

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The No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide basketball looks to keep its strong season going on Saturday morning when hosting the Texas A&M Aggies. 

Alabama head coach Nate Oats has a 1-3 record against the Aggies during his time in Tuscaloosa with his only win coming in last season's SEC Tournament Championship game in Nashville. 

The Aggies enter Saturday's matchup after losing a midweek matchup with against the Vanderbilt Commodores but still have enough talent to challenge the Tide. Head Coach Buzz Williams has two top-10 wins this season in conference play after knocking off Kentucky and Tennessee at home.

Alabama will want to pay special attention to Andersson Garcia as he's the conference's leading rebounder. The Aggies lead the conference in offensive rebounding and are fourth in the league in free throws attempted meaning the Tide will need all hands on deck to clear the glass. 

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Second Half: 

• FINAL: Alabama 100, Texas A&M 75
• :57 - Max Scharnowski and Kai Spears check in as this game is about done with. 
• 1:29 - Wrightsell with back-to-back 3-point makes and the Tide is at 97. The Coleman Crowd wants the century mark. 
• 2:42 - Sam Walters makes a 3-point shot to give Alabama 91. Can the Tide put up its 10th SEC game with 100 points in the Nate Oats era?
• 3:55 - MEDIA TIMEOUT: Alabama leads 88-69. It's been such a strange game, and I'm not sure if Alabama is really playing well, or if they're just that much more talented than the Aggies. 
• Texas A&M is shooting just under 40 percent from the floor and only 15 percent from the 3-point line. 
• 5:00 - Sears gets himself an offensive rebound and scores. He's now matched his scoring average and is up to 23 points. 
• 5:49 - Mark Sears scores his first points of the second half and this one is all over but the crying. 
• 6:04 - The official are reviewing the previous play to see about a "Hook and hold" call. The review stands as a flagrant foul. 
• 7:22 - Despite the dominant lead, Alabama is finding itself in a little bit of foul trouble. Jarin Stevenson has 4 fouls, while Nick Pringle and Latrell Wrightsell each have 3. Alabama still leads 76-60. 
• 8:21 - This game is so wild because Alabama has been in firm control for a while but Texas A&M is whipping the Tide on the glass 41-25. 
• 8:53 - Wrightsell makes a 3-point basket and the Tide extends its lead to 21 points. 
• 9:40 - Nick Pringle, coming off his best game in an Alabama uniform, just went 1-2 from the free-throw line. He's played 14 minutes and scored 3 points, with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and a block. 
• 10:46 - Wrightsell makes a deep-two point shot and extends its lead to 17-points. Alabama 67-50. 
• 12:00 - Latrell Wrightsell finally gets himself on the board making a shot from the paint. The intensity of the game has sort of dissipated a bit. Alabama 62-49.
• 14:00 - Aaron Estrada's strong second half continues. He's up to 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in five minutes of action in the second frame. Alabama 60-47. 
• 15:50 - MEDIA TIMEOUT. Alabama still leads 55-44
• 18:41 - Latrell Wrightsell picks up his third foul early in the half. He hasn't scored and has only had 1 assist and 1 rebound. 
• 19:01 - The Tide picks up where it left off with a 3-point make from Aaron Estrada.

Halftime:

Leading Scorers: 

• Mark Sears (ALA) - 16
• Rylan Griffen (ALA) - 11
• Solomon Washington (TAMU) - 11
• Tierce Radford (TAMU) - 8
• Sam Walters (ALA) - 8

Notable Stats: 

• Alabama has made 8-16 from the 3-point line.
• Texas A&M winning the rebounding stat 22-17, Aggies have a 14-6 edge in offensive rebounding.
• Alabama leading fast break points 13-0. 
• Tide has had assists on 9 of its 18 made baskets. 
• 13 of the Aggies 35 points have come in second chance situations. 

First Half: 

• :28 - Solomon Washington hits the ground hard after making a layup near the end of the half. Washington is up to 11 points and 3 rebounds but limps off the floor. 
• 1:46 - Timeout Aggies. Alabama leads 46-33.
• 2:00 - Stop me if you've heard it - Mark Sears 3-point basket is good. 
• 2:27 - Henry Coleman breaks the Texas A&M scoreless streak. The Aggies went almost four minutes without a field goal. 
• 3:36 - Coleman Coliseum stands to its feet to cheer for Herb Jones and Noah Clowney as both are in attendance. The NBA is currently on its all-star break. 
• 3:36 - MEDIA TIMEOUT: The onslaught continues as Sears hits a 3-point shot, in about a three-minute span the game went from a 4-point spread to a 15-point margin. 
• Alabama 43-28
• Mark Sears - 13
• Sam Walters - 8
• Rylan Griffen - 8
• Solomon Washington (Texas A&M) - 9
• Tierce Radford (Texas A&M) - 8
• 4:02 - The game is teetering as Mark Sears found Grant Nelson for a huge dunk. Coleman is rocking and the Tide has a double-digit lead.
• 4:32 - The Coleman crowd is on its feet after a huge defensive effort. Grant Nelson emphatically swatted away a shot and got Mark Sears out on the break. 
• 5:05 - Sam Walters is arguably having his toughest game offensively. He just converted at the rim through contact after a hard cut. He's up to 8 points of 3-4 shooting. Alabama 36-28. 
• 6:12 - Offensive rebounding is keeping Texas A&M within range. Henry Coleman pulls down an offensive board and scores on a second-chance opportunity. Aggies have outrebounded the Tide 15-10 with a 9-5 advantage on the offensive end. Alabama leads 32-28. 
• 7:30 - MEDIA TIMEOUT. Alabama 31-23. Mark Sears just got into the lane and converted at the rim. He's going to come back to a free-throw after the break, but he has 7 points and 2 assists so far.  
• 9:40 - Alabama still shooting 50 percent from deep. An absurd mark as five different Crimson Tide players have hit from 3-point range. 
• 11:38 - Rylan Griffen hits his first 3-point shot and Alabama is now shooting 50 percent from deep. 
• 11:53 - MEDIA TIMEOUT. Alabama 21-12. Sam Walters leading all scorers with 6. The Crimson Tide is 4-9 from beyond the arc. 
• 12:52 - Texas A&M has done some interesting things so far defensively. They just showed Alabama a little pressure in a a 3/4-court press, but Sears broke it easily and ultimately found Walters for another 3-point shot. 
• 13:34 - Jarin Stevenson stays hot and makes his first 3-point shot. Alabama is 7-12 from the field so far. Alabama 18-8.
• 13:54 - Mark Sears makes his first 3-point shot and Coleman Coliseum goes crazy. The home crowd loves him. 
• 14:16 - Walters stays aggressive and gets to the rim for a layup and-one. Maybe the most aggressive he's been all season? Alabama 12-8.
• 14:57 - Sam Walters misses his first 3-point attempt. 
• 15:54 - MEDIA TIMEOUT. Alabama leads 9-6 through the first four minutes, but is just 1-4 from deep. The Crimson Tide has forced four turnovers, but hasn't secured a single rebound yet. 
• 16:40 - Estrada makes another layup and he's up to 4-points. Alabama 7-6. 
• 17:00 - Grant Nelson makes the Tide's first 3-point basket and Alabama takes a 5-3 lead. 
• 18:29 - Alabama's missed its first two 3-point shots, but Aaron Estrada gets the Tide on the board with a layup. Aggies 3-2.
• 19:40 - Grant Nelson blocks Andersson Garcia on the Aggie's first possession. A good start defensively. 
• 20:00 - Nick Saban is in the house with Miss Terry. Let's have a Saturday.

Pregame: 

On the CTSN pregame show, Nate Oats said yesterday he had Nick Saban come talk to the team.

— Blake Byler (@blakebyler45) February 17, 2024

Texas A&M Starters:

• Wade Taylor IV
• Tierce Radford
• Jace Carter
• Solomon Washington
• Andersson Garcia 

Alabama Starters: 

• Mark Sears
• Aaron Estrada
• Latrell Wrightsell
• Rylan Griffen
• Grant Nelson

Today's officials:

• Lead official - Doug Shows
• Umpire - Rob Rock
• KenPom does not have a Rob Rock in their system, however Rob Rorke is listed. Perhaps there's been a mixup this morning. 
• Umpire - Owen Shortt

Notes You Need To Know:

• Since head coach arrived at Alabama in 2019-20, the Crimson Tide has won a league-best 58 SEC contests
• Alabama has won 14-straight SEC home games at Coleman Coliseum, the longest winning streak since 1988
• Alabama has scored 100 points in nine SEC games during Oats' tenure. The rest of the league has a combined 10 100-point games during that span.
• Over the last five seasons, the Crimson Tide has posted nine games converting 18 or more three-pointers in a game, the rest of the SEC has a combined four games during that span
• According to KenPom, ranks No. 6 in the National Player of the Year standings
• Sears is one of four Division I players and the only Power 5 player that has 465 points, 95 rebounds, 90 assists and 50 three-pointers this season
• Sears has recorded 20-points or more in 15 games this season, surpassing (2022-23) and Retin Obasohan's (2015-16) 14 games and is the most since Collin Sexton in 2017-18 (16 games)
• Sears ranks No. 1 in the SEC in scoring (20.5 ppg), No. 6 in field goal percentage (51.3) and No. 8 in assists (3.9 apg)
• Sears (21.8 ppg) is one of four SEC players (Tennessee's Dalton Knecht, 26.4 ppg, Texas A&M's Wade Taylor IV, 22.5 ppg and Kentucky's Antonio Reeves, 20.1 ppg) that is averaging over 20 points per game during conference play
• The Crimson Tide owns the No. 1 scoring offense in the country (90.3 ppg) and the No. 1-ranked offense, according to KenPom
• Alabama is one of three schools (Purdue and Wright State) in the country that has two players on its current roster that has scored at least 1,700 points throughout their career in Sears (1,845 points) and Estrada (1,783 points)

About Texas A&M

• Wade Taylor IV is scoring 19.8 ppg during the season, the third-most in the SEC and 22.5 ppg during SEC play, which ranks No. 2
• Taylor IV (476 points) and Tyrece Radford (287 points) have accounted for 42.9 percent of the Aggies scoring this season (1,780 points)
• Against AP Top-25 opponents this season Taylor is averaging 26.6 points per contest
• Taylor is the only DI player with three 30-point games vs ranked teams in 2023-24
• Andersson Garcia leads the SEC in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and ranks No. 42 in Division I
• Garcia is grabbing 4.2 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks No. 2 in the country
• Garcia has totaled 39 rebounds the last three games (13.0 rpg)
• The Aggies have connected on better than 40.0 percent from the field in four straight games for the first time this season
• Texas A&M leads the SEC in fewest turnovers for the overall season (9.7) and SEC play (9.5)
• Texas A&M has played in 11 games this season that have been tied or a one-possession game after the under 4:00 media timeout

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