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Alabama basketball ties for most wins vs. ranked opponents in the country with upset of No. 4 Baylor
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Alabama basketball has recovered from a disappointing loss to Georgia with a huge upset of No. 4 Baylor.
On Saturday, the Crimson Tide welcomed the Bears to Tuscaloosa as a part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Alabama built a 15-point lead in the second half before Baylor woke up and mounted a comeback. Fortunately, the Tide had an answer for every Bear run and capped off an 87-78 upset.
In the win, Alabama shot 59% from the floor. Jahvon Quinerly led all scorers with a game-high 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting to go with 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. 5 Tide players scored in double figures, including Juwan Gary and JD Davison hitting double figures off the bench.
The upset of the Bears perfectly encapsulates what has been a hot-and-cold team for head coach Nate Oats this season. The upset gives Alabama its 5th win over a ranked opponent, tied with Marquette for the most in the country. It also snapped a 36-game non-conference winning streak for Baylor.
Alabama is also now tied for the second-most Quadrant-1 wins in the country. Unfortunately, Alabama is also the only team in the top-30 of the NET rankings with multiple Quadrant-3 losses.
.@AlabamaMBB now has 5 wins vs ranked opponents this season, tied with Marquette for most in the nation.
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) January 29, 2022
.@AlabamaMBB snaps Baylor’s 36 game win streak vs non-conference opponents.
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) January 29, 2022
Alabama is now tied for the second-most Quadrant 1 wins in the country. Alabama is also the only top-30 team in the NET with two Quadrant 3 losses.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) January 29, 2022
Trying to determine the end result for this year’s Alabama squad is likely futile, but the Crimson Tide have shown their ceiling is as high as any team in the country.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.