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Alabama and Oklahoma met in the first game of SEC action on Saturday, and this one was all about Nate Oats’ Tide. After building a 19-point lead at halftime, Alabama never slowed down in a resounding rout of the Sooners to open conference play.
In the 2nd half, Oklahoma was never able to make a serious dent in the deficit. It finally led to a 107-79 final score with Alabama opening the SEC slate with a clear statement at home.
The key stat in this one boiled down to rebounding with Alabama outrebounding Oklahoma 51-to-26. In fact, the Tide nearly had as many offensive rebounds (22) as Oklahoma had total rebounds.
That work on the glass allowed Oats’ group to lead 2nd-chance points 25-to-4. Grant Nelson was Alabama’s leading rebounder with 12 points and 11 rebounds for his double-double.
The other key stat for Alabama came in points off the bench. The Crimson Tide had 38 points from the bench compared to just 5 points off the bench for the Sooners.
Mark Sears was Alabama’s leading scorer with 22 points, but Aden Holloway (10) and Derrion Reid (11) both reached double-digits off the bench. Chris Youngblood also added 9 off the bench.
Forward Jalon Moore was one of the bright spots for the Sooners. He led the team with 20 points and 7 rebounds, including hitting both of his attempts from 3-point range. Jeremiah Fears and Kobe Elvis combined for 29 points but also combined to shoot just 2-for-12 from 3-point range.
It is just the start of SEC action, but Alabama opens with a bang after Oklahoma entered Coleman Coliseum with the No. 12 ranking in the country. The 5th-ranked Tide improved to 12-2 on the season while the Sooners take their first loss of the year at 13-1.
From here, Alabama will hit back-to-back road games with a midweek trip to South Carolina followed by a next Saturday night primetime game vs. Texas A&M. The Tide are in a streak where 4 of 5 games will come against ranked opponents in the stacked SEC.
Oklahoma will return home for a midweek game against Texas A&M before heading back on the road to face Georgia next Saturday.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
