COLOMBIA, Mo. – Lots of people thought the Missouri Tigers would be the team to finally take
down Alabama in SEC play. They could not have been more wrong, as the Tide went into
Colombia and torched the Tigers in a big 21 point win.
Defeating the Tigers is no easy feat, as Missouri has some impressive wins this season over
Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas. The Tigers had also lost just one game at home this season (to
Kansas) going into their matchup versus the Tide on Saturday night.
“We knew this was a tough road game, sellout… We were fortunate they couldn’t make a three
tonight, but I thought (Missouri) didn’t quit,” Coach Oats said following the win.
The crowd stayed active all game and so did the Tigers. Missouri fought back when down,
giving Tide fans a couple of scares throughout the second half, but ultimately Alabama made the
big shots that Missouri just couldn’t.
The Crimson Tide once again opened the game on a nice scoring run, with Brandon Miller
making a couple of highlight plays early. Noah Clowney stayed active on the boards, grabbing
14 in the game and scoring multiple second chance points to help the Tide get out to an early
lead.
However, the most impressive performance might have come from the transfer guard out of
Ohio, Mark Sears. Sears didn’t have the best night shooting, but finished with 17 points, eight
rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sears seemed to be in every passing lane and was always
the first to loose balls.
“I thought (Sears) was tough. He didn’t shoot it particularly well tonight, but he still played hard.
He was +35 when he was in,” Coach Oats said, praising his star guard.
The second half was a real showing of the Crimson Tide’s elite bench depth. Jahvon Quinerly
scored 13 off the bench to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard, Rylan
Griffen, also showed out, scoring nine off the bench. Quinerly and Griffen combined for six
made threes, helping the Tide maintain their large lead and cruise to a victory.
Nimari Burnett also suited up for the Tide tonight for the first time since his wrist injury in
mid-December. Burnett played limited minutes on Saturday night, finishing with two rebounds.
Burnett averaged around eight points per game before his injury and provides great on-ball
defense for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama improves to a record of 17-2 after the win and a perfect 7-0 record against SEC
opponents. It’s worth noting that the Tide have won all seven of their SEC matchups by double
digits.
Alabama will be back in action on Wednesday, returning home for the first time in over a week
to take on Mississippi State.
