TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 5 Alabama tipped off conference play the right way Saturday night with a 107-79 win over undefeated No. 12 Oklahoma.

It was a 14-3 run with five minutes before half that created a 18-point separation between the Crimson Tide and the Sooners. After taking a 19-point lead into half, Alabama kept its foot on the gas and rolled its way to a 28-point victory and handed Oklahoma their first loss of the season.

The big story of the night was Alabama’s rebounding ability. The Crimson Tide dominated on the glass, out rebounding the Sooners 51-26 and 22-8 on the offensive end. The Crimson Tide offensive rebounding effort led to 25 second chance points compared to just four second chance points for Oklahoma.

“We got 22 out of the 40 available rebounds and got a 55% offensive rebound rate, and I thought we took advantage of some of their smaller guards on the offensive boards,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said.

Alabama forward Grant Nelson led the team in rebounding with 11 boards to go along with his 12 points to complete his double-double. Nelson also added to his performance on the defensive end with two blocks and two steals in the game.

Overall on the defensive side of things, Alabama held Oklahoma to just 26% from 3-point range on 5-for-19 shooting. The Crimson Tide also blocked six Sooner shot attempts and recorded nine steals on the night as Alabama won the turnover battle.

The Alabama defense also shut down star Oklahoma freshman Jeremiah Fears. While Fears finished the game with 16 points, he did not make a field goal until there were 11 minutes left in the game. Fears came into Saturday night averaging 18.1 points per game on 50% shooting, but the Crimson Tide held Fears to just 5-for-15 from the field.

“From the start of the game, we were locked in on the defensive end. Fears only had one point at the half, so I thought our guys were ready to go on him,” Oats said.

The Alabama offense had no problem sharing the ball as six guys scored in double figures Saturday night. Alabama point guard Mark Sears led the team with a 22-point double-double along with his 10 assists. Sears got to the line early and often, hitting on 11 of his 13 free throw attempts.

Sears talked about how he was able to find his teammates against the Oklahoma defense, “I noticed they were heavy in the gaps and I know we got great shooters, so I wanted to do a good job of finding my teammates and they did a great job of making the right play,” Sears said.

Though it was not the Crimson Tide’s best performance from the 3-point line after it went 9-for-29, Alabama capitalized inside the arc, shooting 61.7% on 2-point field goals. Alabama guard Aden Holloway and forward Derrion Reid provided a spark off the bench, scoring 10 and 11 points, respectively. 

“We are finding other ways to do it. We’re getting to the free throw line, we’re generating shots off offensive boards and we’re getting out in transition, so it’s been pretty good,” Oats said.

Holloway made four of his six shots, including two of his three 3-pointer attempts. Reid drove to the basket throughout the game and earned himself six attempts at the free throw line and made three of them. The Alabama bench was productive all game for the Crimson Tide as Alabama out scored Oklahoma 38-5 in bench points. 

Up next, the Crimson Tide will be on the road for its next two games starting Wednesday as Alabama travels to Columbia, South Carolina and will take on South Carolina. The Crimson Tide and the Gamecocks will tip off at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday.