No. 2 Alabama dominated Texas 103-80 on Tuesday to move to 10-1 and keep pace with Auburn for first place in the SEC.

It was a 14-3 run at the end of the first that pulled Alabama away from Texas and gave the Crimson Tide a 18-point lead going into halftime. Alabama kept its foot on the gas throughout the second half, maintaining its lead at 15 points or more for the rest of the game as it captured its seventh consecutive victory. 

The story of the night was Alabama’s 3-point shooting. The Crimson Tide put on its best performance of the season yet from beyond the arc. Alabama made a conference season-high 17 3-pointers, shooting 59% from deep.

Five Crimson Tide players made two or more 3-pointers. Alabama forward Jarin Stevenson led the way making four of his five 3-pointer attempts. Stevenson set a career-high 22 points Tuesday night on 7-for-8 shooting from the field as he added four rebounds to his total.

“Jarin we know can shoot it. He has not shot it this well in a game this year, but he did make five threes to send us to the Final Four last year when we played Clemson in the Elite 8,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said.

Stevenson credited his teammates for his season-best performance.

“My teammates were hitting me well,” Stevenson said. “We call it 42 passes where they hit me in a good shot pocket, I feel like that really helped. I’ve been working, preparing and working on my footwork and I feel like that really helped.”

Alabama guards Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway as well as Alabama forward Mouhammed Dioubate all made three 3-pointers in the game. Philon scored 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, Holloway scored 18 points as he too went 6-for-10 from the field and Dioubate shot a perfect 4-for-4 in the game. Alabama point guard Mark Sears also chipped in 18 points of his own as he shot 5-for-11 during the game.

“You get some good looks and knock them down, it helps the game go the way you want,” Oats said.

Alabama owned Texas in the rebounding category as well. The Crimson Tide finished plus-16 in rebounds as it out rebounded the Longhorns 41-25. Alabama center Clifford Omoruyi led the team with eight rebounds while Philon, Holloway and Alabama forward Grant Nelson all got six rebounds apiece. 

Alabama also flexed its depth throughout the game as the Crimson Tide out scored Texas 49-32 in bench points.

The one area where Alabama struggled once again was the turnover battle. Alabama committed 17 turnovers as the Crimson Tide finished minus-eight in turnovers. Texas took advantage of the Alabama turnovers as they out scored Alabama 26-13 in points off turnovers.

“We had way too many turnovers again, that’s becoming a major issue with us,” Oats said. “Give Texas a lot of credit. They got into us, they were physical with us and they played hard.”

With Alabama’s in-state rival No. 1 Auburn winning on the road at Vanderbilt Tuesday, it sets up not just a SEC showdown, but a college basketball showdown. Auburn and Alabama will go head-to-head Saturday night in Tuscaloosa for the first of two matchups.

Saturday night’s game will be the first ever SEC matchup between a No. 1 and No. 2 ranked team. Both teams go into the game tied for first place in the SEC at 10-1, with the winner getting an inside track to a regular season SEC Championship.

College Gameday will be in Tuscaloosa Saturday morning to preview what could be the game of the year in college basketball. No. 1 Auburn will tip off against No. 2 Alabama at 3 p.m. CT.