TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Crimson Tide returned home after a disappointing midweek loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores on Wednesday night, looking to rebound against the Texas Longhorns in front of its home crowd in Coleman Coliseum.

 

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The Longhorns came out hot for much of the first half, with Tramon Mark still perfect on the night, with 10 minutes left in the first half, with 14 points on 4-4 shooting from the floor, 2-2 from three, and 4-4 from the charity stripe. Mark cooled off significantly, but still ended the first half with 16 of Texas’s 46 points and 5-9 shooting from the floor and 2-4 from three-point range. Alabama had spread the scoring out quite a bit in the first half with a one-point deficit, with Aden Holloway leading the Crimson Tide with nine points. Seven of them came at the charity stripe after a foul that was upgraded to a technical foul. Six players for Alabama had four or more points, and Alabama was playing physical, matching the Longhorns in rebounds. The second half wouldn’t come easy for the Tide.

 

The rebounding difference again contributed to the Crimson Tide’s Saturday night loss to Texas. In the non-conference portion of the schedule, Alabama lost three games: Gonzaga, Purdue, and Arizona. Alabama was out-rebounded, on average, 50.7 to 32 in those games. On Saturday night against Texas, Alabama was out-rebounded 47-38.

 

A major problem was a revolving door defensively, allowing Texas to score 1.314 points per possession. Alabama’s only consistency on Saturday was its inconsistency on defense, allowing the Longhorns to shoot 42% from three-point range and 45% from the floor. At one point, Texas was shooting over 50% from three deep into the second half. Another issue was the Tide’s free-throw shooting, which could have pushed Alabama over the Longhorns and given the Tide a lead several times if Alabama could have made its free throws. The Tide finished

 

The Tide tried to roar back, and Coleman Coliseum was ready to explode in support of its team, with Amari Allen, Aden Holloway, and Labaron Philon hitting multiple shots to cut the deficit to one. But Texas kept hitting shots to stop Alabama’s swelling momentum and did just enough to shut down the Tide defensively. The Tide’s late-game shooting surge wasn’t enough, as the Tide fell to Texas 90-88.

 

Alabama falls to 11-5 on the season, and 1-2 in SEC play. The Tide’s next game will come on Tuesday, January 13, against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Mississippi.

 

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men’s basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.

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