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For the first time in 19 years, Alabama men’s basketball will end the regular season atop the SEC.
Coach Nate Oats’ two-year turnaround from the tide came to a head on Saturday night when Alabama defeated Mississippi State, 64-59, to win the eighth regular-season conference title of the school and the first since 2002.
The feat secures the No.1 seed at the SEC tournament next month in Nashville, where Alabama has a shot at winning their first tournament championship since 1991.
“Really proud of our guys,” Oats said. “It’s not easy to win an SEC championship. I thought our kids were playing really hard – the hardest we’ve played in a long time.
Alabama won the right to cut the net at Humphrey Arena in Starkville by preventing a Mississippi State playoff run. The Bulldogs were trailing 13 at halftime, but Alabama never increased that lead, and the margin was reduced to one possession in the dying minutes.
“The offense has not been easy,” Oats said. “Give the state of Mississippi a lot of credit. They made it hard to score on [them]. They hung on and made it a close match. Our kids, to bounce the ball like we did and play as hard as we did with the kids diving on the ground for loose balls and taking the loads – I thought our defensive effort was the best we did. have had for a long time.
Alabama’s 32 percent shots and 64 points were both lowers for a win this season.
“A lot of the guys didn’t play very well personally on offense tonight, and nobody really cared,” Oats said. “They all wanted to win. All about their teammates and celebrate with their teammates. “
Junior forward James Rojas sank a three-pointer from the corner with 43 seconds left, with the basket – only second for Alabama in the final nine minutes – giving the Tide a six-point lead and wiggle room.
Oats arrived at his ‘drenched’ post-game video press conference after a celebration in the locker room.
“I got there and they threw a bunch of water at me,” he said. “They were already partying before we left the ground. They were excited about it. They knew what was at stake. We didn’t talk about it – we were just focused on the game – but they did.
“They [were] dance and enjoy it. This is big. It doesn’t happen very often.
Jahvon Quinerly was Alabama’s offensive engine, leading with 19 points on 3 of 5 three-pointers. The sophomore has made 20 of 33 three-point attempts in the past seven games.
“I thought Quinerly was awesome,” Oats said. “His pace was excellent. It’s the best I think I’ve seen him play. I think part of it was that he took a charge to go to the ground for a loose ball. It has deflections. He was playing harder. When your effort is so hard on defense, his speed and skill level goes down – he has a lot to deal with in transition. We want to play fast and he pushes the ball hard.
Senior Herb Jones added 14 rebounds, the second-biggest of his four-year college career. Jones joined his senior colleagues John Petty and Alex Reese to finally celebrate a conference championship after the four players stayed at Tuscaloosa through a change of coach.
“You think of those old people from the state of Alabama,” Oats said. “Coming to the University of Alabama is like a dream come true for kids who grew up in Alabama, now to win an SEC championship their senior year – you see everyone, how good they are. are excited to see this program put in the right direction.
“You look at these three guys who are here all the time. They could easily have kept it in one direction. They wanted to change. They wanted to change the story about Alabama basketball. They wanted to change how people thought about basketball in Alabama. And they did.
Jones, Petty and Reese were part of a highly ranked recruiting class in 2017 that also included Collin Sexton, who became the 8th pick in the NBA Draft.
“We’ve been through a lot here here, and we’ve been able to figure it out,” Petty said. “We are seeing our results. I think it shows a lot about our character, our drive and our dedication.
Mississippi State’s 59 points were tied as Alabama’s lowest allowed in SEC play this season. The Bulldogs shot 1-for-12 with three points and 58 percent on free throws, while being passed by Alabama, 45-40.
Alabama improved to 14-2 in SEC play with Saturday’s victory, putting the conference title out of reach for Arkansas. The Razorbacks, after preventing the Tide from clinching Wednesday night, improved to 11-4 with their ninth consecutive league win on Saturday.
“We went to Arkansas and we weren’t on our own,” Petty said. “We went back to training and looked at ourselves in the mirror and said, ‘Who are we? How did we get here? What did we do to get here? So I feel like tonight we started playing hard on the defense again – the little things like loose balls, diving to the ground and stuff like that.
Alabama, ranked No.6 in the Associated Press poll, and No.20 Arkansas have shaken the lead in the conference standings this season. In a traditionally Kentucky-dominated league, the Tide took advantage of a year of decline for the Wildcats by beating them twice while sweeping LSU and knocking out Tennessee and Florida.
Alabama’s victory preserved a chance to tie their 16-2 league program record of the 1986-87 season. The Tide hosts Auburn Tuesday night before playing next Saturday in Georgia.
Alabama is the first SEC school since Florida in 2006-07 to win both the regular season basketball and soccer titles in the same school year. Alabama did so most recently in 1975-76.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama Beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.
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