BamaCentral Courtside from No. 15 Alabama Basketball's 91-62 Win Over North Dakota

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 15 Alabama basketball got the 2025-26 season off to a roaring start, defeating North Dakota 91-62 in Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide saw superstar sophomore Labaron Philon score a career high 22 points and played four freshman in critical moments as the year tipped off.

The Crimson Tide entered the night short-handed as Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell and Keitenn Bristow all missed the game with minor injury. The shortened bench put pressure on Philon to dictate the offense without a true backup, but the sophomore delivered, adding onto his scoring output with eight assists and three rebounds.

Alabama saw strong performances from three freshman as Amari Allen and London Jemison each scored 12 points and Davion Hannah chipped in with nine of his own. The trio combined for 14 rebounds and nine assists to make up for the absentees.

Why Aden Holloway, Two More Players Are Out for North Dakota Season Opener

"I feel like once we get all our guys back, we have a chance to be one of the best teams in the country," Allen said. "We've got guards, bigs - Trelly [Latrell Wrightsell], once Jalil [Bethea] gets back - Houston, we're missing a lot of guys. To the younger guys, we stepped up, but when they get back, I feel like we'll have a real deep team."

Alabama sophomore Aiden Sherrell scored nine points and hauled in four rebounds to kick off his second year in the program, but his defensive effort protecting the rim was the aspect that earned attention. Sherrell blocked four shots and helped the Crimson Tide hold the Fighting Hawks to just 39-percent shooting from the floor and just 14-of-26 at the rim.

The Crimson Tide started the season off well, but went just 1-for-11 beyond the arc in the second half and committed 15 turnovers against subpar competition. Alabama must improve protecting the basketball and get its players healthy as they enter a four-game stretch against ranked teams that will surely expose and exploit the program's weaknesses.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral's Katie Windham, Joe Gaither, and Hunter De Siver provide their thoughts about Alabama basketball's 2025 home victory over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The trio breaks down the Crimson Tide's freshmen debut, Labaron Philon's strong performance, and discuss the future for this team as four ranked opponents are next up on the schedule.