Brandon Miller Shines on Big Stage
He was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school. He led Alabama in scoring in all three games of its foreign tour. Brandon Miller entered this season for Alabama basketball with sky high expectations from the fanbase, and so far, he's delivered.
Miller once again led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 24 points on 4 of 7 shooting from behind the arc and nine rebounds in No. 18 Alabama's 81-70 win over No. 12 Michigan State in the Phil Knight Invitational Thursday night.
But he's not just getting it done on the offensive end. Miller was the blue-collar award winner for the game.
"We usually take a lot of three-pointers, and he was the one who was able to get them off and make them tonight," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "He was big. But he also led us in rebounding, won the blue-collar award. Had deflections, rebounds, made plays on the defensive end too. So, he’s not just shooting the ball and playing well, he also got down hill."
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first half with nine lead changes. Alabama only had a two-point lead with about five seconds left. Michigan State put up a 3-pointer that clanked off the rim. Miller took the rebound and sank a 3-pointer of his own at the buzzer to give the Crimson Tide a five-point halftime lead.
"I feel like that 3 I hit was definitely an energy boost for me and I guess for the team," Miller said in the postgame. "I feel like I could’ve started off better, but things happen. I feel like that was the change of the game."
Alabama carried the momentum out of halftime and built a 17-point lead in the second half that kept the Spartans at bay even when they started to make a few 3-point shots of their own.
Miller was one of four Crimson Tide players to finish in double figures, but early in the season, it's clear that he's the engine that makes this team go. The true freshman has been the team leader in points in four of five games on the way to Alabama's first 5-0 start since 2017, another season where it had a group of talented freshman with the likes of Collin Sexton, Herbert Jones and John Petty.
"All in all, he had a pretty good game," Oats said about Miller. "He needs to play well for us to be at our best, and he did.”
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