Shooting Woes Continue for Alabama Basketball as it Falls at Texas A&M, 67-61

The Crimson Tide shot just 19 percent from beyond the arc and turned the basketball over 18 times in its loss to the Aggies.

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Updated:
Mar 4, 2023 3:21 PM EST
Original:
Mar 4, 2023

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

The struggles that No. 2 Alabama basketball has dealt with over the last three games came to a head on Saturday in Bryan-College Station as the Crimson Tide fell to the No. 24 Texas A&M Aggies 67-61.

The loss does not affect Alabama's seeding for next week's SEC Tournament as the Crimson Tide clinched the conference's regular-season title with its win over Auburn on Wednesday. However, it could have an impact on the team's seeding in the NCAA Tournament should the Crimson Tide have another poor outing in Nashville, Tenn.

"It's another tough game," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "I mean, it's four in a row we've had come down to the wire. We're coming off a hard-fought win Wednesday against Auburn — A&M made us play hard for this one, which we expected and we just didn't quite have enough."

A rough first half for Alabama was the story of the game that put it behind early. Over the first 20 minutes of the game, the Crimson Tide shot just 21 percent from the floor, including an abysmal 11 percent (2-for-19) from beyond the arc. 10 Alabama turnovers resulted in six points for Texas A&M, giving the Aggies momentum throughout the first half's entirety.

At halftime, Alabama trailed Texas A&M 32-22.

"They were ready to go and we weren't," Oats said. "And we can't keep coming out of the gate getting down double-digits in the first half. I think this is three-straight games that we've been down double-digits in the first half."

While the Crimson Tide looked significantly better in the second half – particularly on offense — it wouldn't be enough to secure the win. Shots began to finally fall for Alabama, and the game found itself tied at 45 with 8:59 left to play.

A 3-pointer by Jahvon Quinerly gave Alabama its first — and only — lead of the game, 54-51 at the 4:47 mark. However, with Texas A&M in the double-bonus, the Aggies were able to score 16 of the game's last 23 points to secure a solid lead.

A last-second dunk by Charles Bediako put the Crimson Tide over 60 points, but it wasn't enough as Alabama fell to Texas A&M 67-61.

Alabama finished shooting the game 34 percent from the floor and 19 percent from beyond the arc. The Crimson Tide was able to out-rebound the Aggies 43-34, but its 18 turnovers resulted in 13 points for Texas A&M.

Brandon Miller led Alabama with 19 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double while Quinerly finished with 12 points and one rebound. Clowney was third on the team in scoring with 11 points and finished tied with Mark Sears for second in rebounds with seven.

"I thought our effort was decent," Oats said. "We just — too many turnovers, couldn't make a shot, too many mistakes on defense. They came ready to play and it turned out to be a great game for the fans but a lot of things we didn't do well."

With the loss, Alabama closes out the regular season with a record of 26-7 overall and a 16-2 record in the Southeastern Conference. Having clenched the 1-seed in next week's SEC Tournament, the Crimson Tide will wait to see how the bracket plays out before it will know its next opponent.

How It Happened:

(updates in ascending order)

Second Half

Final: Texas A&M 67, Alabama 61

Dunk by Bediako ends it.

And now Clowney is forced to foul with 0:15 seconds left. Two more free throws by Radford. This one is over. 65-59 Aggies.

Quinerly is forced to foul after a bad pass by Sears becomes a turnover. 63-59 Aggies.

Jumper good by Quinerly. 61-59 Aggies with 0:59 on the clock.

Shock clock violation on Texas A&M. Alabama ball.

Dennis headed to the line and made both free throws. 61-57 Aggies with 1:59 left.

Miller has fouled out of the game. Texas A&M will have two free throws as it is in the double bonus.

3-pointer good by Sears. 59-57 Aggies.

Miller now has his fourth foul and Taylor heads to the line for three shots. He made all three. 59-54 Aggies with 2:52 left to play.

Radford hit two free throws. 56-54 Aggies.

Sears now has four fouls with 3:16 left in the game. Still tied at 54.

An offensive foul on Miller gives the ball to the Aggies.

Taylor made a 3, and we are tied at 54.

3-pointer good by Quinerly, and Alabama has its first lead of the day. 54-51 Alabama with 4:31 on the game clock. Buzz Williams takes a timeout.

A jumper by Taylor and a layup by Clowney keeps the game tied at 51.

Jumper is good by Miller and we are once again tied, this time at 49.

Sears is called for his third personal, but a steal by Clowney on the next possession gets the Crimson Tide the ball back. 5:56 left in the game, and Alabama still trails 49-47.

A turnover by Quinerly gives the ball back to Texas A&M.

At the under-8 media timeout, Alabama trails 49-47. The Crimson Tide's offense has finally started to show signs of life, but it seems to come at the cost of its defense. Alabama will have the ball after the break.

Jumper good by Taylor. 49-47 Aggies.

Layup good by Miller and we're tied once again.

Layup good by Taylor, and Texas A&M retakes the lead.

Layup good by Quinerly. Tie game. 45-45.

3-pointer good by Miller. 45-43 Texas A&M at the 9:32 mark.

A turnover by Miller (his fourth) gives the ball right back to Texas A&M.

And now Pringle is called for a foul. Garcia goes 1-for-2 at the line. 45-40 Aggies.

Miller picked up his second personal, sending Radford to the line. He made both. 44-40 Texas A&M.

A turnover by Taylor leads to the under-12 media timeout. It will be Alabama's ball after the break. 42-40 Texas A&M with 10:55 left to play.

3-pointer good by Clowney. 42-40 Texas A&M.

Quinerly hit just the third 3 of the day for Alabama. 42-37 Aggies.

Griffen headed to the line and made both attempts. 42-34 Aggies.

Another 3 by Texas A&M, this time by Radford. And just like that, Alabama's comeback attempt has been stifled. 42-32 Aggies.

Taylor made a 3 for the Aggies. A layup by Clowney is the Crimson Tide's response. 39-32 Texas A&M at the 13:17 mark.

Buzz Williams calls a timeout to prevent an Alabama run. Media timeout.

Miller made a layup. A dunk by Pringle cuts the Aggies lead to 6. 36-30 Texas A&M.

At the first media timeout of the second half, Texas A&M still leads 36-26.

Bediako now has four fouls with 16:41 left in the game.

A missed 3 by Miller leads to a put-back dunk by Clowney. 34-26 Aggies.

Layup good by Bediako, and the Aggies lead is back down to 10.

Two free throws by the Aggies are the first points of the half. 34-22 Texas A&M.

Texas A&M gets the ball to start the second half.

First Half

Halftime: Texas A&M 32, Alabama 22

Shot clock violation on Alabama. Alabama is 1 of its last 12.

Miller headed to the line and sinks both free throws. 26-15 Aggies at the 7:09 mark.

A layup by Quinerly finally snaps Alabama's scoreless streak. However, Radford responded with a layup of his own. 24-13 Aggies at the under-8 media timeout.

The Aggies' run has grown to 11-1. Alabama is not made its last five shots and is 1 for its last 8. The Crimson Tide's shot percentage has continued to drop and is now just 18 percent (3-for-17).

Welch goes 1-for-2 at the free-throw line. 20-11 Aggies after a dunk from Marble.

The Crimson Tide is shooting just 21 percent from the floor and is 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.

While Alabama was able to cut the Texas A&M lead to 11-10, a 7-0 run by the Aggies have them back up by 8. The Crimson Tide has now committed five turnovers.

At the first media timeout, Alabama trails Texas A&M 9-3. The Crimson Tide is 1-of-6 from the floor, with all six shot attempts being from beyond the arc. Alabama has also already turned the ball of three times, with two of those three turnovers coming in the first 50 seconds of the game.

Alabama wins the tip and we are underway.

Pregame

Starting five for Texas A&M:

Typical starting five for Alabama:

Officials for today's game: Olandis Poole, Doug Shows, Mike Nance.

Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT

How to Watch Alabama vs. Arkansas

Who: No. 2 Alabama (26-4, 16-1 SEC) vs. No. 24 Texas A&M (22-8, 14-3 SEC)

When: 11 a.m. CT, Saturday

Where: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas

TV: CBS

Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart; Analyst: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Series: Alabama leads 12-10

Last Meeting: It has been a year since the Crimson Tide and Aggies last met on the hardwood. The lone meeting last season happened for Alabama's last home game on March 2. Texas A&M spoiled the home finale, using a 50-point second half to blow out Alabama 87-71.

Last Time Out, Alabama: Behind 24 points from Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama overcame a 17-point second half deficit to beat Auburn in overtime and win the SEC title outright. Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney and Mark Sears all added 17 points. The Crimson Tide won 90-85 to complete the series sweep over the Tigers.

Last Time Out, Texas A&M: The Aggies trailed by as much as 12 in the first half on the road against SEC bottom-dweller Ole Miss. The Rebels took Texas A&M down to the wire, but the Aggies managed to hang on for the 69-61 win. Tyrece Radford led Texas A&M with 13 points.

Alabama leaders: