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The Extra Point: Reactions to the Phil Knight Invitational

Alabama basketball put on an impressive showing in Portland.
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When talking about thanksgiving week tournaments in college basketball, usually a satisfactory result would be going 2-1 in a three-game span. 

Alabama basketball did just that this past week in Portland, Oregon for the Phil Knight Invitational, but this 2-1 record wasn't just any 2-1. 

The 11th-ranked Crimson Tide faced a gauntlet in the PKI, taking on three ranked teams in as many games. On Thursday, Alabama defeated then-No. 12 Michigan State 81-70 before falling 82-67 to then-No. 20 UConn on Friday. 

The weekend culminated with an exhilarating 103-101 win over No. 1 North Carolina in the third-place game of the PKI on Sunday, a game which Alabama won in four overtime periods. 

The Crimson Tide's star freshman Brandon Miller was introduced on a national stage against the Spartans on Thursday in a performance where he put up 24 points. Against North Carolina though, he struggled being matched up with All-ACC defender Leaky Black. 

Alabama got significant contributions from Jahvon Quinerly, Mark Sears an Charles Bediako over the course of the tournament, and showed that it could overcome a slow offensive night from Miller and still beat a good basketball team. 

After the difficult weekend of play, Alabama gets until Saturday to rest up before South Dakota State, a 2022 NCAA Tournament team, comes to Tuscaloosa for a game at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Check out the video at the top of the page where BamaCentral's Joey Blackwell and Blake Byler discuss their takeaways from Alabama basketball's performance at the Phil Knight Invitational.

See Also:

Depth of Alabama Basketball Shows Up in 4OT Win over No. 1 North Carolina

Alabama Basketball Suffers First Loss of Season, Falls to UConn 82-67

No. 18 Alabama Basketball Makes Statement with 81-70 Win over No. 12 Michigan State