Alabama Ties Longstanding Record Under Nate Oats in Blowout Win Over UNLV

Those who fell asleep before No. 8 Alabama men's basketball's 11 p.m. CT game against UNLV on Tuesday missed out on some history.

The Crimson Tide obliterated the Rebels 115-76 during this Players Era Festival game in Las Vegas. 115 points is tied for its most points in a game since it beat Georgia 115-82 on Feb. 13, 2021.

It's also the most points scored in a game under head coach Nate Oats and is tied for the second-most points in program history (123 in 1971). The Players Era Festival is in its second season and Alabama's point total on Tuesday night became a new record for the NIL event.

Three of Alabama's returning guards from last season played key roles in the offensive outburst. Aden Holloway scored 26 points, Houston Mallette had 19 and Labaron Philon totaled 13. But scoring wasn't their only contribution.

"I thought Labaron and Holloway both came out, moving the ball like we wanted to do," Oats said during the postgame press conference. "Got us a bunch of open shots. We didn't hit them early.

"Houston started 0-for-4 with four great looks, but he's a guy with a lot of confidence. He's going to keep taking open looks. He came out and said, 'Man, the ball feels great.' Coming off, they're going to start dropping. And then, after he started 0-for-4, he went 4-for-8.

"Holloway took the right shots. Wished he would have taken a few more, I thought he passed up some. So I mean, season high for best with 26."

Alabama forward London Jemison also recorded a season-high on Tuesday night with 18 points. The freshman went 5 of 7 from the field, including 2 of 3 from deep, while leading the Crimson Tide in free throws made (6) and attempts (7).

"London's been great," Oats said. "Once he kind of figured out how we wanted him to play in the system, his effort and his attitude have always been good. Not sure I would have predicted 18 points, but I'm also not shocked either. He can shoot it. He can finish at the rim.

"Shoot, I mean, he missed one of them at the rim and he should have had 20. He's probably disappointed with himself. I think that he could have dunked on that layup he missed, but he's been good. Went to the free-throw line, knocked down free throws. He's been good."

Alabama finished with an impressive 14 of 33 clip from deep (42 percent). The Tide also made the most of its time at the charity stripe, as UA sank 29 of its 35 free-throw attempts.

"Well, on the threes, I think when you move the ball, create good threes, we've got a really good shooting team and I think you saw that tonight," Oats said. "We've got to do a better job consistently moving it like we did tonight. On the free-throw line, I just tell the guys, 'Man, you've got to put the reps in to earn the right to make free throws, and you've got to be locked in. When you're locked in, you're locked in.

Oats stressed that "Making free throws is part of being a winning basketball player." Every Alabama player except for two was at least 75 percent from the line, including four players who were perfect.

The Crimson Tide's large range of players who spent time at the free-throw line helped create two more double-digit scorers in addition to the aforementioned players: Amari Allen (13 points) and Taylor Bol Bowen (12). This variety of scoring options will be crucial as the season continues.

Of course, replicating a historic night like this one will be extremely difficult to accomplish. But this seemed to create a bit of a momentum boost after Alabama fell to No. 12 Gonzaga 95-85 in its first Players Era Festival matchup on Monday.

Alabama aims to leave Las Vegas on a high note with a win over Maryland at 11 p.m. CT.

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