Bama Central

Live Updates for Alabama Basketball's Top-15 Road Matchup Against Vanderbilt

Score updates and analysis as the Crimson Tide takes on the Commodores in Memorial Gymnasium.
Hunter De Siver|
Alabama Assistant Coach Preston Murphy, Head Coach Nate Oats and Forward Amari Allen
Alabama Assistant Coach Preston Murphy, Head Coach Nate Oats and Forward Amari Allen | Obtained from Alabama Men's Basketball's X/Twitter

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Alabama Crimson Tide

No. 13 Alabama will play its 15th game of the regular season, and the second of SEC play, on Wednesday, Jan. 7, on the road against No. 11 Vanderbilt.

The 14-0 Commodores are one of six teams in college basketball that remain undefeated. It's Vanderbilt's best start since 2007-08 (16-0), and the Commodores weren't even ranked in the AP Top 25 until the third week of the season.

Nevertheless, after taking down Kentucky on Jan. 3, Alabama head coach Nate Oats is putting a ton of value on this matchup, with hopes of spoiling Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington's remarkable accomplishments to start 2025-26.

"We're competing for [an SEC Championship] this year," Oats said during the Kentucky postgame press conference. "Getting a win on the road against the best team in our league, at least in the analytics, would go a long way to winning a championship on Wednesday."

Follow along for live updates and analysis. Be sure to refresh your browser as the most recent events will be placed at the top of this page.

FINAL: Vanderbilt 96, Alabama 90

Second Half

  • Vanderbilt took an 87-75 lead with a little over three minutes to go, but Alabama put together a solid comeback effort. Crimson Tide freshman forward Amari Allen (career-high 25 points) and guard Aden Holloway (22) kept their team in it. Allen also collected team highs in rebounds (11) and assists (4).
  • The ESPN2 broadcast just showed Labaron Philon Jr. back on the bench with three minutes remaining, holding his knees with a disappointed look on his face.
  • TIMEOUT (3:56 2H): Vanderbilt 84, Alabama 7: Vanderbilt leading scorer Duke Miles just fouled out. Amari Allen is keeping Alabama in it with a 20 points, but there's still no sign of Labaron Philon Jr.
  • Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. gets up a little slow and Nate Oats helps Taylor Bol Bowen up on the same play. But they both stay in the game.
  • TIMEOUT (7:46 2H): Vanderbilt 74, Alabama 65: It's starting to look like the beginning of this one, as Vanderbilt leads by 9 and Alabama's offense is nowhere to be found. The Crimson Tide is shooting 7 of 23 in the second half, including 1 of 12 from deep.
  • Nate Oats just got a technical foul and is screaming at the ref with under nine minutes remaining in regulation. Alabama assistants Preston Murphy, Chris Fleming and Brian Adams are trying to keep him composed.
  • Alabama has three players with four fouls and another three with three fouls, but Labaron Philon Jr. hasn't been on the floor in over 5 minutes...
  • TIMEOUT (11:45 2H): Vanderbilt 61, Alabama 58: Not sure I've ever felt worse for a whistle, as Vanderbilt is in the double bonus and Alabama is in the bonus.
    Alabama foul trouble counter:
    Noah Williamson: 4
    London Jemison: 4
    Keitenn Bristow: 4
    Aden Holloway: 3
    Amari Allen: 3
    Taylor Bol Bowen: 3
  • Alabama players in foul trouble with under 12:25 remaining in the second half: Noah Williamson (4), Aden Holloway (3) Amari Allen (3) London Jemison (3) Taylor Bol Bowen (3) and Keitenn Bristow (3).
  • Alabama and Vanderbilt both reached the bonus with 14:30 remaining in the second half. We're in for long game.
  • Interesting numbers: London Jemison and Taylor Bol Bowen have combined for 1 of 9 clip from the field (0 of 7 from deep) but have also combined for 13 rebounds. Alabama leads 30-22 on the glass.
  • TIMEOUT (15:28 2H): Alabama 48, Vanderbilt 47: Each team is well aware of how good their adversary is and it's showing through some physicality to start the second half. It's more apparent for Alabama than Vanderbilt through these first five minutes but can Alabama expand on it?

HALFTIME: Alabama 43, Vanderbilt 43

5 Standout Halftime Stats:

  • Labaron Philon Jr. scored 10 pts in the final 7 mins
  • Alabama went on a 26-13 run after 13-point deficit
  • Duke Miles is dueling Philon with 17 points
  • Alabama leads 24-16 in rebounds (8-3 offensive)
  • Philon has 4 of Alabama's 8 turnovers. However, he didn't have any in the final 13 minutes.
  • Labaron Philon with 9:31 left in the first half: 5 points and 4 turnovers...Labaron Philon at halftime: 15 points and 4 turnovers...A great turnaround by Philon as he helped erase a 13-point deficit for the Crimson Tide.

First Half:

  • Alabama took a 37-36 lead, its first time being in front since the score was 3-1. The Crimson Tide was on a 13-2 run.
  • TIMEOUT (3:35 1H): Vanderbilt 36, Alabama 32: A Duke Miles finger roll ends an 8-0 run by Alabama. The Crimson Tide has come alive on both ends. Labaron Philon Jr. and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. have combined for 20 points. But can Alabama maintain this?
  • Alabama-Vanderbilt broadcast has been talking about the Crimson Tide football team's Rose Bowl quite a bit this half.
  • Vanderbilt leads 30-24, but Labaron Philon Jr. is on a 7-0 run by himself.
  • TIMEOUT (7:39 1H) Vanderbilt 30, Alabama 17: Alabama center Noah Williamson and guard Aden Holloway are on the bench, as they have three and two fouls respectively. The Crimson Tide is struggling to defend without fouling and its offense is up to seven turnovers.
  • Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. came into tonight committing at least four turnovers in five games this season. He's up to four turnovers midway through the first half against Vanderbilt.
  • TIMEOUT (11:33 1H): Vanderbilt 15, Alabama 10: Alabama's offense wakes up a bit as Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Labaron Philon Jr. get in the scoring column, but the defense looked really solid during that stretch. Vanderbilt has only scored two points in the last four minutes. Center Noah Williamson is someone to watch in this one following a great outing against Kentucky, and he made a nice defensive play down low.
  • TIMEOUT (15:49 1H): Vanderbilt 13, Alabama 5: Alabama's offense couldn't have started much worse, as it's up to 4 turnovers (all steals by Vanderbilt). Aden Holloway has all 5 points for the Crimson Tide, but the loud Vanderbilt crowd seems to be getting to Alabama early.

Tipoff time is officially set for 8:10 p.m. CT

Starting Lineups

Alabama
G Labaron Philon Jr.
G Aden Holloway
G Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
F Amari Allen
F Keitenn Bristow

Alabama 6-foot-11 forward Aiden Sherrell is a game-time decision and will not start against Vanderbilt. 6-foot-10 forward Keitenn Bristow will start at the 5, while 7-foot center Noah Williamson (and maybe Sherrell) comes off the bench.

Vanderbilt
G Duke Miles
G Tyler Tanner
F Tyler Nickel
F AK Okereke
F Devin McGlockton

Pregame:

  • Alabama guard Davion Hannah and center Collins Onyejiaka are out with medical conditions. Everyone but these two, plus Sherrell practiced on Tuesday. These were the only players on the initial and final injury report.
  • Alabama forward Aiden Sherrell is a game-time decision after limping to the bench against Kentucky and never returning to the floor. He missed Tuesday's practice.

How to Watch: Alabama at Vanderbilt

Who: No. 13 Alabama (11-3, 1-0 SEC) at No. 11 Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0 SEC)

What: Alabama's second game of SEC Play (first on the road)

When: Wednesday, Jan. 7, 8 p.m. CT

Where: Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tenn.

TV: ESPN2

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

SiriusXM: Channel 190 (Alabama), Channel 84 (Vanderbilt)

Series: Alabama leads 77-68 with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 20, 1924.

Last Meeting: Then-No. 4 Alabama men's basketball steamrolled Vanderbilt 103-87 on Jan. 21, 2025. The bench duo of guard Aden Holloway and forward Mouhamed Dioubate each scored 22 points, while Consensus First Team All-American guard Mark Sears tallied 21 points and seven assists. One of those buckets increased Sears' career point total to 2,500. Sears finished his collegiate career with 2,839 points, which ranks 19th all-time.

Last time out, Alabama: Following Jan. 3's 89-74 SEC-opening home win over Kentucky, then-No. 14 Alabama joined a small handful of SEC programs to take down the Wildcats four consecutive times. Aden Holloway scored 26 points. Labaron Philon Jr. also shined with 13 points in the second half alone — ending Kentucky's comeback effort down the stretch. Other standout performances from the Crimson Tide include 14 points from Houston Mallette, 11 points and nine rebounds from Amari Allen and a season-high 10 points from Noah Williamson.

Last time out, Vanderbilt: The Commodores beat South Carolina 83-71 on the road in its SEC opener on Jan. 3. Tyler Tanner put up an offensive masterpiece, as he logged 19 points and 14 assists with just one turnover. Additionally, AK Okereke (17 points), Tyler Nickel (16), Devin McGlockton (15) and Jalen Washington (10) also finished in double figures. Washington led Vanderbilt in rebounds with eight.

Alabama Stat Leaders

  • Points: Labaron Philon Jr. (21.5 on 53.6 FG%)
  • Rebounds: Amari Allen (7.3, including 1.9 offensive)
  • Assists: Labaron Philon Jr. (5.4 with 2.6 turnovers)

Vanderbilt Stat Leaders

  • Points: Duke Mules (17.1 on 48.4 FG%)
  • Rebounds: Devin McGlockton (7.0, including 2.5 offensive)
  • Assists: Tyler Tanner (5.5 with 1.5 turnovers)

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Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE SIVER

Hunter De Siver is the lead basketball writer for BamaCentral and has covered Crimson Tide football since 2024. He previously distributed stories about the NFL and NBA for On SI and was a staff writer for Missouri Tigers On SI and Cowbell Corner. Before that, Hunter generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral as an intern in 2022 and 2023. Hunter is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media in 2023.

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