Oklahoma Falls to No. 18 Alabama in Final Minute as Sooners’ Slide Continues

NORMAN — Oklahoma saw its momentum slowly wither away against Alabama on Saturday, and as a result, the Sooners dropped their fourth game in a row.

The Sooners lost 83-81 to the No. 18 Crimson Tide after holding an 11-point lead at halftime. Alabama outscored OU 50-37 in the second half.

OU fell to 11-7 overall and 1-4 in SEC play with the win, while Alabama improved to 12-5 and 3-2.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Alabama escapes in final minute

The Crimson Tide took a four-point lead with only 20 seconds remaining, thanks to a Labaron Philon bucket and a foul.

Then the game essentially turned into a free-throw contest.

OU’s Xzayvier Brown responded with a pair of made free throws to cut the deficit back to two. Alabama then made one of two attempts to get its lead back to three.

Brown then made a couple more free throws before OU had to foul again, trailing by one. Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway made both of his attempts.

The Crimson Tide attempted to foul Brown on the floor on OU’s ensuing possession, but the officials ruled that Brown attempted a 3-pointer while shooting, giving him an opportunity to tie the game.

Brown made his first two attempts before missing the third. Trailing by one, OU fouled again. Alabama’s Amari Allen made one of his two shots, and the Crimson Tide led 83-81 with 4.1 seconds left.

Oklahoma’s Nijel Pack attempted a 3-pointer in the final seconds, but it went wayward. Mohamed Wague had an opportunity for a tip-in at the buzzer, but it also missed.

The Sooners led 44-33 at halftime before the Crimson Tide scored the first 12 points of the second half. OU withstood that run and a separate 9-0 run later in the second half to stay within reach of victory for the entire game.

"Finding ways to win games... we had opportunities," OU coach Porter Moser said.

Sooners’ forwards shine

Forwards Tae Davis and Derrion Reid were both very impactful against the Crimson Tide.

Davis and Reid — who both transferred to OU ahead of the 2025-26 season — combined for 25 points in the first half. Davis finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while Reid logged 16 points on a 6-of-11 clip.

The two forwards also combined for 16 rebounds, as Reid led the Sooners with nine boards.

Davis is playing his first season at OU after transferring from Notre Dame. The forward entered Saturday’s game averaging 12.7 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game.

Reid’s big game came against his former team, as he played for the Crimson Tide during the 2024-25 season. Prior to Saturday’s game, he was averaging 11.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this year.

Reid, though, suffered an injury late in the game.

He threw down a dunk with just over five minutes remaining but landed awkwardly and fell to the floor. Reid stayed on the ground for a couple of minutes before being helped off the court.

On the road again

After battling two top-25 teams at the Lloyd Noble Center, the Sooners’ conference slate will continue on the road.

Oklahoma will face South Carolina on Tuesday before battling Missouri on Saturday. The Gamecocks are 1-3 in SEC play, while the Tigers are 3-1.

"With our guys’ effort, we gotta keep glorifying that effort but we also have to find ways to capitalize on that effort," Moser said. "Our focus now will turn to South Carolina on Tuesday.”

Prior to Saturday’s loss, Oklahoma was ranked No. 69 in the NET rankings. The Sooners’ position likely won’t be affected much by the loss, as Alabama is No. 18 in NET.

OU’s next home game will be against Arkansas on Jan. 27.