Texas Longhorns Stun No. 13 Alabama With Upset Win in Tuscaloosa

The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team has secured the biggest win of the Sean Miller era as SEC play continues to get underway.

Jordan Pope scored a game-high 28 points and the Longhorns upset No. 13 Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night for their first SEC win of the season. The Crimson Tide never led in the second half.

With the win, Texas snaps Alabama's streak of 23 straight wins at home against unranked opponents.

Texas Longhorns Bounce Back from Brutal Week

After blowing a late lead in the SEC opener against Mississippi State before falling in overtime, the Longhorns then got blown out by Tennessee in Knoxville on Tuesday.

At 0-2 in conference play and at the bottom of the conference standings, things didn't get easier for the Longhorns headed into Tuscaloosa, but they answered the call from Miller and came up with what hopes to be a season-changing win.

Texas guard Tramon Mark finished with 18 points while Dailyn Swain added 18 points and eight rebounds along with icing the game on a late block at the rim.

Alabama got a team-high 21 points from guard Labaron Philon while Aden Holloway had 18 points and four assists.

Texas out-rebounded Alabama 48-38 and secured 18 offensive boards.

Alabama Crimson Tide center Noah Williamson and Texas Longhorns forward Lassina Traore battle for position during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. | David Leong-Imagn Images

The Longhorns went 22 of 32 from the foul line but the Tide offset this going 19 of 27 on free throws at the other end. Both teams missed crucial foul shots down the stretch all while the game continuously got delayed due to numerous official reviews.

Texas' offense got whatever it wanted in the first half, as Mark had 14 early points before quickly cooling off.

The Longhorns built a 43-32 lead and looked primed to head into halftime with a solid lead but the Crimson Tide responded with an 11-1 run. Texas led 46-45 at the break.

In the second half, Pope took over the offense after Mark had handled most of the scoring load early. He had four triples in a little over a four-minute stretch in the second half to put Texas up 66-53 at the 13:04 mark.

Alabama bounced back with a 7-0 run to cut it back to 69-63. The Tide managed to cut the lead down to one multiple times in the closing minutes but Texas scrapped its way to the finish line to secure the win.

The Longhorns will host No. 11 Vanderbilt in Austin on Wednesday.