No. 13 Alabama men’s basketball was upset by the unranked Texas Longhorns, 92-88, on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum.
The loss was Alabama’s second in SEC play and its fourth loss to an unranked opponent in head coach Nate Oats’ tenure. It also led to Alabama’s worst start to SEC play since 2021-22, when it lost its opening two contests in blowout fashion.
“It looks like we need some leadership to step up,” Oats said postgame. “Some guys that want to get everybody together, they’re tired of losing. Stuff’s got to change. It’s not a talent problem.”
Star guard Labaron Philon Jr. led the team in scoring with 21 points, but also led the team in turnovers. He was responsible for 5 of the team’s 7 turnovers and missed two key free throws.
Alabama’s season-long struggles on the glass continued Saturday, as it was out-rebounded by Texas 48-38.
Oats has challenged forward Taylor Bol Bowen to rebound better, and he bounced back after a scoreless outing on Wednesday in the team’s 96-90 loss to No. 11 Vanderbilt with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“He’s doing what we need him to do to win games,” Oats said of Bol Bowen. “I love the fact that he’s met the challenge.”
Alabama began the game on a heater, knocking down 5/8 from the field and 2/3 from beyond the arc. Center Aiden Sherrell made his return to Alabama’s starting lineup Saturday and opened the game with 5 points on 2/2 shooting, which delighted a lively Coleman Coliseum crowd.
The red-hot shooting cooled off for Alabama as the half continued, shooting just 9/25 from the field at the under-eight-minute media timeout. The Longhorns’ offense caught fire and shot an astounding 13/22 from the field, led by star guard Tramon Mark, who ended the half with 16 points.
Then, Alabama’s offense woke up again.
The Longhorns led by 11 points with 2:59 remaining, but an 11-1 Alabama run to end the period trimmed Texas’ lead to just 1 point at halftime. The end-of-half scoring run was capped off by forward Taylor Bol Bowen’s answered prayer from beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded.
Texas continued to give Alabama problems at the start of the second half and again grew its lead to 11 points. Longhorns guard Jordan Pope erupted with 16 second-half points and knocked down 4/8 from beyond the arc.
Alabama gradually clawed away at the deficit, thanks to Philon, who tallied 11 second-half points. The Crimson Tide mustered a 17-5 run that tied the game at 74 apiece. It then did not make a field goal for 2:57, but remained down just three points after Texas missed several key free throws.
Alabama also struggled at the line in the second half — shooting 8/15 from the stripe — but found some offensive rhythm after the game devolved into a foul-fest, much like Wednesday’s loss in Nashville. The comeback effort was not enough to secure a second SEC victory of the season, though, after Philon and Holloway missed several key shots in the closing seconds.
Oats said that players miss free throws when they are worried about “the wrong stuff.”
Alabama returns to action on Tuesday in Starkville, Mississippi, when it takes on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on SEC Network.
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