Alabama emerged victorious in the C.M. Newton Classic on Saturday with a 101-56 win over Liberty in Birmingham.
Saturday concluded Alabama’s out-of-conference schedule, serving as a great tune-up game before the Crimson Tide begins SEC play on January 6. Saturday’s win was the 100th for Alabama head coach Nate Oats, making him the coach to reach that number in school history.
Here are some takeaways from the game.
Three-Point Shooting Stays Hot
When Alabama hits their three-pointers, they tend to dominate the competition, and Saturday was no different. The Crimson Tide opened the game hot from behind the arc, shooting 9-for-15 for 60%. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. led the hot three-point shooting, going 4-for-5 in the first 20 minutes. Alabama finished the game for the second time in a row, shooting 50% percent from three, going 14-for-28.
Lock-down Defense
Alabama’s length was too much for the smaller Liberty squad. Alabama held the Flames to just 33% shooting on the day. The Crimson Tide also defended the three-point line well, holding Liberty to just 29% shooting from behind the arc. The Flames were also held to just 56 points total on the afternoon.
Tide Dominates the Glass
The Crimson Tide also used their size advantage inside the paint. Alabama out-rebounded the undersized Liberty team 46-24. Alabama used the rebounding edge to create 17 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds. The Crimson Tide also tallied 42 points in the paint.
Bench Production
It’s no secret that Alabama has a deep team, but their depth showed out on Saturday. The bench combined to score 44 points, led by senior Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Wrightsell came off the bench and contributed a game-high 19 points for the Crimson Tide. Sam Walters scored double figures off the bench, adding 10 points to the Crimson Tide’s bench total.
Alabama will travel to Vanderbilt to begin its SEC schedule on Saturday, January 6 at 2:30 p.m. CT.
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