No. 4 Alabama lost its first road SEC game of the season, falling 110-98 to No. 15 Missouri.
The Tigers opened up the game on a 12-0 run and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the game. Alabama pulled within six points with just under 10 minutes to play, but Missouri went on a 7-0 run that ended the hopes of a Crimson Tide comeback.
Here are a few takeaways from the game.
Slow Start
For the second game in a row, Alabama got off to a terrible start. Missouri opened the game with a 12-0 run and Alabama was unable to recover from the deficit. The Crimson Tide were down by as many as 20 in the first half and went into halftime down 13.
Season High for Sears
Mark Sears scored a season-high 35 points, but it wasn’t enough. He shot 5-for-11 from behind the arc but found most of his success driving to the basket and making contested layups. The dribble drives from Sears also got him to the free throw line, where he hit six of his seven attempts.
No Defense
Defense is not one of Alabama’s strengths, and Wednesday night's performance, or lack thereof, was one of the Tide's worst showings. The Crimson Tide had no answers on the defensive end of the court, allowing Missouri to shoot 60% from the field and putting up a total of 110 points. The 59 points that Missouri scored in the first half was their second-largest total of the season.
Costly Turnovers
Turnovers were tamed in their previous game, but the Missouri defense exposed Alabama’s turnover problem on Wednesday night. Alabama turned the ball over 10 times in the first half alone, leading to 15 points for Missouri. The Crimson Tide cleaned things up in the second half and finished with 14 turnovers, leading to 21 points off turnovers for the Tigers.
Alabama will host No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday at 5 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.
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