No. 7 Alabama finally returned home after 33 days in between home games with a 75-83 win over Creighton.
The stretch between home games is the Crimson Tide’s longest stretch since the 1976-1977 season. Alabama’s win over Creighton was its first win against the Bluejays in program history.
Here are a few takeaways from the game.
Points in the Paint
Alabama did most of its damage Saturday night from inside the paint. The three-point shot was not falling for the Crimson Tide, but they didn’t need it on Saturday. Alabama was able to get any shot it wanted near the basket, and the result was 44 points in the paint.
Youngblood's Debut
Crimson Tide fans finally got to see highly touted transfer Chris Youngblood in an Alabama jersey. Last year’s AAC Player of the Year has missed the entire season up to this point due to injury. With a season-ending injury to Latrell Wrightsell, Nate Oats is counting on Youngblood to fill the void left with Wrightsell out. Oats mentioned before the game that the version of Youngblood that we see tonight will not be the same as we see during SEC play. Youngblood still needs to knock off some rust but scored five points in limited action.
Bench Points
Depth played a huge role in Alabama’s success on Saturday. The Crimson Tide were able to keep the intensity high the entire game by rotating guys off the bench. Alabama exposed Creighton’s lack of depth, out-shooting its bench 28-8. The development of the Tide bench will be extremely important when Alabama opens up conference play in a loaded SEC.
Guard Play
Alabama’s backcourt led the way for the Crimson Tide offense. The duo of Mark Sears and Labaron Philon combined for 43 of Alabama’s 83 points. Sears led the team in scoring with 27, while Philon was right behind him with 16 of his own. The two guards also combined for 11 rebounds and six assists.
Alabama will host North Dakota on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
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