The Coleman Coliseum crowd had been treated to a show and Brandon Miller nearly ended it in style.
Early in the second half, Miller corralled a loose pass and turned up the court. The highlight was ready-made but a foul on the same Vanderbilt player that lost the ball stopped Miller’s drive just as the freshman threw the ball off the backboard for a would-be alley-oop to himself. The Alabama fans in attendance braced for a roar but then sighed. The NBA scouts chuckled at the display of athleticism.
It would be one of the few moments something went wrong for the No. 4 team in the country on Tuesday night. Days after receiving a needed wake-up call, Nate Oats was given a blowout.
The Tide (19-3, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) crushed the Commodores 101-44. It was the program’s largest margin of victory in SEC history and matched last year’s win total on the last day of January.
The game was tied at 5 apiece four minutes into the contest. It quickly turned into a nearly 20-point margin with seven minutes left in the first half after an effort play. A pair of white jerseys dove on a loose ball, triggering a Miller 3 and the game-deciding 30-5 run. It was the type of effort Oats was looking for after showing the team a string of Vanderbilt highlights pregame.
“This is what we’re going to be about tonight,” Oats said of the hustle play. “(Noah) Clowney did it a few times. We kind of challenged all our guys. … If we’re going to be blue-collar and make plays like this, we were going to be rewarded on the other end.”
Miller and Nimari Burnett combined for 38 points, the latter triggering the 30-5 game-deciding run by forcing a few turnovers and hitting a pair of 3s. Mark Sears (eight assists) and Jahvon Quinerly (seven assists) repeatedly created space inside and, as a result, 3-point shooters found space behind the arc.
Alabama dominated with 19 3-pointers and 48 bench points. It was the most deep balls made since the 20 converted versus LSU on Jan. 14, setting a season-high in 3-point field goal percentage (46.3).
A few screens off the ball created multiple looks in front of Vanderbilt’s bench. Perhaps it was some familiarity — Alabama beat Vandy on the road two weeks ago — but the Tide’s attack faced little resistance.
“I feel like our whole team could really shoot it. It just really brings the energy that we need,” Miller, who wore the team’s trademark hard hat postgame, said.
Meanwhile, the Commodores (10-12, 3-6) shot 25% from the floor, and 3-for-30 from deep, despite returning one of its best players, seven-footer Liam Robinson after a two-week injury stint. Oats mentioned afterward “any team with a decent big could go to work” on Alabama, but Clowney and Charles Bediako answered any questions at least for one night. They forced Robinson to miss his first five shots and held Vanderbilt to 18 points in the paint off 15 offensive rebounds.
Alabama pressed in the half-court and forced the Commodores to beat them off the dribble. Freshman guard Paul Lewis led the visitors with 10 but Vanderbilt eventually settled for shots further and further away from the rim. The second half turned into a track meet as the Tide Alabama generated breakaway alley-oops, a pair of which were finished by Miller and Bediako.
“They answered the bell after the Oklahoma game,” Oats said. “Obviously, respect Vanderbilt a lot so it’s unfortunate for them that they were the team that followed up the Oklahoma game, but I told our guys we kinda showed them what we are.”
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com.
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Alabama Vanderbilt Basketball Jan. 31, 2023