Oklahoma stuns No. 2 Alabama with rout in Big 12/SEC Challenge

Last updated: 2023/01/28 at 9:54 PM

BigP Published January 28, 2023

Unranked Oklahoma (12-9) shocked No. 2 Alabama (18-3) on Saturday, defeating the Tide 93-69 at home as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, a 10-game mid-season men’s college basketball series featuring these two conferences.

With the win, the Sooners snapped Alabama’s nine-game winning streak that dated back to mid-December 2022.

Heading into Saturday’s tilt, the Sooners had lost three straight, but there had been some signs of progress.

The Sooners shot 57.6% from the field (34 of 59), including 69.2% from distance and 84.2% from the free-throw line. Sooners guard Grant Sherfield put up an electric performance, leading Oklahoma with a season-high 30 points and six assists to go with Jalen Hill’s career-best of 26 points on 9-for-11 shooting.

The Sooners defense also played a major factor in Saturday’s upset, as the Tide sunk just three of their first 16 shots, helping second-year Oklahoma coach Porter Moser to his biggest win with the program.

On the other side, the Tide struggled mightily, shooting just 37.9% from the field, 27.3% from the 3-point line and 61.9% on free throws. Alabama’s leading man was Rylan Griffen, who accounted for 15 points off the bench. Freshman Brandon Miller, who came in averaging 19.5 points per game, finished with 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting.

Oklahoma led 50-33 at halftime, and it didn’t look like a fluke. Sherfield scored 18 points before the break and helped the Sooners shoot 68% from the field in the first 20 minutes. Hill added 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting. The half was punctuated by Hill scoring on a spin move in the closing seconds and Miller getting issued a technical foul.

Alabama trimmed its deficit to 11 in the second half, but Hill’s dunk on a fast break pushed Oklahoma’s lead back to 64-46 and got the crowd juiced up. Sherfield’s crossover and fadeaway 3-pointer put the Sooners ahead 78-53.

Two years ago, Oklahoma beat then-No. 9 Alabama in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge by shooting 58% from the field.

Next, Alabama hosts Vanderbilt (Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. ET) and Oklahoma hosts in-state rival Oklahoma State (Thurday, 9 p.m. ET).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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