🏀 NIT TOURNAMENT: No. 6 Seed Alabama Men's Basketball Beats No. 3 Seed Illinois, 79-58

[Alabama Men's Basketball]

Levi Randolph, playing in his 134th game in a Crimson Tide uniform, led the Tide with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

From the Crimson Tide's first shot, a three-point bucket from senior captain Levi Randolph 23 seconds into the game, to the game's final second, the Alabama men's basketball team dominated No. 3 seed Illinois (19-14) in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament Tuesday night, upsetting the Illini 79-58 in Coleman Coliseum.

"I was thrilled that (the seniors) got a chance to come back to Coleman (Coliseum)," UA interim head coach John Brannen said. "After their senior night, after we lost that game, I think they wanted to do it the right way, and they did. But those guys are such high character guys that it wasn't about their last time in Coleman. It really wasn't. They were able to rally around each other over the last two days. We really built a cocoon around our team and we kind of showed who these young men are tonight."

The Crimson Tide, 19-14 this season, picked up its 1,600th win in program history in Randolph's 134th game wearing Alabama on his chest, which ties him with Trevor Releford for the most games played in school history.

"The seniors kind of talked about it before the game and we said we've got a redo of Senior Night," Randolph said. "It feels good to be able to get a win in our last game in Coleman (Coliseum)."

Randolph led the team with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Rodney Cooper poured in 19 points, while junior guard Retin Obasohan and freshman guard Justin Colemanboth scored in double figures, with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Obasohan also tied Randolph with a team-best seven rebounds.

Alabama shot 59.6 percent for the game, including 53.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc while holding Illinois to 32.3 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from three-point range.

Alabama got off to a strong start with a season-best 46 points in the first half, leading by as many as 29 before ultimately taking a 24-point lead into halftime, paced by Randolph's 13 first-half points. Alabama held Illinois scoreless for over eight minutes early in the first half and used a 20-0 run to take control of the game.

Alabama extended its lead to as much as 30 points in the second half and led by less than 20 for only 16 seconds in the second half before finishing with a 21-point final margin of victory.

The Tide will play No. 1 seed Miami (Fla.) at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla., Saturday, March 21 at 10 a.m. on ESPN


From Rolltide.com—Continue reading...

 

[BAMANEWSBOT]

 

[BamaFan334]

Good for the team! Roll Tide.

 

[alabama mike]

Last night the Tide played with passion and fire. It was great to see the offense attack the defense and take what the defense gave them instead of holding the ball. Interim CJB did a nice job getting the players ready to play BUT I am not ready to get too excited about one game.

 

[psychojoe]

They played loose and attacked the basket throughout the game. You wonder what difference it would have made during the year had we done this instead of playing to shorten the game as we did much of the time.

 

[bamabigdawg]

I had forgotten what it looked like having a coach running up and down the sideline actually seeming interested in the game instead of sitting down in a chair for 75% of the game. Was a breath of fresh air

 

[Bamabww]

Tide slams past Illini in NIT

Cecil Hurt

It's been a tumultuous season, but the University of Alabama basketball team clearly didn't want it to end on Tuesday night.

The Crimson Tide played brilliantly for interim head coach John Brannen, blowing out Illinois, 79-58, in a first-round game of the NIT at Coleman Coliseum. Brannen was coaching the team in the place of Anthony Grant, who was fired by UA on Sunday.

Alabama will play Miami in the brunch special of the NIT in a 10 a.m. second-round NIT game in Coral Gables, Fla., on Saturday.

"I'm really proud of our young men tonight," Brannen said. "Our guys were able to rally around themselves. We put a cocoon around them as much as we could, tried to make it about Illinois, and I think that helped.

"We were playing for a cause. This is Anthony Grant's team, and I assured them in the locker room that he was watching at home. I talked to him before, and I knew what he was doing tonight.

"We're not reinventing the wheel here. We were doing the things that Anthony put in place."

Whether it was pent-up emotion from a trying week or simply a new start with postseason play, the Crimson Tide played an aggressive first half that left the Illini reeling. The key was a stretch of nearly eight minutes in which UA reeled off a 20-0 run, building a lead of 23-4 with 10:19 remaining in the half. UA kept up the pressure until the half ended, finishing with a 46-22 halftime advantage.

The Crimson Tide maintained a lead between 20 and 30 points throughout the second half.

Levi Randolph led Alabama with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, adding seven rebounds and five assists. Rodney Cooper added 19 points and Retin Obasohan had 15.

"Levi was awesome but he was awesome before the game," Brannen said. "He was a leader for us all week."

Illinois (19-14) was led by Malcolm Hill's 22 points.

"I thought they were inspired today, they had a cause today and they had a chip on their shoulder today, maybe as much as any opponent as I have seen all season," said Illinois coach John Groce. "So I want to give them credit."

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