Alabama

Alabama Basketball Loses To Florida

Published

10 months ago

March 16, 2025

The 5th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide fell to the 4th ranked Florida Gators 102-84 on Saturday in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators may very well be the best team in the country. The Tide fell to 25-8 overall while Florida improved to 29-4. The loss was Alabama second to the Gators in the last two weeks. Bama played a strong, spirited, first half, but UF proved too much in the second period and ran away with the game.
The Tide continued with their starting lineup of Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, Chris Youngblood, Grant Nelson, and Clifford Omoruyi. The contest was back and forth for the entirety of the half, with the Tide having as much as a six point lead and the Gators never leading by more than three points.

A cold spell over the last two minutes by the Tide allowed Florida to take a 47-45 lead into the locker room. Alabama also took a hobbled Sears and Nelson into the halftime break. Sears’ ankle did allow him to continue, but Nelson’s knee kept him out of the second half. It is yet to be determined how serious the injury is, and how long it may keep Nelson out.

In the half the Tide shot 17-35 for 49% with 5-17 from three point range and made only 5-11 free throws. Bama had 20 rebounds, two blocks, 10 assists, three steals, and five turnovers. The game was tight despite Philon being held scoreless and Sears not making a single three point shot. Nelson had a strong half prior to his injury with nine points, three rebounds, one assist, a block, and a steal. Jarin Stevenson had nine points. Omoruyi scored eight and Sears added seven points.

Florida shot 18-38 for 47%, 6-15 from three, and 5-9 at the charity stripe. The Gators grabbed 22 rebounds, had seven assists, four steals, and six turnovers. Dynamic guard Walter Clayton, Jr, led the charge with 12 points.

Things got away quickly in the second half, and the Tide never had a chance. Florida did as they pleased and went on an 11-0 run that ballooned to 17-2 over several minutes. When asked about why he didn’t call a timeout during the stretch, Oats said “what do you want me to say, play harder? We had already told them we needed to do that, they have to figure out it they want to be then hardest playing team on the floor or not.”

The Tide shot only 11-32 for 34% in the second half with 6-18 from deep and were 9-12 at the free throw line. Overall the team finished 28-67 for 42%, 11-35 for 31% from three, and 15-23 for 65% at the free throw line. Bama tallied 38 rebounds, 14 assists, four blocks, four steals, and 10 total turnovers. Youngblood’s 14 points led the scoring. Omoruyi scored 12 points put was only able to grab one rebound. Mo Dioubate scored 12 points and had 12 rebounds, five offensively, and added a block and a pair of steals. Stevenson scored 10 and had five rebounds as his improved play continues. Sears, Nelson, and Aden Holloway contributed nine points each.

Florida shot 19-34 for 56% in the second half, with 6-12 from deep, and made 13-19 free throws. Overall the Gators shot 37-72 for 51%, 12-27 for 44% from three, and made 18-28 free throws. UF had 43 rebounds, 17 assists, four blocks, eight steals, and seven turnovers. Clayton scored 22 to lead six players in double figures. Will Richard and Alijah Martin were next with 16 each.

Next up is selection Sunday. The Tide should be locked in as a two seed, hopefully in a region with favorable matchups where they can try to go on another magical run toward the Final Four.

Roll Tide

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Alabama

Where to watch Texas vs. Alabama today: College basketball free stream

Published

11 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Where to watch Texas vs. Alabama today: College basketball free stream

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The No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide host the Texas Longhorns Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. The Crimson Tide have four losses this season, all have come against teams ranked inside the top 11.

Texas vs. Alabama will air on ESPN, and streams live on DIRECTV (free trial).

What: Men’s college basketball regular season

Who: Texas Longhorns vs. No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide

When: Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live stream: DIRECTV (free trial), fuboTV (free trial)

Texas is 3-4 in its past seven games, and doesn’t have a win over any currently ranked teams. A road win over Alabama would help its cause in the national ranking and the SEC standings. Alabama hasn’t lost to an unranked team this season, and a second straight would hurt their hopes for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a recent college basketball story via the Associated Press:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tyler Tanner scored 23 of his career-high 29 points in the second half and No. 11 Vanderbilt remained undefeated by beating 13th-ranked Alabama 96-90 on Wednesday night.

The Commodores (15-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) extended their best start since winning 16 straight games to open the 2007-08 season. This is only the second time in the program’s 124-year history that Vanderbilt has won its first 15.

Vanderbilt hadn’t played a ranked opponent until this game, also the first here between two top-15 teams since Jan. 5, 1974. Then-No. 10 Vanderbilt beat the 14th-ranked Crimson Tide in that game on its way to splitting the SEC championship with Alabama.

Vanderbilt also beat Alabama for the first time at Memorial Gym since 2018, ending a five-game skid against the Tide.

Duke Miles had 19 points and five steals before fouling out, and four other Commodores finished with at least four fouls. Tyler Nickel scored 12 points while Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke, who also fouled out, each had 10.

Tanner, a sophomore guard, added seven assists and four steals. He was 12 of 15 at the free-throw line — all in the second half.

Alabama (11-4, 1-1) had its four-game winning streak snapped in a game featuring 63 combined fouls, with two technicals on the Crimson Tide.

Amari Allen led Alabama with a season-high 25 points. Leading scorer Labaron Philon Jr. added 18 but checked out with 16:06 to go and never returned. Aden Holloway had 22 points and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 13.

Fouls called left and right turned the first 10 minutes of the second half into ugly ball, and Alabama never led by more than four. Allen hit two free throws that pulled the Tide to 59-58 with 12:14 left.

Vanderbilt went on a 16-4 spurt that included a technical foul on Alabama coach Nate Oats with 8:39 to go. Tanner hit both free throws off the technical, then Mike James knocked down a 3-pointer for a 74-63 lead. The Tide made it interesting but got no closer than 94-90.

Up next

Alabama hosts Texas on Saturday.

Vanderbilt hosts LSU on Saturday.

Can I bet on the game?

Yes, you can bet on the game from your phone in New York State, and we’ve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.

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Alabama

Texas vs. Alabama Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Saturday, Jan. 10

Published

23 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Texas vs. Alabama Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Saturday, Jan. 10

The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off a tough loss to Vanderbilt, but at 11-4 overall, they’re still in a great spot this season. On Saturday, they’ll host the Texas Longhorns, who are still seeking their first SEC win of the 2025-26 college basketball campaign.

Texas lost to Mississippi State in overtime and then lost by 14 points to Tennessee this past week. The oddsmakers now have them set as significant underdogs in this game, meaning a 0-3 start in conference play is likely. Let’s dive into it.

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

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Moneyline

Total

Dailyn Swain is leading Texas in points (15.6), rebounds (7.1), assists (3.5), and steals (1.8) per game. You’d be hard-pressed to find another team in college basketball where the same player leads the team in all four of those statistics. Alabama will have to shut him down to win and cover in this game.

The key factor in any Alabama game is how its opponent defends the perimeter. The Crimson Tide is primarily a three-point shooting team, which means the ability for their opponent to defend the three-ball plays a big role in how the game turns out.

Unfortunately, the Longhorns rank 223rd in the country in opponent three-point field goal percentage. They allow teams to shoot 34.4% from beyond the arc, which means Alabama, especially with the Crimson Tide being on their home court, has a chance to shoot the lights out on Saturday.

I’m going to lay the points on Alabama as a big favorite.

Pick: Alabama -13.5 (-110) via FanDuel

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain’s bets here!

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Alabama

How an Alabama moonshiner’s whiskey became the official state drink – and stayed that way

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

How an Alabama moonshiner’s whiskey became the official state drink – and stayed that way

Named after a famous 1940s Bullock County moonshiner who eventually served an 18-month federal prison sentence at Maxwell Air Force Base for producing illegal liquor, the Clyde May’s whiskey company was founded in Union Springs in 2001 by the bootlegger’s son, Kenny May.

Though the whiskey it produced was actually distilled in Kentucky, it was supposedly made using Conecuh Ridge spring water that was trucked there from Alabama.

In 2004, the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved a resolution naming the company’s “Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey” as the “Official State Spirit” of Alabama.

Gov. Bob Riley, a teetotaler who did not think the state should have an “official whiskey,” vetoed the resolution, but Democrat lawmakers quickly overrode his veto and allowed the resolution to take effect.

Shortly thereafter, in December of 2004, state liquor agents arrested Kenny May for selling liquor without a license, possessing excessive quantities of liquor in a dry county, and selling alcohol to a minor. He pled guilty to the charges.

Alabama’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board immediately moved to revoke Conecuh Ridge’s distribution license, meaning that once stores sold out of their existing stock, the state’s official spirit could no longer be sold in Alabama.

May’s stock was held in trust pending the outcome of his trial. Attorney Alva Lambert assumed interim leadership of the company.

After May entered his guilty plea, the Alabama House of Representatives moved to repeal the declaration of Conecuh Ridge as Alabama’s “Official State Spirit,” but the reversal legislation never passed the Alabama Senate. It remains the “Official State Spirit” today.
Kenny May passed away in 2016.

Owned and operated by a company based in New York today, Clyde May’s whiskey and bourbon is sold nationwide.
It’s flagship bottle is marketed as “Alabama-style” whiskey, and dried apples are added to the liquor as it ages in barrels, which imparts an apple/cinnamon flavor to the finished product.

Some like it, and some hate it, but all can agree the whiskey carries a fascinating political pedigree.

This story originally appeared in The Art of Alabama Politics, an outlet dedicated to the the wild, weird, and wonderful history of Alabama politics.

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