Alabama
Alabama rides nation's best offense against Vanderbilt
Visiting Alabama seeks its first true road win while continuing its recent dominance over Vanderbilt when the teams meet Saturday in the SEC opener for both in Nashville, Tenn.
The Crimson Tide thrashed Commodores last season, leading by as many as 23 points in an eventual 78-66 win in Nashville on Jan. 17 and then hammering the Commodores 101-44 in the rematch two weeks later in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Heading into Division I play Friday, Alabama (8-5) led all teams in scoring offense (92.8 points per game) and has topped 100 points five times. The Crimson Tide also scored 98 and 99 points in wins over Mercer and Oregon.
Vanderbilt hasn’t allowed more than 84 points in a game but ranks 215th in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency due to a weak schedule that is ranked 266th nationally.
Alabama, with a No. 14 strength of schedule, has top-end firepower in Mark Sears (19.3 points per game), Grant Nelson (14.2) and Aaron Estrada (13.8), as well as depth — with 10 players averaging at least 5.0 points.
Six Crimson Tide players scored in double figures when Alabama ripped Liberty 101-56 last Saturday. Liberty is tied for 10th in the nation in scoring defense at 61.3 points.
“I thought it was a pretty good game,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “Our defense kept them out of what they do well. … Our energy was good, our rebounding was good and that was a huge point of emphasis, making free throws and being good on the glass.”
Vanderbilt’s Ezra Manjon scored a game-high 23 in last Saturday’s 69-53 win over Dartmouth, while Tyrin Lawrence added a season-high 22.
Injuries have been a major issue for Vanderbilt, which played without leading active rebounder Ven-Allen Lubin (5.4 per game) for all but nine minutes of the last three games due to a groin injury.
Lawrence, a preseason second-team All-SEC pick, missed the first four games due to a foot injury.
“He’s had some nicks and stuff and I don’t think he’s been 100 percent,” Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse said of Lawrence.
Stackhouse was optimistic that Lubin will be available against Alabama.
—Field Level Media
Alabama
University of Alabama police officer's family leans on law enforcement community after his death
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) – Pauline Love, the new head coach of the Alabama women’s basketball team, says her late college coach, Joye Lee-McNelis, is the reason she got into coaching.
Love played for Lee-McNelis at Southern Miss, describing her as a second mother. Lee-McNelis passed away last summer after a long battle with breast cancer.
A relationship that changed her path
Love said she once told Lee-McNelis she would never go into coaching, a conversation the two laughed about often.
“I used to tell her all the time, I would never do this. I would never put up with somebody like me or I would never work for somebody like her. I was like coach, you’re crazy. We used to laugh about it all the time and she was like you’ll see one day, you’ll see,” Love said.
Love had planned to work in the tech industry. Instead, she has spent 15 years in coaching.
“She pretty much paved the way for me. There’s no way I’d be sitting here if it wasn’t for her,” Love said.
High expectations at Alabama
Love returns to Tuscaloosa after previously serving as an assistant at Alabama. She was introduced as head coach in April, and was brought to tears when she mentioned Lee-McNelis during that introduction.
Her goals for the program are clear.
“I’m going to have a passion about it. I want to bring a Final Four to the University of Alabama and make Tuscaloosa proud,” Love said.
This year’s roster includes Spring Garden’s Ace Austin, back for her sophomore season.
Love said she wants her players to know that difficult times are part of the process.
“I can say for them, I’ve been there. I’ve done it. Just learn how to figure out and fight through hard things. You gotta do something hard and fight through it and I promise you it’s rewarding at the end of it,” Love said.
Love said she also wants to be a source of support for her players off the court, the same way Lee-McNelis was for her.
“I know we always get caught up in the money part of it, but I got a group of girls that doesn’t care about that. They want to care about making the fans happy and giving them something good to watch,” Love said.
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Alabama football fans are invited to a preseason pep rally Aug. 4 at the Tuscaloosa River Market.
The pep rally is part of the annual fall kickoff event hosted by the Tuscaloosa County chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association.
The family friendly event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway. Tickets, which include a barbecue dinner, cost $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 8 to 12. Children 7 years old and younger will be admitted for free.
The pep rally will feature live entertainment, a silent auction and a range of family-friendly activities. There will also be a cash bar with wine and beer.
Tickets can be purchased on the chapter’s website, tuscaloosacountyuaalumni.com. Membership in the local alumni chapter is not required for attendance.
University of Alabama President Peter Mohler and UA baseball coach Rob Vaughn will be part of the festivities.
Mohler began his duties as UA president on July 21, 2025.
Before being named UA president, Mohler spent nearly 15 years at Ohio State University, where he held senior leadership roles overseeing research, innovation and economic development. He also served as OSU’s acting president, providing leadership during a pivotal period for one of the nation’s largest public universities.
Mohler earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a PhD in cell and molecular physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Vaughn has been UA’s head baseball coach for three years, leading the Crimson Tide to the College Baseball World Series in 2026.
The Humble, Texas, native served as head baseball coach at Maryland for five seasons before coming to Tuscaloosa.
Vaughn played collegiate baseball at Kansas State, where his position was catcher.
Alabama begins the 2026 football season on Sept. 5 with a home game against the East Carolina Pirates. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Other Alabama home games include Florida State on Sept. 19, South Carolina on Sept. 26, Georgia on Oct. 10, Texas A&M on Oct. 24, Chattanooga on Nov. 21 and Auburn on Nov. 28.
Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com. To support his work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.
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