Alabama

By the numbers: Key stats that defined Alabama’s win over LSU

Published

1 year ago

January 26, 2025

By the numbers: Key stats that defined Alabama’s win over LSU

If one thing proved true in No. 4 Alabama basketball’s 80-73 win over LSU, it’s that on any given night in the SEC, anything can happen.

Arriving at Coleman Coliseum with just one SEC win, LSU put up a scrappy and physical fight against the Crimson Tide. The Tigers went into halftime tied at 40-40 and even held small leads throughout the game.

Despite struggles from starting point guard Mark Sears and issues on the offensive glass early on, Alabama managed to pull away in the second half, avoiding a second conference loss and pleasing a nearly fully packed crowd.

Before we move on to Wednesday night’s matchup between Alabama and No. 14 Mississippi State, here are five key numbers that defined the Tide’s win over the Tigers.

7 — Clifford Omoruyi bounced back in the second half, snagging seven rebounds after a quiet first half with just two. LSU dominated the glass in the opening 20 minutes, but Omoruyi’s effort in the second half helped shift the momentum for Alabama. He finished with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Coach Nate Oats praised his performance, noting that it earned Omoruyi the Hard Hat Award.

“ Cliff, I didn’t think he was bringing it,” Oats said. “…Cliff was not rebounding like he needed to, wasn’t playing as hard as we’d have liked. And it ends up going out and playing extremely hard in the second half, had a great attitude on the bench and ends up winning hard hat.”

The Rutgers transfer has turned it up a notch since the beginning of conference play. He ranks in the top 13 in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage among SEC players, according to KenPom.com.

13 — One of the key reasons LSU managed to stay within striking distance for most of its trip to Coleman Coliseum was its tenacious effort on the offensive glass in the first half. The Tigers dominated Alabama 13-5 in offensive rebounds during the opening 20 minutes, largely thanks to four-star freshman Corey Chest’s absurd nine offensive boards in the first period alone.

After the game, Oats said rebounds will be a significant point of emphasis for his group going forward.

“ I got to give a ton of credit to LSU,” Oats said. “Corey Chest with 15 rebounds in the first half…,” Oats said. “That was, that was a major issue. All the offensive boards they had. They ended up outscoring us on second-chance points only by three, but we gave up way too many boards… It’s the fourth time this season we got out-rebounded. So that’s something we’re gonna have to really address going into Mississippi State.”

3 — LSU struggled from beyond the arc, making just three of 23 attempts from deep, which was a season-low. The Tigers’ measly three makes marks the second-lowest number of 3-pointers against Alabama this season. After the game, LSU head coach Matt McMahon said LSU’s inefficient shooting cost the Tigers down the stretch.

“We just weren’t able to make enough shots to give us a better chance there late,” McMahon said. “Credit to Alabama’s defense, credit to Alabama for the win.”

17 — Alabama star point guard Mark Sears played a season-low 17 minutes, all of which came in the first half, the fewest minutes he’s logged in a game since his freshman season at Ohio. Sears also posted the second-lowest offensive rating of his career on KenPom, finishing with a 28, ahead of the 21 he recorded earlier this season against Illinois.

After Sears had a rough first half, Oats mentioned that the coaching staff is implementing a philosophical shift moving forward.

“ We’re done starting the same group that starts the game, we’re gonna start the guys that we think give us the best chance to get a great start in the second half,” Oats said.

Fortunately for Oats, Alabama’s various backcourt options allow them to play a multitude of lineups depending on who’s hot.

9 — USF transfer Chris Youngblood, who made his first career start vs LSU, contributed to all nine of Alabama’s opening points. The Tuscaloosa native opened the game with seven and assisted Clifford Omoruyi on an alley-oop.

While not being upset about coming off the bench to begin the season, Youngblood said he was happy to finally get a start.

“It felt good,” Youngblood said. “It’s funny because at first, my family thought I’d mad about not starting, but I’m like, man, this team is wonderful, so I embraced this coming off the bench role… It was fun, man. It was fun.”

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Alabama

By The Numbers, Alabama A-Day 2026

Published

10 hours ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football scrimmaged inside Bryant-Denny Stadium for its annual A-Day spring football finale on Saturday. The Crimson Tide spent two hours with the offense and defense fighting for dominance in the April sun.

The afternoon wasn’t exactly a game, but looked more like real football than the 2025 A-Day and therefore gave fans and pundits quality content to evaluate.

“I thought the guys competed again,” Kalen DeBoer said. “It’s a unique situation with our practices, two of them still being next week, so we’re not done yet. Get back to work Tuesday and Thursday, still got a lot of opportunities to get better, a lot of situational that we can get to. But it was a good back and forth, much like many of the other scrimmages; you can see how we orchestrate it with the ball where we spot it. There’s some advantages the offense gets towards the end. We’ve got to get that red zone work in, but there’s a lot of things to learn, a lot of situational stuff that we can get better at.”

Disclaimer: These statistics were taken by hand and therefore not official

Passing

Keelon Russell: 21-33, 242 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Austin Mack: 6-12, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Jett Thomalla: 4-5, 44 yards
Tayden-Evan Kaawaa: 4-5, 37 yards

Rushing

Kevin Riley: 10 carries, 12 yards
Daniel Hill: 10 carries, 31 yards
AK Dear: 4 carries, 2 yards
Trae’Shawn Brown: 6 carries, 19 yards
Khalifa Keith: 1 carry

Receiving

Derek Meadows: 9 Targets, 5 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD
Cederian Morgan: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD
Ryan Williams: 3 targets, 3 receptions 60 yards
Trae’Shawn Brown: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 50 yards
Lotzeir Brooks: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards, 2 TDs
Marshall Pritchett: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards, 1 TD
Tyler Henderson: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 38 yards
Rico Scott: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards
Jay Lindsey: 2 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
AK Dear: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
Kevin Riley: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
Kaleb Edwards: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 27 yards
Maurice Mathis Jr.: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
Mack Sutter: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards
Daniel Hill: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards
Noah Rogers: 2 targets
Josh Ford: 1 target

Defense

Ivan Taylor: 6 tackles
Luke Metz: 4 tackles, sack, 2 TFL
Red Morgan: 4 tackles, 1 PBU
Caleb Woodson: 4 tackles
Justin Hill: 4 tackles, 2 TFL
Carmelo O’Neal: 4 tackles
Cayden Jones: 3 tackles
Jorden Edmunds: 3 tackles, 2 PBU
Keon Sabb: 3 tackles
Dijon Lee: 3 tackles, 1 INT
Zavier Mincey: 3 tackles
Duke Johnson: 3 tackles, 1 TFL
Jireh Edwards: 2 tackles, 1 PBU
Kendrick Bingley-Jones: 2 tackles, 2 TFL
Mahri Johnson: 2 tackles, sack
Abduall Sanders: 2 tackles
Terrence Green: 2 tackles, 1 PBU
Brody McCutcheon: 2 tackles, sack
Jake Ivie: 2 tackles
Yhonzae Pierre: 1 tackle
Devan Thompkins: 1 tackle
Xavier Griffin: 1 tackle
Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.: 1 tackle, 1 INT
Walter Sansing: 1 tackle
Zay Hall: 1 tackle
Jamarion Matthews: 1 tackle
Grant Johnson: 1 tackle
Griffin Hanson: 1 tackle

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Alabama

Alabama’s Willy Wilcox returns to Masters in new role after overcoming addiction

Published

22 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Alabama’s Willy Wilcox returns to Masters in new role after overcoming addiction

(Willy Wilcox/Instagram)

The story of Willy Wilcox begins with his mom. Kim Wilcox won over 50 tournaments as a junior golfer, was a four-year letter winner at Auburn, and finished runner-up in the 1988 Alabama State Women’s Amateur Championship. She had aspirations of joining the LPGA Tour, but life intervened. In the late 1980s, she had Willy, and by 1991, she became the club manager and golf pro at the now-defunct Pine Harbor Golf and Racquet Club in Pell City, Alabama.

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Alabama

Prattville 19 year old creates Alabama Children’s Theatre

Published

1 day ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Prattville 19 year old creates Alabama Children’s Theatre

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (WSFA) – Maggie Kervin has a passion for the theater. She started as a little girl and loved it ever since.

“I went to Prattville Christian Academy and got my start in theater there,” said Kervin.

After graduating from high school, she got a job, but noticed something was missing in her community. So, she started the Alabama Children’s Theatre. Keep in mind she’s just 19 years old.

At 19 years old, Prattville native Maggie Kervin found a unique way to give back. She started the Alabama Children’s Theatre.(WSFA)

“There’s just not a lot of opportunities for kids in theater. I really wanted to provide that opportunity.”

Two years ago, she had $50 in her pocket and a dream. Now things are picking up steam and she’s enjoying the ride. This is for kids between the ages of five and 18. Right now, they’re working on Annie Jr.

“We’ve had so many kids why are shy and timid the first time they are one stage. When it’s their third or fourth time, they are very different.”

It’s different for her too. She’s used to being the one up on stage. Now she’s behind the computer, with them for every word, in every song.

At 19 years old, Prattville native Maggie Kervin found a unique way to give back. She started... — At 19 years old, Prattville native Maggie Kervin found a unique way to give back. She started the Alabama Children’s Theatre.(WSFA)

“I didn’t think I’d ever be in the position of running my own theater.”

The reward for Maggie, getting to see her always improving stars, continue to shine.

“It’s just so exciting to see them put the hard work into something and watch it blossom. They are so excited and so dedicated.”

You can check out Annie Jr. this month. The shows are at the Pine Level Community Center.

She’s hoping you come see them for yourself, at the Pine Level Community Center. Here’s a link to show times and ticket prices for the end of the month. Her next goal is to find a facility of their own one day. Visit the Facebook page if you’d like to help make that happen.

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