Alabama
South Alabama holds off Troy 64-63, stays in first place in Sun Belt Conference
Barry Dunning had one of those “kid shooting baskets in his backyard” moments on Saturday, and he did it for his hometown team against its biggest rival.
Dunning sank two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining to give South Alabama a 64-63 victory over Troy in front a of season-best crowd of 5,148 at the Mitchell Center, keeping the Jaguars (15-5, 6-1 Sun Belt Conference) alone in first place. Dunning, Alabama’s Mr. Basketball at Mobile’s McGill-Toolen Catholic School in 2022, then got a hand on the Trojans’ inbounds pass to keep them from getting off a clean shot at the buzzer.
Dunning said he was thinking of his father, Barry Sr., when he went to the free-throw line in the final seconds.
“It just goes back to when I was a little kid,” Dunning said. “We shoot free throws every day after practice, but I gave my dad a game ball because he used to take me to the YMCA downtown, and we would just shoot free throws.
“A lot of my game comes from my Pop’s foundation, so I had to give him the game ball. I just remember the times at the YMCA, ‘It’s just you and the rim, son,’ just making free throws. I got his name, so that was us making that free throw together.”
That Dunning even had to be the hero at the end was a bit of a surprise, as the Jaguars led by 20 at halftime and by 10 with 4:31 to play. But Troy (11-7, 4-3) ramped up its defense in the second half, forcing 14 South Alabama turnovers — six straight at one stretch.
The Trojans got within one on Tayton Conerway’s 3-pointer with 1:20 left, then took their first lead since the first four minutes of the game at 63-62 when Jackson Fields hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with 11.6 seconds remaining. Myles Corey’s driving layup for South Alabama missed and the ball went out of bounds off Troy with 2.9 seconds left, allowing the Jaguars to set up their final play.
Corey lobbed the ball in to Dunning, who got off a shot just as he was fouled by Troy’s Thomas Dowd. After Dunning made the free throws to put the Jaguars up one and then tipped the throw-in, the Trojans’ Myles Rigsby got to the loose ball and put up a half-court 3-pointer that missed badly at the buzzer.
“What a moment,” Riley said of Dunning. “He’ll remember that for the rest of his life. I gave him a big hug in the locker room. I said, ‘That’s why you came back home, man, for moments like that, to get to do that.’
“…It couldn’t have had a more special ending. I wish it wouldn’t have come down to that. I wish we would have cruised like we should have.”
South Alabama forward Barry Dunning Jr. scored 14 points and had eight rebounds in a 64-63 win over Troy on Saturday at the Mitchell Center. His two free throws with 1.9 seconds left gave the Jaguars the victory. (Mike Kittrell/AL.com)
Mike Kittrell/AL.com
Dunning led the Jaguars with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Judah Brown added 12 points — all in the first half — and Randy Brady chipped in 11 points with six boards. JJ Wheat scored 10, while John Broom had nine points, five rebounds and three blocks.
Conerway was the only Troy player in double-figures scoring, but took over the game in the second half. The senior guard finished with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals despite sitting out a large chunk of the first half due to foul trouble.
“Our defensive intensity was better in the second half,” Troy coach Scott Cross said. “Because we were able to get some easier baskets, things opened up for us. Our guys got a little bit more confident. … It was just a momentum swing. And we had the momentum in the second half.
“They crushed us in the first half. Unfortunately, we didn’t show up and play the way we needed to in the first half. And they were lights out from the 3-point line.”
Despite its offensive and ball-handling woes in the second half, South Alabama’s Sun Belt-best defense didn’t take the day off. The Jaguars limited the Trojans to 35.1% shooting overall and 29% (9-for-31) from 3-point range and held them well below their season average of 74.1 points per game.
Troy went the final 8:25 of the first half without a field goal, making just two free throws during that stretch. Sparked by runs of 13-0 and 12-0, the Jaguars led 42-22 at halftime.
“Our defense held steady enough for us to be able to win,” Riley said. “You have games like this. There’s a lot of games where you don’t play your best for a half, sometimes the whole game.
“Those are the ones if you want to have a chance at the end of the year, you’ve got to find a way to some of those. Today we did that. Obviously we didn’t have our best stuff, but we found a way to gut it out and win it. We’ll take it. We certainly ain’t giving the win back.”
South Alabama is now 7-0 vs. the Trojans in Mobile under Riley, and continues its best start to Sun Belt play since the 2007-08 season. That happens to be the most-recent time the Jaguars reached the NCAA tournament.
Saturday also marked the first time the Jaguars have won a game decided by a single possession since Dec. 8, when they beat Jacksonville State 76-74. They were in a similar spot a week ago, but lost 71-63 in overtime to Old Dominion.
“Man, that was super exciting,” Brady said. “We started off good in the first half, kind of sloppy in the second half, but we pulled it off. A win is a win.”
South Alabama hits the road to face Louisiana-Monroe at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Troy is back home to face Southern Miss at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Alabama
Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’
Ringo, an abandoned puppy that was dropped off at the Madison Police Department earlier this week, will get the surgery he needs thanks to an outpouring of donations from the city’s residents.
On Dec. 9, the Madison Police Department said in a Facebook post it was trying to raise $2,000 so Ringo could get an injured leg amputated.
“Citizens of Madison, we need your help. Recently, an abandoned and abused puppy was brought to us—sweet, loving, and still full of hope despite what he’s been through,” the post said.
“To give him the chance at a healthy, happy life, he needs a surgery to amputate an injured leg. Once he recovers, he’ll be ready for adoption and would make an incredible addition to a loving Madison family—just in time for Christmas.”
Just three days later, the department said in an update that they’d raised the money they needed, and Ringo would get his surgery in the middle of January.
During a vet visit, the pup was given a clean bill of health and all his required shots.
“We completely met the goal and could not have done it without the help of all our citizens here so we greatly appreciate everything you guys donated for him,” an update video said.
Now the police department is asking for the community to step up again and help get Ringo adopted before his surgery.
“Our next thing we can do is have him adopted. He is ready to go into somebody’s home so he can get acclimated and ready to go before his surgery,” the post said.
Anyone interested in adopting Ringo is asked to call Madison’s Animal Control at 256-772-5694.
Alabama
BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 12 Alabama fell to No. 1 Arizona in Legacy Arena in the fifth annual C.M. Newton Classic. The Crimson Tide held a 2-point halftime lead, but got decimated in the second half, opening the first six minutes of the second frame with just two field goals made.
The top-ranked Wildcats went on to claim a 96-75 victory and dropped the Crimson Tide’s record in the event to 2-3.
“They’re obviously a really good team,” Nate Oats said. “There’s a reason they’re number one in the country. I thought the first half we played pretty well. We were down five on the glass and needed to clean it up a little bit, and then the second half we had this issue where we just haven’t had very good starts to the second half. We came out and didn’t have a very good start, and it got progressively worse. I think they scored, shoot 39 the entire first half. They had 39 in less than 12 minutes to start the second half.
“Start of the second half was bad. Obviously, they came out of halftime ready to play; we didn’t. The toughness factor was a problem. It’s impossible – I shouldn’t say impossible. It’s nearly impossible to win a game when your opponent gets 28 more field goal attempts than you. If you look, we outshot them from the field and from the free throw line, both percentage-wise. Free throws, they made one more free throw than we did and they got 28 more field goal attempts. You can’t win games giving your opponent 28 more field goal attempts. Offensive glass we had three the whole game, they had 22. We lost the rebounds by 20 again. This has been a recurring issue for us.”
Alabama History in C.M. Newton Classic
- 2021 – Davidson 79, Alabama 78
- 2022 – Gonzaga 100, Alabama 90
- 2023 – Alabama 101, Liberty 56
- 2024 – Alabama 100, Illinois 87
- 2025 – Arizona 96, Alabama 75
Watch the above video as BamaCentral writers Katie Windham, Hunter De Siver, and Will Miller, provide thoughts and takeaways from the Alabama men’s basketball team’s 96-75 loss against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. The trio discusses the performance of the No. 12 Crimson Tide and the rebounding issues that continue to plague the program.
Alabama
Arizona vs Alabama Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s College Basketball Game
Even on a neutral floor, Alabama should feel plenty of support from the Birmingham crowd at Legacy Arena — enough to keep No. 1 Arizona on its toes.
Photo By – Imagn Images. Alabama Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway (2) drives to the basket.
The Arizona Wildcats are regarded as the best team in the land once again and will put that moniker to the test when they hit the road to face Alabama in Birmingham.
Both of these teams will come into this matchup off strong wins. The Wildcats beat Tide rival Auburn by nearly 30 points, while Alabama blew out UTSA by 42.
I break down the matchup in my Alabama vs. Arizona predictions & college basketball picks for Saturday, December 13.
Arizona vs Alabama prediction
Arizona vs Alabama best bet: Alabama +1.5 (-110)
In name only, this will be a neutral site game but given the geography between the two teams and the fact that this game will be played in Birmingham, this is certainly going to be a very pro Tide crowd.
With that at the forefront, it’s enough to shift things and make Alabama my best bet to cover. I projected this number closer to three.
The Tide have the best unit on the floor: It’s offense. The Nate Oats math-ball shot profile led by Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway is kinda exactly what you want here.
Arizona’s defensive profile is more conducive to slowing down your traditional post and big to big actions, not exactly this one. What’s particularly concerning is allowing an above average scoring rate (.93 points per possession) on attacks + kicks along with 1.02 points per possession on big cuts and rolls.
These are two items that are a foundation of the Alabama offense. Their clearest edge is in transition and on the offensive glass, areas Alabama can at least partially control by taking care of the ball and keeping the floor spaced.
In a game that should be played in the 80s possession-wise with huge three-point volume, I’d rather have the side with more proven perimeter shot-making and multiple paths to scoring efficiently.
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Arizona vs Alabama same-game parlay
I started things off here with Holloway to go over his assists number. He’s the primary facilitator on the big cut-and-rolls, meaning he should benefit the most from these sets with an increase in assist volume.
This doesn’t even begin to mention how he’ll likely find some easy ones in transition.
Speaking of transition, I’ll finish our same-game parlay off with Jaden Bradley to go over his points total because of it. Alabama, somewhat a product of how they play, has one of the worst transition defenses in the country, and Bradley may be the best transition scoring option on the floor.
Arizona vs Alabama SGP
- Aden Holloway Over 4.5 assists
- Jaden Bradley Over 16.5 points
- Alabama +1.5
Our beyond the arc SGP: Wrightsell shoots from deep
Latrell Wrightsell should get plenty of clean looks from deep given how Arizona is likely to defend Alabama, so I paired his over 1.5 threes with the game Over.
I’m close to market on the number, but with two awful transition defenses, the pace and easy-runout points make me lean higher.
Arizona vs Alabama SGP
- Alabama +1.5
- Aden Holloway Over 4.5 assists
- Jaden Bradley Over 16.5 points
- Over 178
- Latrell Wrightsell Over 1.5 threes
Arizona vs Alabama odds
- Spread: Arizona -1.5 (-110) | Alabama +1.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Arizona -130 | Alabama +110
- Over/Under: Over 178 (-110) | Under 178 (-110)
Arizona vs Alabama betting trend to know
Arizona has hit the 1H Moneyline in 29 of their last 37 games (+21.10 Units / 1% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Arizona vs. Alabama.
How to watch Arizona vs Alabama
| Location | Legacy Arena at BJCC, Birmingham, AL |
| Date | Saturday, December 13, 2025 |
| Tip-off | 9:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
Arizona vs Alabama key injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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