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Troy basketball turns back South Alabama 65-55, knocks Jaguars out of first place

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Troy basketball turns back South Alabama 65-55, knocks Jaguars out of first place


Troy carried over a dominant second half vs. South Alabama last weekend into a strong 40-minute effort on Saturday, beating the Jaguars 65-55 at Trojan Arena.

The Trojans (12-7, 5-3 Sun Belt Conference) won at home vs. their in-state rival for the fourth straight year, and temporarily knocked the Jaguars (14-6, 6-2) out of first place in the conference. Arkansas State (16-5, 7-2) is a half-game ahead of South Alabama in the overall standings, with the Jaguars facing a weather-related makeup game at Louisiana-Monroe on Monday.

Troy led nearly throughout on Saturday, overcoming an early 3-2 deficit with a 15-0 run behind some hot 3-point shooting. The Trojans hit eight from beyond the arc in the first half and 12 in the game, and pulled down an astounding 20 offensive rebounds.

“They punked us, man,” South Alabama coach Richie Riley said in his postgame comments on SportsTalk 99.5 FM. “They pushed us around on the glass. They pushed us around on the perimeter. I mean, it was hand-to-hand combat for 40 minutes.

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“And we’ve got to respond better to that, because it won’t be the last time we see it. I mean, anytime you play these dudes, that’s what it’s going to be.”

South Alabama cut the deficit to six at halftime and to four at 50-46 in the final six minutes, but Troy had an answer each time. Myles Rigsby made a massive 3-pointer after an offensive rebound with 5:20 to play, then Tayton Conerway hit another with 1:19 left to put the Trojans up 10 and essentially ice the game.

It was a continuation for Troy of the second half from last week’s meeting vs. South Alabama in Mobile, in which the Trojans trailed by 20 at halftime before storming back to take the lead in the final minute. South Alabama’s Barry Dunning made two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining to give the Jaguars a 65-64 win in that one.

Rigsby — back in the starting lineup Saturday for the first time in two weeks after missing time following an elbow to the head vs. Texas State on Jan. 11 — led the Trojans with 15 points, while Cooper Campbell had 12 (all on 3-pointers) and Jackson Fields added 10 rebounds (5 offensive). Conerway shot just 4-for-17 from the floor, but posted a solid all-around effort with 10 points, nine assists and five steals.

Jayden Cooper led South Alabama with a season-high 17 points off the bench, but was the lone Jaguars player in double-figures. Dunning added nine points and nine rebounds, but South Alabama shot just 27% (6-for-22) on 3-pointers.

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“It’s so stressful out there, but also I know things don’t happen if your guys don’t play extremely hard,” Troy coach Scott Cross told the Troy Radio Network. “That’s what I told them before the game, ‘wars are won by the will of men,’ not by weapons or scouting reports or plays or zones or any of that.

“Our guys had that look in their eyes tonight. There were a couple times where the game got a little bit close, but overall, our guys really were locked-in defensively. I mean, what a game defensively. We were able to get 13 more shot attempts, and I think that was the difference in the game.”

Troy attempted 40 3-pointers, but made enough to keep South Alabama at bay. The Trojans out-rebounded the Jaguars 41-35 overall, and made 7 of 10 free throws.

South Alabama was 9-for-15 from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over 15 times. That’s uncharacteristic of a Jaguars team that has been among the best in the country at taking care of the ball, but also speaks to Troy’s physical style both in the second half last Saturday in Mobile and for the entire game on Saturday.

“We got physically manhandled,” Riley said. “I mean, they fouled us every possession. And we’ve got to be tougher than that. Sixty minutes straight of that. And we knew it was coming. We knew those were not going to be called fouls.

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“… But it’s not on the refs, it’s on us. We knew what the game was going to be. They let them foul like crazy, and that’s what they do for 40 minutes. And we knew that coming in. We prepared for it. And we didn’t handle it well.”

South Alabama travels to ULM at 6:30 p.m. Monday in game that was originally scheduled for Thursday, but postponed due to dangerous road conditions caused by winter storm Enzo. Troy hosts Southern Miss at 5 p.m. Monday in a game that was also snowed out on Thursday.



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Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’

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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.”

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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.

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Anyone interested in adopting Ringo is asked to call Madison’s Animal Control at 256-772-5694.



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BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama

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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.

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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

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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.




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Arizona vs Alabama Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s College Basketball Game

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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.

Dec 13, 2025 • 12:25 ET

• 4 min read

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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.

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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 betAlabama +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.

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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.

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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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