The Crimson Tide set a school record for largest margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history
TAMPA – The No. 4 seed Alabama men’s basketball team secured its largest margin of victory in its NCAA Tournament history with an impressive 90-65 victory over No. 5 seed Texas Tech on Sunday night at Benchmark International Arena. With the win, the Crimson Tide secured a school record fourth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 and will take on top-seed Michigan next Friday night in the United Center in Chicago.
Alabama (25-9) dominated on both ends of the floor throughout the 40-minute contest, leading for all but 32 seconds. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. led the Tide with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from deep. Houston Mallette came off the bench to record 15 points and eight boards while Amari Allen (12) and Aiden Sherrell (10) also hit double figures. Labaron Philon Jr. added a near triple-double with nine points, a career-high 12 assists and six boards in the victory.
Texas Tech (23-11) LeJuan Watts’ 16 points and seven boards while Donovan Atwell added 12 points.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
“That was a fun game to be a part of. Texas Tech is a very good and they have done a lot to win the number of games they have and beat the teams they have this season. They lost a National Player of the Year candidate in (J.T) Toppin and figured out ways to beat some very good teams. This Texas Tech team went to Iowa State and beat them without Toppin, so for us to win in the fashion we did was huge. I have a huge amount of respect for Coach Grant McCasland. I think he’s one of the best coaches in the country. I have a lot of respect for what he did when he lost Toppin.
“I give our seniors a ton of respect tonight. They came ready to go. Wrightsell’s defense on (Christian) Anderson, who I think is one of the best guards in the country, was great. Held him to 2-11 and 1-7 from three. All of our seniors had the mentality that they didn’t want to go home. I tell our guys all the time to lose yourself in the game, and everything will take care of itself.
“This is the fourth straight Sweet 16 we’ve been to, and these guys know what it takes to win. Trelly has been here three years and was part of our Final Four run and Elite Eight. Houston was part of last year’s Elite Eight run and then Noah has come in here and been about the right stuff. We’re seeing a different side of him in the tournament.”
Team Stats
- Alabama has now advanced to the Sweet 16 for a fourth consecutive year, setting a program record
- Alabama made 19 three-pointers on the night to bring its total to 436 threes made during the 2025-26 season which is not only a school record, but ranks fifth in NCAA single-season record books
- Alabama’s 25-point margin is tied for its largest margin of victory in an NCAA tournament game in school history
- UA dished out 25 assists on 30 made shots, good for the second-most in an NCAA tournament game in the program record books
- The Tide’s 19 made three pointers and 42 three-point attempts vs. Texas Tech are both tied for the second-most in UA tournament history
- Alabama’s 47 rebounds are its fourth-most in a tournament game and the second game of this tournament the Tide have grabbed 46 or more boards
- UA’s 90-point performance against the Red Raiders is its 22nd time this season that Alabama has reached 90-or-more points this season, the most in the country by five games
- Labaron Philon Jr.’s 12 assists are a career-high and the most by a Crimson Tide player since Kira Lewis Jr. had 13 vs. Auburn in 2020
First Half
- The Alabama defense picked up where it left off, limiting the Red Raiders to just three makes out of its first 10 shots from the field
- A 13-2 run over three minutes gave the Crimson Tide its first double-digit lead of the game at 20-9 with 11:28 remaining in the half
- The Tide continued scoring, extending the run to 20-3 to push its lead to 17 points, 27-10 at the 9:30 mark
- The Crimson Tide would end the half on a high note, going on a 12-4 scoring run to extend its lead to 49-25 at intermission
- UA’s defense and rebounding was superb in the opening stanza, as Alabama owned a 30-16 edge on the boards, including a 12-6 lead on the offensive glass, while forcing seven Tech turnovers
- As a result, Alabama owned a 15-8 edge on points off turnovers, an 8-2 lead in second chance points and had 11 assists on 17 made buckets
- Texas Tech’s 25 points in the first half are its lowest in the opening stanza all season, while the 24-point halftime difference was its largest of halftime deficit on the year
Second Half
- The hot shooting continued for the Tide as UA came out of the break hitting three of its first six shots from beyond the arc, building its lead to 23 points, 58-35, with 15:32 left to play
- A 10-3 Red Raider run over 2:41 of game time cut the Tide’s lead to 63-45 at the 11:55 mark
- UA responded with a 15-2 run over the next four minutes to grab a 32-point advantage, 81-49, with 6:57 remaining
- The Crimson Tide would lead by as many 34 points before settling for the 25-point victory
- Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half, including going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc
Up Next
- The Crimson Tide will take on No. 1 seed Michigan on Friday, March 28, at 6:35 p.m. CT/7:35 p.m. ET on TBS and TruTV
