Alabama's Defense Shines in Historic Win over Creighton

First Half Highlights

After a sluggish start in last December's loss to Creighton, Mark Sears made a strong comeback with four 3-pointers. The senior from Muscle Shoals led the team with 27 points, supported by 16 from freshman Labaron Philon. Alabama struggled with 3-point shooting initially but managed to turn things around.

Creighton, unranked at 7-4 and coming off an upset of Kansas, found it difficult to maintain their momentum. Alabama's defense was on point, outrebounding the Bluejays 46-32 and denying them a 4-0 series lead. The first half saw some key plays, such as Chris Youngblood's steal and Derrion Reid's dunk, which gave Alabama a 65-52 lead with 6:30 remaining.

Second Half Struggles and Comebacks

Alabama's turnovers became an issue again, averaging 12.9 per game. They had just four turnovers in the first half but added four more in the second half. However, Mark Sears' second 3-pointer with 15:44 to halftime kept Alabama ahead at 40-31.

Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner made a pair of defensive rebounds and layups in the final seconds of the first half, narrowing the gap to a single-digit game at 37-31. In the second half, there was a scoring drought for Alabama, with them held scoreless for the last three and a half minutes and only clearing one of their last eight field goal attempts.

Freshman Labaron Philon continued to impress, notching eight points, one rebound, and a steal. He assisted Mark Sears on his first 3-pointer of the game, giving Alabama a 27-10 lead with less than nine minutes to halftime. USF transfer Chris Youngblood also made his first 3-pointer for Alabama, seeing Creighton trail 16-7.

Final Analysis

Alabama's defense held strong throughout the game, denying Creighton's attempts to take control. Despite some struggles, such as 3-point shooting and turnovers, the Crimson Tide managed to secure the win. With key players like Mark Sears and Labaron Philon performing well and new additions like Aiden Sherrell and Clifford Omoruyi providing support, Alabama is looking strong.

The upcoming games will be interesting to watch as Alabama continues to build on this historic victory and Creighton looks to bounce back. Alabama's basketball program is on an upward trajectory, and this win is a significant step in their journey.

For more on Alabama basketball and other Crimson Tide athletics, follow Emilee Smarr at esmarr@gannett.com.

Alabama is an 11.5-point favorite over Creighton, according to BetMGM. The spread is Alabama (-11.5), the moneyline is Alabama (-700) | Creighton (+500), and the over/under is 163.5 points.

Date: Saturday, Dec. 14; Start time: 7:30 p.m. CT; TV channel: SEC Network; Streaming: ESPN+, Fubo.