No. 10 Alabama rallies out of 15-point deficit in second half to upset No. 1 Houston
Alabama basketball freshmen Noah Clowney and Jaden Bradley played like veterans on Saturday, leading the Crimson Tide to a 71-65 road upset of Houston, which entered play ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. It marked the second time this season that Alabama has beaten the nation's No. 1-ranked team, having dispatched North Carolina in quadruple overtime two weeks ago.
Clowney posted team-highs in scoring (16) and rebounding (11), opening the game with Alabama's first five points and finishing 7-of-12 from the field from the forward position to lead a comeback from a 15-point second-half deficit. He also played tough defense, finishing with four fouls against a physical Cougars team. Bradley, meanwhile, scored 12 and handed out four assists without a turnover at point guard to help counter a rough outing by Jahvon Quinerly, who shot 1-of-6 and committed four turnovers in just 13 minutes.
"Jaden Bradley was big on both sides of the ball. ... You talk about taking care of the ball, he did a good job," said Alabama coach Nate Oats. "He played 25 minutes and didn't turn the ball over against them."
No. 10 Alabama (8-1) next plays Memphis at Coleman Coliseum on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The efforts of Clowney and Bradley were especially critical as one of the Crimson Tide's other top freshmen, Brandon Miller, struggled to score. Miller was 0-for-7 in the first half and finished 0-for-8, although he made some critical free throws late to help Alabama put the game out of reach. Although Alabama struggled at the free-throw line on the whole (20-of-32), Miller scored UA's last six points at the line without a miss.
"At halftime, I told him 'We've got to do more to affect the game. They're trying to take you out.'" Oats said of Miller. "Your shot's not dropping, what are you going to do? So we kind of challenged him defensively, and he was much better in the second half. ... He's not going to shoot 7-of-9 from three every night."
Houston opened the second half with a 13-2 run and led by 15 at one point, but Alabama chipped away at the lead and took the lead itself with three minutes remaining on a 3-pointer by Mark Sears. From there, Alabama took control with a stifling defense. Houston star guard Marcus Sasser shot just 2 for 11 and scored nine points after lighting up the Crimson Tide for 25 last season. UA guard Nimari Burnett, in particular, frustrated Sasser by face-guarding him, denying passes to the Cougars' top player and keeping the ball out of his hands. Houston scored just one field goal over the final five minutes.
"Bradley was great on Sasser, Nimari (Burnett) was great on Sasser, (Mark) Sears did a good job on (defense), Clowney had a really good night, so different guys stepped up on the defensive end for us," Oats added.
After losing the rebounding battle to Houston last year, when the Cougars collected 21 offensive boards, Alabama would have none of the same this time. The Crimson Tide outrebounded UH 44-39 and did a nice job of limiting the Cougars to one shot.
Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Houston upset by Alabama as Crimson Tide rally out of 15-point hole
