The 11th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide traveled to Chicago to play 8th ranked Illinois on Wednesday night. The Tide rose to the occasion and took down the Fighting Illini 90-86 in a hard fought game. Alabama has now taken down 5th ranked St Johns in Madison Square Garden and the 8th ranked team in the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls. Things don’t get any easier as next up is a trip to Las Vegas and a matchup with another top ranked team in the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the opening game of the Players Era Festival. The Tide will also play UNLV and another team to be determined. Alabama is now 3-1 on the young season.
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Coach Nate Oats changed up his starting lineup on Wednesday night, going with Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell. Taylor Bol Bowen, and Aiden Sherrell. Illinois jumped out 4-o before Amari Allen, in for Holloway, nailed a three point shot to get the Tide on the board. Oats substituted liberally with Noah Williamson, Houston Mallette, and for the first time all season, Keitenn Bristow entering the game. Bristow put his stamp on the game with hustle, rebounding, and defense, all of which the Tide had been missing over their first three games.
Illinois went on a run and for a 19-10 lead with 13:29 left in the half. Philon hit from behind the arc, Sherrell nailed a pair of free throws, and Bol Bowen made a three pointer to make the score 23-20 Illini with 9:30 left in the frame. Mallette made three of three free throws, Allen hit from deep, and Mallette closed the half with a three point shot to make the scored 42-41 in the favor of Illinois at the half.
Alabama shot 14-33 for 42% in the first half, including 8-21 for 38% from distance, and made 5-6 free throws. Bama grabbed 16 rebounds total with five of those offensively. The Tide dished out eight assists, blocked one shot, stole three balls, and committed six turnovers. Allen led the way with eight points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Bol Bowen also scored eight, and Mallette tossed in six points.
Illinois shot 15-36 for 42%, with 8-20 from three point range, made 4 of 5 free throws, had 21 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks, four steals, and gave the ball away six times. Andrej Stojakovich, son of former NBA star Peja, led the team with 12 points at the break. David Mirkovic was also in double digits with 10 points and added seven rebounds.
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The Tide used the same starters for the second half and quickly took the lead, that they never surrendered. Philon and Holloway took turns scoring to help Bama surge out to the lead. Bristow continued to show his worth with two straight baskets, a couple of rebounds, some nice defense, and endless hustle. Sherrell hit a three for a 64-56 lead with 9:18 left in the game. A couple of missed free throws at the front end of one and ones kept the Tide from stretching the lead out to a comfortable margin. The Illini heated back up around the eight minute mark to close within two points few times. A Wrightsell three at the 5:38 gave Bama a 67-62 lead.
The Illini would not go away. Stojakivic scored in and old fashioned three point play to cut the lead to 67-74 with 5:22 remaining. Philon answered with a big three pointer, followed by Mallette stealing the ball at mid court and driving for a bucket with 4:50 left for a 72-64 Bama lead. Illinois continued to answer, and then the Tide would answer back. With a 73-70 lead and 2:57 left, Bol Bowen went to the line for 1 and 1, and got bailed out, missing the first shot but got knew life because of a lane violation. The FSU transfer calmly made the two shots once given a second chance. Philon then scored nine straight points, but Illinois kept answering. The Tide made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Illini. Mallette sealed the deal with two freebies with six seconds left for the 90-86 final score.
Alabama shot 16-33 for 48%, including 5-15 for 33% from deep, in the second half. The Tide also hit 12-17 free throws for 71%. Overall Bama shot 30-66 for 46%, 13-36 from three for 36%, and made 17-23 for 74% at the line. The Tide had 38 rebounds- 10 offensively-, 15 assists, four blocks, six steals, and turned it over 10 times. Philon was player of the game with 24 points, five assists, two rebounds, and a steal. More importantly he stepped up in crunch time and was the best player on the court when it mattered most. Bol Bowen scored 12 points with three rebounds and two blocks. Holloway added 11 points and three assists, while Bristrow made a nice debut in Crimson with 10 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Mallette joined the other four in double digits with 10 points of his own, including the clinching free throws. Allen won the hard hat award with nine points, 11 rebounds, and a steal in 29 minutes of play.
Illinois shot 16-37 for 43% in the second with 3-12 from deep, and 9-17 at the charity stripe. Overall the Illini finished 31-73 for 43%, 11-32 for 34% from three, and only 13-22 for 59% on free shots. The team had 40 rebounds, 17 assists, three blocks, seven steals, and turned the ball over 11 times. Stojakovich scored 26 points to grab game honors. Kylan Boswell had a big second half and finished with 22 points and seven assists.
Another huge win for the Tide away from home. Bristow made a huge difference and will definitely help the team going forward down low. With Illinois huge size advantage, Bristow and Allen were keys to the victory, combining for 19 rebounds and 19 points. Philon was slowed by foul trouble in the first half, but took over the game late and showed why he will be an All-American and high NBA draft pick. Holloway was off a little but still hit huge shots in crunch time, and Mallette was his usual steady, heady, influence, doing whatever was needed to help the team win.
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Things didn’t get any easier with the trip to Vegas coming up, followed by Clemson. UTSA, and Arizona. Nate Oats isn’t afraid to play anyone, anywhere, anytime. The Gonzaga game will be at 8:30 p.m. Monday on TNT. Tuesdays game with UNLV is scheduled for 11 p.m. CT, also on TNT.
Roll Tide!
