Alabama’s players have been getting the message coach Nate Oats has preached during recent halftime talks.
In their current three-game winning streak, the Crimson Tide have put up an average of 58 points in the second halves of wins over Texas A&M, Auburn and Ole Miss.
Alabama (17-7, 7-4 SEC) returns home to play South Carolina (11-13, 2-9) on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
In Wednesday’s 93-74 win over the Revels, the Tide scored a season-low 32 points in the first half, but converted 12 of 22 from behind the arc en route to a 61-point second-half effort.
Five players scored in double figures for Alabama, with Latrell Wrightsell Jr. leading the way. Wrightsell finished with 21 points and connected on 7 of 13 from deep, tying his career high for 3-pointers made.
The sixth-year guard, who missed all of SEC play in 2024-25 due to injury, was a game-time decision after leaving the previous game with a right knee issue.
“I’m super proud of Wrightsell,” Oats said after the game. “One of the smaller guards was going to have to be removed from the starting lineup and he stepped up and was willing to do it so the team would have a better chance of winning. I’ve always had the thought that when you do things like that, you get rewarded.”
Wrightsell, who averages 12.3 points per game, has converted 22 of 42 treys over his last five outings.
Tide guard Labaron Philon Jr. leads the SEC with 21.4 points per game.
The Gamecocks are headed in the opposite direction, having lost five straight and 25 of their last 29 SEC contests dating back to last year. South Carolina was manhandled 78-59 at home by Missouri last Saturday.
The Gamecocks only trailed 34-30 at halftime, but were outrebounded 44-28 and allowed 16 second-chance points.
“I said, ‘It’s a great job you did to hold these guys to 23 points in the first half.’ I think they looked and were a little confused,” said coach Lamont Paris, recalling his halftime speech. “I said, ‘Yeah, 23 points, guys, 23 you held them to. No, you gave them 11 more on the second-chance opportunities, but you held them to 23 points.’ So we were doing things, we were in the right spots, we were getting them to miss tough shots, and at the end of the day, you have to finish it off pretty consistently with a defensive rebound.”
Meechie Johnson, who played for the Gamecocks when they went 26-8 and reached No. 11 in the rankings two seasons ago, scored 13 points against the Tigers and leads his team with 16.3 points per game.
Alabama has won 20 of 22 home games against South Carolina, including eight in a row, dating back exactly 17 years to a 2009 Gamecocks’ Valentine’s Day victory.
–Field Level Media
