No. 16 Alabama basketball recorded its biggest win of the season Saturday night as it upset No. 3 Gonzaga 91-82 inside Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena. The Crimson Tide was led by junior guard Jaden Shackelford, who tied his career-high with 28 points while knocking down six shots from beyond the arc. The victory marks Alabama's first road win over a top-five team since it defeated then-No. 4 Mississippi State 77-73 on Feb. 21, 2004.
"This was a huge win for our program today," head coach Nate Oats said. "Obviously, Gonzaga is one of the best programs in the country. I really thought our guys came ready to play. I thought our energy out of the gate was really good. Shack was able to hit some shots early to get us going which obviously helped give us the lead. It's a lot easier playing with the lead than behind. I thought our defensive intensity was good. We struggled with (Drew) Timme a little bit. All of our bigs were in foul trouble for most of the second half. It was a big-time game and big-time players showed up. It was a huge win for our program and just really happy for our guys."
Shackelford connected on 10 of 16 shots from the field and 6 of 8 from deep. He also led the team with nine rebounds in his 38 minutes of action. Freshman JD Davison recorded a career-high 20 points to go with five rebounds and four assists on the night.
Earlier in the night, the No. 3 Alabama football team beat No. 1 Georgia 41-24 in the SEC Championship Game. According to ESPN, Alabama is the first school to record top-five wins in both football and men's basketball on the same day.
Alabama (7-1) will return home for another ranked matchup next Saturday as it hosts No. 15 Houston at 9 p.m. CT inside Coleman Coliseum.