The blue hardwood inside of FedExForum was rough on the eyes. For the majority of Tuesday night, so was Alabama’s performance on it. The Crimson Tide struggled to shoot from deep and slopped its way to 20 turnovers while suffering a 92-78 defeat to Memphis in its first true road game of the season.
Alabama (8-2) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end while Memphis (6-4) snapped a four-game losing streak. The Tide was coming off of back-to-back wins over top-15 teams after beating then-No. 3 Gonzaga and then-No. 14 Houston in consecutive weekends. However, a Memphis team desperate for a marquee win clawed out the win, scoring 29 points on Alabama’s giveaways while holding the Tide to 10 of 33 from beyond the arc.
"We got what we deserved tonight, I know that," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said following the game. "We didn't come ready to play. We didn't play as hard as them."
Alabama dug itself into a 9-2 hole before using a 16-4 run to take an 18-13 lead midway through the first half. The Tide led for much of the first period but failed to score over the final 3:59, going 1 of 9 during that span. Meanwhile, Memphis was able to go on an 8-0 run to take a 37-32 lead into the break.
Memphis continued to hold off Alabama in the second half, forcing the Tide into early foul trouble while entering the bonus with 14:20 to play. The Tigers delivered the finishing blow minutes later, using a 12-0 run to go up 61-42 with 12:30 remaining.
Memphis capitalized Alabama’s foul trouble, making 20 of 25 free-throw attempts. The Tide failed to get to the line with the same frequency, making 8 of 12 free throws on the night.
“I didn’t think it was an officiating issue. I thought it was a playing hard issue,” Oats said. “I thought our guys were behind plays because they weren’t locked in. They weren’t ready to play. And when you get behind plays, you end up fouling. I don’t think we were aggressive enough attacking the rim on our end. Shoot, we turned it over 20 times. We didn’t get a chance to drive the ball to the rim enough to get fouled.”
After trailing by as many as 19 points, Alabama rallied back to cut the lead back to single digits late in the second half. However, by that point, a comeback was out of reach. Memphis’ 92 points were the most Alabama has allowed all season, passing the 88 the Tide gave up during a 104-88 victory over South Dakota State.
Memphis saw five players record double-digit scoring as its bench outscored Alabama’s 31-21. The Tigers were led by forward DeAndre Williams, who scored 20 points while tallying six assists. Five-star freshman center Jalen Duren recorded 14 points and six rebounds while forward Landers Nolley II chipped in 13 points and six assists. Lester Quinones (12 points) and Tyler Harris (11 points) rounded off the Tigers’ double-figure scorers off the bench.
Keon Ellis broke out of his scoring slump, leading Alabama with 19 points to go with six rebounds. The senior forward had scored just four points in each of his last two games.
“Keon Ellis, I thought played hard, played well,” Oats said. “He and JD Davison were our two leaders in blue-collar points. I kind of had a talk with him yesterday like, just get back to playing hard and being aggressive on offense when it’s appropriate. I thought he was good.”
Davison matched his season-high with 10 assists while recording eight points and five rebounds. Jahvon Quinerly hit two late 3s to finish with 12 points to go with six rebounds and four assists.
Jaden Shackelford continued his streak of double-digit games to start the season, recording 10 points and eight rebounds. The junior guard entered the game as the SEC’s leading scorer averaging 19.1 points per game.
During Alabama's four-game winning streak, Shackleford shot 55.1% (27 of 49) from the floor and 60% (18 of 30) from beyond the arc. Tuesday, he was just 4 of 12 from the floor, while making 1 of 4 shots from deep.
Alabama will return to Coleman Coliseum this weekend to host Jacksonville State on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT.
“We’ve got to get some leadership in the locker room to make sure the team’s ready to play,” Oats said. “I think coaches can say only so much. We’re supposed to address stuff, but it means a lot more when it’s coming from players inside the locker room. We’ve got to find some leadership on this team to step up and address the team.”
