Noah Clowney's best game in an Alabama uniform helps Tide end Missouri hex

Noah Clowney needed a night like this. So did Alabama basketball.

Clowney ended a two-game scoring slump Saturday, putting together his best statistical performance in a Crimson Tide uniform to lead Alabama to a 85-64 win at Missouri. The victory ended the Tide’s road woes against the Tigers, marking its first win inside Mizzou Arena since 2019.

Clowney earned Alabama’s Hard Hat Award, recording 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to go with a steal. The 6-foot-10 freshman, affectionately called “Stretch” by his teammates, dominated the boards early, taking advantage of a Missouri team missing its star forward Kobe Brown to an ankle injury.

Clowney secured his second double-double of the season less than a minute into the second half. By that point, he already had 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting. He finished the night 6 of 11 from the floor and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line. He also had a team-high five offensive rebounds which contributed to the Tide's 21 second-chance points on the night.

“He’s played pretty well for us,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “There’s a reason he’s playing as many minutes as he’s been playing this year.”

Saturday’s performance is not an anomaly. Clowney has already won SEC Freshman of the Week twice this season and is averaging 9.9 points and 8.6 rebounds through 18 games. However, the freshman was able to snap out of a slight offensive slump after putting up a combined 11 points on 3 of 13 shooting over his previous two games against LSU and Vanderbilt.

Perhaps even more encouraging is the fact that his numbers could have been even better. With Brown out, Clowney spent much of his 28 minutes on the floor corralling a quicker Missouri lineup. That led to him suffering a couple of blocked shots on uncharacteristically poor finishes.

“He missed a few at the rims that I thought he normally would have made or could have made, but he’s playing heavy minutes. He probably got a little tired, was chasing guards out there with us switching so much stuff.”

Still, 17 points and 14 rebounds is a stat line the Crimson Tide will take any day. So is an 86-64 win.

Saturday’s win makes Alabama (17-2, 7-0 in the SEC) the lone undefeated team in SEC play following Texas A&M’s loss to Kentucky earlier in the day. The Crimson Tide will look to improve on its perfect run Wednesday when it looks to pull off a regular-season sweep against Mississippi State inside Coleman Coliseum.

Alabama opened up conference play with a 78-67 victory over the Bulldogs in Starkville, Mississippi on Dec. 28. Clowney had 12 points and eight rebounds while also recording a blocked shot and a steal.