TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was yet again a different team that took the court. One week after No. 4 Alabama’s debacle against Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide put in a dominant performance in its 103-87 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday.

Vanderbit’s attempts to snatch any momentum were meant with a wall of Alabama's defenders and scoring droughts at critical times. The Tide took care of the ball Tuesday night, preventing a Commodores side that’s defined by good perimeter defense from capitalizing on its strength. Several Alabama players had standout scoring performances, but a new career high from one of the Tide’s best blue-collar contributors set the tone in a red-hot evening the Tide on a chilly Tuscaloosa Tuesday night.

Nate Oats warned of Vanderbilt’s ability to capitalize off of turnovers leading up to the game. The Commodores came into the game ranked No. 7 nationally averaging 10.2 steals per game and recorded 15 or more steals in three games this season. Vanderbilt makes up for their smaller stature with intense and timely defending around the perimeter.

Alabama made sure that defensive prowess was a non-factor as it cruised to victory. The Commodores mustered just eight points off 11 Alabama giveaways and had just five steals as a team. For a second straight game, the Tide played controlled offense and limited sloppy mistakes. While Alabama struggled against a small ball defense in Ole Miss, it looked much more comfortable against a similar look Tuesday.

Vanderbilt attempted a few presses, but that only seemed to lead to faster Alabama points. The Commodores could not pick the pockets of Alabama guards, who drove and kicked quickly and took advantage of mismatches for easy floaters and runners in the lane. Alabama’s four guards combined for just five giveaways.

Alabama’s prevention of mistakes allowed its offense to flow seamlessly for a second straight game. It has found its groove 3-point range, drilling 8 of 22 attempts from deep. Aden Holloway was back to his old free-scoring self after being limited to just six points against the Wildcats. Holloway co-led the way with 22 points along with Mouhamed Dioubate. Not to be outdone, Mark Sears continued elite SEC scoring run with 21 points, surpassing the 2,500 mark in career points. Forward Jarin Stevenson and Grant Nelson were also in double figures with 10 each.

The Tide’s only lingering area of struggle offensively – those pesky free throws. After going 85.3% against Kentucky, the Tide shot just 67.6% from the line Tuesday night.

Vanderbilt took a quick 7-2 lead, which may have given Alabama fans some flashbacks to last Tuesday when the Tide came out flat and didn’t recover against Ole Miss. The Commodores came out firing in the second half after Alabama took a big lead into the break, cutting the Tide’s lead to 10 with 14:45 remaining with a barrage from 3-point range.

But after continued messages by coach Nate Oats about playing with more effort and deserving to win, Alabama made sure that its misfortunes against Ole Miss wouldn’t happen again. The Tide held Vanderbilt scoreless for the next 3:05 after its first-half run. When Vanderbilt tried to get it to single-digits, Dioubate stole a pass, which led to free throws on the other end for Alabama.

When Alabama needed responses, its defense provided them. For a 3:26 span, Alabama held Vanderbilt scoreless and got a pair of takeaways that led to 3s from Holloway and Chris Youngblood. That led to a 12-0 kill shot run for Alabama, which was critical in putting the game out of reach. Oats was looking for his side to create runs on the defensive end and got immense defensive effort Tuesday.

The Tide forced 10 Vanderbilt turnovers for the game and made the most of those takeaways, turning them into 17 points as its offense continued to churn. Vanderbilt is a quality side and didn’t go down quietly, cutting the lead under 10 in the closing minutes, but Alabama closed the game with a few late stops and held Vanderbilt to four points in the final 2:45 of the game.

Alabama did concede 17 offensive rebounds Tuesday, a number that is too high for Oats’ liking, especially against a relatively undersized team. But Alabama did a decent job of preventing Vanderbilt from cashing in on those second chances. Oats has said previously that he can live with offensive rebounds if Alabama’s defensive intensity continues on the extra possessions.

The Commodores mustered just 11 points off its additional opportunities earned on the glass. Vanderbilt shot just 6 of 24 on layup attempts and Alabama blocked nine shots as a team. Center Clifford Omoruyi collected four of them, a good sign for the Rutgers transfer, who Oats has called on to be a bigger presence defensively.

Dioubate followed up a strong performance in the blue-collar department with his best outing in an Alabama uniform. He set a new Alabama career high with 22 points, timing Holloway's output and continued to make the blue-collar plays that have become a staple of his game.

After a forgettable outing against 6-foot-9 Ole Miss forward Malik Dia, Dioubate fared much better against the similarly-sized Commodores. He went 8 of 9 from the field, snagged 10 rebounds and still chipped in with two blocks and a steal defensively. The steal in particular was timely during the Tide’s 12-0 second-half run.

Dioubate was all over the place from start to finish. Even with the game in hand late, he ripped down a defensive rebound and converted the layup on the other end. After setting the tone with his effort against Kentucky, Dioubate did the same Tuesday, while also finding a new level of scoring in his latest display.

"He was killing everybody in practice one day," Oats recalled. "Nobody could guard him. Maybe Youngblood had the best option. He was too quick for our bigs, way too strong for the guards. Youngblood's strong but even he struggled a little bit.

"I came in the next day with about six new plays for him. So, if you're gonna play like this we're gonna have a little — and [assistant coaches Craig Bowman and Ryan Pannone] together on offense. Bowman more keeps the plays together, keeps them organized by playsheets. And on the playsheet, all of a sudden the next day — it's in here it's called the — he named it himself — the 'Off-road Package.' So, Mo D's got the Off-road Package. It's kind of like smashmouth. Not typically the way we play but it's there and we got it in. Honestly, we didn’t really call a whole lot for him other than we got the one play in transition where I said ‘He has a mismatch on him, just give it to him.’ Just go beast mode, just score the ball, which he did."

Dioubate has come to define Alabama’s toughness this season. Big performances in the Player’s Era Tournament demonstrated that the sophomore found a new level and he’s only building on that to start SEC play. His increased offensive role only adds another weapon for Alabama's upcoming competition to game plan for.

“Coach, he told me to be more aggressive when I get the ball because I’m usually just connecting with players like Mark and Biz every other game,” Dioubate said. “He’s giving me a little more leeway to go score the ball. You should be seeing that more, hopefully.”

Alabama plays the second of its two-game homestand against LSU. The Tide and Tigers will face off at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.