Sherfield scores 30 as Oklahoma beats No. 2 Alabama 93-69
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) With Oklahoma set to join the Southeastern Conference in 2025, Sooners fans used the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to give Alabama a dose of the energy they plan to bring to the league.
After taunting the second-ranked Crimson Tide with chants of ''S-E-C'' and ''overrated'' in the second half, the fans stormed the court - a rare occurrence at Oklahoma. Grant Sherfield scored a season-high 30 points, and the Sooners beat Alabama 93-69 on Saturday.
It was the kind of moment second-year Oklahoma coach Porter Moser envisioned when he left Loyola of Chicago to take over the Sooners.
''I thought the crowd was unbelievable,'' he said. ''I sat there when the crowd rushed the floor - you know, my younger self might have ran out in the middle of it - and I just sat there and just said, `This is a vision.' And like, this kind of excitement with the student body - I thought they were awesome. They were there early. Best crowd I've had since I've been here.''
Jalen Hill added a career-high 26 points on 9-for-11 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. He also was assigned to guard Alabama freshman Brandon Miller, who came in averaging 19.5 points, but finished with 11 on 4-for-14 shooting.
Hill said he wanted to show what he was about.
''I feel like I had something to prove,'' the senior said. ''He's going to be a top-five draft pick at the end of the day, and I just wanted to prove to everybody - the scouts, the country - that I can hang with him.''
Moser said it was a typical defensive performance for Hill.
''What he does night in and night out, the guys he guards - he's guarding lottery picks and he is resilient,'' Moser said. ''He's played a lot of minutes. And then for him to have that defensive effort and have 26 points as well. I mean, what a performance by Jalen.''
Tanner Groves had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma (12-9), which shot 58% from the field and posted a season-high point total. It was Oklahoma's first win over a team ranked in the AP's top two since the 2002 Big 12 Tournament and its largest victory margin ever against an AP top-five team.
The Sooners had lost three straight, but there had been some signs of progress. They had three losses to Top 25 teams by four or fewer points in January.
Alabama coach Nate Oats said the loss could be costly when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding.
''It doesn't have any effect on SEC standings, which is the only good thing to come out of this,'' he said. ''Hopefully, we will recover from a loss out of conference, but, you know, it's not good. We needed the SEC to do well in this Big 12 challenge. We obviously didn't do our job on it.''
The Crimson Tide (18-3) had won nine in a row, but Oats said the team hadn't been playing well. Rylan Griffen, who led Alabama with 15 points, said Oats had warned the team about its lackluster play.
''We didn't really listen,'' Griffen said. ''We didn't come out ready to fight. ... You could kind of feel that we thought we were kind of untouchable.''
Oklahoma led 50-33 at halftime and it didn't look like a fluke. Sherfield scored 18 points before the break and helped the Sooners shoot 68% from the field in the first 20 minutes. Hill added 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting.
The half was punctuated by Hill scoring on a spin move in the closing seconds and Miller getting issued a technical foul.
Alabama trimmed its deficit to 11 in the second half, but Hill's dunk on a fast break pushed Oklahoma's lead back to 64-46 and got the crowd juiced up. Sherfield's crossover and fadeaway 3-pointer put the Sooners ahead 78-53.
BIG PICTURE
Alabama: The young Crimson Tide got picked apart by a team with veterans. The Crimson Tide lacked energy and never really challenged the Sooners. They made 6 of 22 3-pointers and had just six assists.
Oklahoma: Sherfield had been in a slump, having made 10 of 34 field goals during Oklahoma's three-game losing streak. He found his shot and found teammates, making 11 of 20 field goals and finishing with six assists to help create balance for the Sooners.
UP NEXT
Alabama: Hosts Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
Oklahoma: Hosts Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Brandon Miller vs. Tanner Groves (Charles Bediako gains possession) | |||
19:45 | Jalen Hill shooting foul (Brandon Miller draws the foul) | |||
19:45 | +1 | Brandon Miller makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 1-0 | |
19:45 | +1 | Brandon Miller makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 2-0 | |
19:19 | +2 | Jalen Hill makes two point fadeaway jump shot | 2-2 | |
18:58 | Jaden Bradley misses two point layup | |||
18:56 | Tanner Groves defensive rebound | |||
18:40 | +2 | Tanner Groves makes two point layup | 2-4 | |
18:37 | Charles Bediako technical foul | |||
18:37 | Charles Bediako turnover | |||
18:37 | +1 | Grant Sherfield makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 2-5 | |
18:23 | +2 | Charles Bediako makes two point alley-oop dunk (Brandon Miller assists) | 4-5 | |
18:05 | +2 | Grant Sherfield makes two point pullup jump shot | 4-7 | |
17:52 | Tanner Groves personal foul (Charles Bediako draws the foul) | |||
17:46 | Tanner Groves blocks Brandon Miller's two point jump shot | |||
17:44 | Jalen Hill defensive rebound | |||
17:35 | Grant Sherfield misses three point jump shot | |||
17:33 | Tanner Groves offensive rebound | |||
17:29 | Grant Sherfield turnover (lost ball) | |||
17:15 | +2 | Brandon Miller makes two point jump shot | 6-7 | |
16:52 | Jacob Groves turnover (lost ball) (Noah Clowney steals) | |||
16:45 | Brandon Miller misses two point jump shot | |||
16:43 | Tanner Groves defensive rebound | |||
16:33 | +3 | Tanner Groves makes three point jump shot (Grant Sherfield assists) | 6-10 | |
16:20 | Mark Sears misses two point layup | |||
16:18 | Milos Uzan defensive rebound | |||
16:11 | Jacob Groves turnover (lost ball) (Mark Sears steals) | |||
16:05 | Mark Sears misses three point jump shot | |||
16:03 | Brandon Miller offensive rebound | |||
15:54 | Tanner Groves blocks Charles Bediako's two point layup | |||
15:52 | Jalen Hill defensive rebound | |||
15:45 | +3 | Milos Uzan makes three point jump shot (Grant Sherfield assists) | 6-13 | |
15:31 | Charles Bediako offensive foul (Tanner Groves draws the foul) | |||
15:31 | Charles Bediako turnover (offensive foul) | |||
15:31 | Crimson Tide 30 second timeout | |||
15:14 | Sam Godwin turnover (out of bounds) | |||
15:04 | Jahvon Quinerly misses two point jump shot | |||
15:02 | Noah Clowney offensive rebound | |||
15:10 | Noah Clowney misses two point layup | |||
15:08 | Noah Clowney offensive rebound | |||
15:00 | Otega Oweh shooting foul (Noah Clowney draws the foul) | |||
15:00 | Noah Clowney misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
15:00 | +1 | Noah Clowney makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 7-13 | |
14:45 | Sam Godwin misses two point jump shot | |||
14:43 | Rylan Griffen defensive rebound | |||
14:29 | Jahvon Quinerly misses three point jump shot | |||
14:27 | Noah Clowney offensive rebound | |||
1:45 | Brandon Miller misses two point jump shot | |||
1:43 | Noah Gurley offensive rebound | |||
14:20 | +2 | Noah Clowney makes two point layup | 9-13 | |
14:02 | Otega Oweh misses two point jump shot | |||
14:00 | Brandon Miller defensive rebound | |||
13:39 | C.J. Noland shooting foul (Noah Clowney draws the foul) | |||
13:39 | +1 | Noah Clowney makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 10-13 | |
13:39 | Noah Clowney misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
13:39 | Otega Oweh defensive rebound | |||
13:26 | Sam Godwin misses two point alley-oop dunk | |||
13:24 | Rylan Griffen defensive rebound | |||
13:18 | Rylan Griffen turnover (bad pass) | |||
13:05 | Tanner Groves misses two point jump shot | |||
13:03 | Brandon Miller defensive rebound | |||
12:54 | Bijan Cortes personal foul (Jahvon Quinerly draws the foul) | |||
12:36 | Tanner Groves blocks Noah Clowney's two point turnaround jump shot | |||
12:34 | Tanner Groves defensive rebound | |||
12:13 | +3 | Jalen Hill makes three point jump shot (Bijan Cortes assists) | 10-16 | |
11:58 | Jahvon Quinerly turnover (lost ball) | |||
11:58 | TV timeout | |||
11:45 | Bijan Cortes turnover (bad pass) (Brandon Miller steals) | |||
11:21 | Mark Sears misses two point driving layup | |||
11:19 | Jalen Hill defensive rebound | |||
11:11 | C.J. Noland misses two point layup | |||
11:09 | Dom Welch defensive rebound | |||
10:55 | Brandon Miller misses two point dunk | |||
10:53 | C.J. Noland defensive rebound | |||
10:44 | Grant Sherfield misses two point layup | |||
10:38 | Sooners offensive rebound | |||
10:24 | Sam Godwin misses two point layup | |||
10:22 | Charles Bediako defensive rebound | |||
10:13 | +2 | Mark Sears makes two point layup | 12-16 | |
10:00 | +3 | Bijan Cortes makes three point jump shot (Grant Sherfield assists) | 12-19 | |
9:38 | +2 | Mark Sears makes two point driving floating jump shot | 14-19 | |
9:29 | +3 | Grant Sherfield makes three point jump shot | 14-22 | |
8:58 | Mark Sears misses two point layup | |||
8:56 | Charles Bediako offensive rebound | |||
9:10 | +2 | Charles Bediako makes two point layup | 16-22 | |
9:00 | Sam Godwin offensive foul (Charles Bediako draws the foul) | |||
8:57 | Sam Godwin turnover (offensive foul) | |||
8:46 | Charles Bediako turnover (3-second violation) | |||
8:20 | +2 | Grant Sherfield makes two point jump shot | 16-24 | |
8:10 | Noah Clowney misses three point jump shot | |||
8:08 | Bijan Cortes defensive rebound | |||
7:49 | Nimari Burnett personal foul (Jalen Hill draws the foul) | |||
7:49 | TV timeout | |||
7:32 | +2 | Jalen Hill makes two point driving layup | 16-26 | |
7:20 | +2 | Noah Clowney makes two point layup | 18-26 | |
6:58 | +2 | Grant Sherfield makes two point jump shot | 18-28 | |
6:47 | Noah Clowney misses three point jump shot | |||
6:45 | Jacob Groves defensive rebound | |||
6:34 | Jalen Hill turnover (lost ball) (Noah Gurley steals) | |||
6:26 | +3 | Noah Gurley makes three point jump shot (Brandon Miller assists) | 21-28 | |
6:00 | +2 | Jalen Hill makes two point layup (Tanner Groves assists) | 21-30 | |
5:44 | Jaden Bradley turnover (double dribble) | |||
5:26 | +2 | Sam Godwin makes two point dunk (Milos Uzan assists) | 21-32 | |
5:07 | Brandon Miller misses two point layup | |||
5:06 | Noah Clowney offensive rebound | |||
5:06 | Jacob Groves personal foul (Noah Clowney draws the foul) | |||
5:06 | +1 | Noah Clowney makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-32 | |
5:06 | +1 | Noah Clowney makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 23-32 | |
4:53 | +3 | Grant Sherfield makes three point jump shot (Milos Uzan assists) | 23-35 | |
4:39 | +3 | Mark Sears makes three point jump shot (Jahvon Quinerly assists) | 26-35 | |
4:21 | +2 | Sam Godwin makes two point alley-oop dunk (Jalen Hill assists) | 26-37 | |
4:10 | Jahvon Quinerly misses three point jump shot | |||
4:08 | Grant Sherfield defensive rebound | |||
3:58 | Jahvon Quinerly personal foul (Sam Godwin draws the foul) | |||
3:58 | TV timeout | |||
3:42 | +2 | Grant Sherfield makes two point driving layup | 26-39 | |
3:27 | Jahvon Quinerly turnover (bad pass) | |||
3:08 | Mark Sears personal foul (Grant Sherfield draws the foul) | |||
3:01 | +2 | C.J. Noland makes two point layup (Grant Sherfield assists) | 26-41 | |
2:45 | Brandon Miller misses two point jump shot | |||
2:43 | Rylan Griffen offensive rebound | |||
2:43 | +2 | Rylan Griffen makes two point putback dunk | 28-41 | |
2:29 | C.J. Noland misses three point jump shot | |||
2:27 | Noah Clowney defensive rebound | |||
2:14 | +3 | Rylan Griffen makes three point jump shot (Brandon Miller assists) | 31-41 | |
1:49 | +2 | Tanner Groves makes two point layup (Milos Uzan assists) | 31-43 | |
1:38 | Noah Clowney misses three point jump shot | |||
1:36 | C.J. Noland defensive rebound | |||
1:28 | Noah Clowney shooting foul (Jalen Hill draws the foul) | |||
1:28 | +1 | Jalen Hill makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 31-44 | |
1:28 | +1 | Jalen Hill makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-45 | |
1:19 | Jaden Bradley turnover (bad pass) (Tanner Groves steals) | |||
1:18 | Jaden Bradley personal foul (Tanner Groves draws the foul) | |||
1:14 | Tanner Groves turnover (bad pass) (Dom Welch steals) | |||
1:00 | Rylan Griffen misses two point layup | |||
0:58 | Noah Clowney offensive rebound | |||
0:58 | Jalen Hill blocks Noah Clowney's two point layup | |||
0:56 | Grant Sherfield defensive rebound | |||
0:48 | Jaden Bradley personal foul (Grant Sherfield draws the foul) | |||
0:48 | +1 | Grant Sherfield makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 31-46 | |
0:48 | +1 | Grant Sherfield makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-47 | |
0:37 | Brandon Miller misses two point layup | |||
0:35 | Brandon Miller offensive rebound | |||
0:31 | +2 | Brandon Miller makes two point layup | 33-47 | |
0:31 | Sooners 30 second timeout | |||
0:31 | TV timeout | |||
0:03 | +2 | Jalen Hill makes two point layup | 33-49 | |
0:01 | Brandon Miller technical foul | |||
0:01 | Brandon Miller turnover | |||
0:03 | +1 | Grant Sherfield makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 33-50 | |
0:01 | Brandon Miller misses three point jump shot | |||
0:00 | End of period |