Labaron Philon is not a name you want to see on the injured list, but it was great to see how good the Alabama offense looked without him, putting up over 100 points against a probable NCAA Tournament team in the Yale Bulldogs.
Aden Holloway led the way with 26 points with a very efficient nine of 15 shooting from the field, including 50% from beyond the arc. Amari Allen had another solid performance, dropping 15 points and, most importantly, grabbing nine boards. Latrell Wrightsell is still struggling from beyond the arc, but looked better, hitting five of 15 Monday night. Jalil Bethea, who stepped in for the injured Philon, looked good dropping 15 as well.
The team was in Nate Oats' doghouse after falling asleep right before Christmas against Kennesaw State, but that was not the case against the Bulldogs, who were run out of the building early and never able to make it a game.
In this type of game, the Tide did exactly what they were supposed to do in all aspects of the game, including outrebounding Yale by eight after a lackluster effort on the boards last Sunday.
They were never able to get into the rhythm of the game to make a concerning run, and that is kudos to the Alabama defense. This is exactly how you want to see this team looking going into conference play at home Saturday in an always big game against Kentucky.
The Wildcats have been playing better as of late, winning their last four after getting humiliated by Gonzaga at the start of December. The Tide will be looking to continue their winning ways over the Cats, having won three in a row, the most recent one being in last year's SEC Tournament. It would be nice to have Philon back on Saturday, but tonight showed this team can win without him if needed. A win Saturday would be the sixth straight win for the Tide to start SEC play.