SEC Tournament Champions! Alabama Defeats Texas A&M 82-63 to Win Second SEC Tournament Title in Three Years

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 4/5 Alabama men’s basketball team claimed the 2023 SEC Tournament championship Sunday afternoon, defeating No. 18/18 Texas A&M, 82-63, in the title game inside Bridgestone Arena. With the win, the Crimson Tide has swept both the league’s regular season and tournament title for the second time in the past three years.

It marks the eighths SEC Tournament championship in school history and the program’s 17^th SEC title (nine regular season titles).

The top-seeded Tide (29-5) led the second-seeded Aggies (25-9) wire-to-wire en route to the 19-point win. Alabama extended its program-record setting win total to 29 and surpassed the all-time record for points scored in a season that was set just over 20 years ago in the 2000-01 season (2,794 points in 34 games). 

Brandon Miller, who finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals Sunday, was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. Both Jahvon Quinerly, the 2021 SEC Tournament MVP, and Charles Bediako were also named to the all-tournament team. Quinerly finished with 22 points, while Bediako added 12 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in the win.

The Crimson Tide began the game on fire on both ends of the floor, opening up a 16-8 lead while shooting 67 percent (6-of-9) from the field in the first five minutes, extending the lead to 31-15 on the strength of a 19-8 run. Alabama’s defense prevented the Aggies from making a shot from the field for 10:34 of game time, holding the A&M offense to just 21 percent (6-of-29) in the half to establish a 34-25 lead at the break.

Texas A&M had three players in double figures, led by Dexter Dennis with 14 points. 

HEAD COACH NATE OATS POSTGAME COMMENTS

“It was a hard-fought contest. Hard to open the thing up. I mean, they’re a tough, great team. We just lost to them eight days ago. We challenged our guards, we had to do better. Last time we played them, their starting backcourt with (Wade) Taylor, (Tyrece) Radford and (Dexter) Dennis were all in double figures. So, we really challenged our guards, we had to do better. I thought we did a great job on some of the opposing team’s best players in this tournament. Couldn’t be happier for the guys. Our bus ride home from Nashville will be a lot more fun now that we got a win.”

TEAM STATS 

• Brandon Miller (23) and Jahvon Quinerly (22) combined to score 45 of the Crimson Tide’s 82…