MEMPHIS, Tenn. ā DeAndre Williams had 20 points and six assists, Jalen Duren added 14 points and Memphis finally played to its potential, beating No. 6 Alabama 92-78 on Tuesday night to snap a four-game skid.
Landers Nolley added 13 points for Memphis (6-4), which came into the season with a highly touted recruiting class and topped out with the No. 9 ranking in the AP Top 25. But the Tigers got pounded by Iowa State and lost close games to Georgia, Ole Miss and Murray State to fall out of the poll.
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āIām definitely enjoying every moment of this,ā Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. āThis team is together now.ā
Keon Ellis led the Crimson Tide (8-2) with 19 points. Jahvon Quinerly finished with 12 points and Jaden Shackelford added 10.
āWe didnāt come ready to play,ā Alabama coach Nate Oats said. āThatās on the coaching staff. Give a ton of credit to Memphis. We tried to tell our guys that we were going to get Memphisā best shot.ā
Memphis had a players-only meeting after the loss to Murray State.
āWe knew we had to come together,ā Williams said. āWe really let everything out.ā
Memphis took control with a 12-0 run capped by Tyler Harrisā 3-pointer that made it 61-42 with 12:53 remaining.
Alabama finished with 20 turnovers and couldnāt generate consistent offense after halftime. Memphis led 37-32 after a back-and-forth first half.
āWe just tried to revert back to our winning ways,ā Nolley said.
BIG PICTURE
Alabama: The Crimson Tide were on a roll, having won four straight, including victories over ranked foes Gonzaga and Houston. Oats refused to blame the emotional 83-82 win over the Cougars for his teamās poor performance.
āWe had multiple guys not play their best basketball game,ā Oats said.
Memphis: The losing streak led to questions about the teamās chemistry, desire and discipline. None of that looked like a problem against Alabama.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Thanks to those big victories over Gonzaga and Houston, Alabamaās resume is strong enough that it shouldnāt drop too far in the poll.
Memphis still has a long way to go before itās considered for a spot in the AP Top 25.
ALL IS NOT LOST
Alabama would begin Southeastern Conference play with a 10-2 record if it can beat its next two opponents, Jacksonville State and Colorado State.
That would "have been a decent record with the schedule we had,ā Oats said. āBut after our first nine games, you would like to have gotten this one.ā
THEY SAID IT
āIād rather not lose, so I think itās better if you can take your lessons off wins. We got what we deserved tonight, I know that. We didnāt come ready to play. We didnāt play as hard as them. They played a lot harder than us,ā Oats said.
He added: āHopefully, it can recalibrate some guys. I wish we were mature enough that we didnāt need it. If we canāt get recalibrated after this one, weāve got more issues than I thought.ā
UP NEXT
Alabama: Hosts Jacksonville State on Saturday.
Memphis: Faces No. 18 Tennessee on Saturday in Nashville.
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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25