Ninth-ranked Alabama and undefeated Oregon meet in Las Vegas on Saturday for the championship of the Players Era Festival.
Alabama (6-1) advanced to Saturday’s title round with a pair of close wins, outlasting No. 6 Houston in a top-tier matchup that went to overtime on Tuesday, 85-80; and Rutgers 95-90 on Wednesday.
All-American guard Mark Sears powered the Crimson Tide with 24 points in both wins, rebounding from a scoreless performance in just 21 minutes played on Nov. 20 vs. Illinois. After starting 0-for-5 shooting, Sears did not play the final 11 minutes in the 100-87 win against the Illini at his own request, Alabama coach Nate Oats revealed afterward.
Sears, who Oats said believed that night the Tide were performing better without him, returned to form in Las Vegas. Grant Nelson had 17 points and nine rebounds in the win over Rutgers, and a trio of reserves — Mouhamed Dioubate, Derrion Reid and Jarin Stevenson — scored 10 points each.
Dioubate also grabbed nine rebounds.
“Kind of the second game in a row we won off of toughness and rebounding,” Oats said in the postgame press conference. “We’ll get our offense figured out.”
Although Alabama heads into Saturday’s contest averaging 89.7 points per game, tied for 11th in the nation entering Friday’s play, Oats was critical of the Crimson Tide’s efficiency. Alabama is shooting only 32.8 percent from 3-point range, a steep drop from the 37.3 percent the 2023-24 Tide shot en route to the program’s first-ever Final Four appearance.
Oregon (7-0), meanwhile, has held opponents to 29.5 percent shooting from deep after limiting San Diego State to 6-of-19 on 3-point attempts in the Ducks’ 78-68 semifinal win on Wednesday.
TJ Bamba’s 22 points led five Oregon scorers in double-figures.
“TJ is doing things right now we saw in the summer,” Ducks assistant coach Mike Mennenga said in a postgame radio interview. “He’s finding his rhythm and his comfort level, and most importantly, his teammates have got his back. They trust TJ and want him to be aggressive, they want him to be physical.”
Bamba is averaging 13.1 points per game, one of four Ducks scoring in double-figures a contest. Jackson Shelstad is posting 10.3 points per game despite a slow opening stretch of 9-of-35 from 3-point distance. Brandon Angel is averaging 11 points per game.
Pacing Oregon thus far is Nate Bittle’s 14 points a contest. Against San Diego State, Bittle had 11 points, two blocked shots and nine rebounds to help the Ducks to a 41-24 advantage on the glass.
Oregon has been solid on the boards through its first seven games, particularly on the offensive end, where the Ducks have a 35-percent offensive rebounding rate per KenPom.com metrics.
The Ducks opened the Players Era Festival on Tuesday by beating Alabama’s Southeastern Conference counterpart Texas A&M, 80-70. With the two wins in Las Vegas extending a stretch that included a come-from-behind defeat of Oregon State on the road on Nov. 21, Oregon is off to its best start since the 2013-14 season when it opened the season 13-0.
–Field Level Media
