A heroic late comeback wasn’t enough to undo a dismal start as No. 10 Alabama basketball suffered its first SEC defeat of the season, falling 68-65 at No. 18 Missouri on Saturday.
The Crimson Tide (15-5, 10-1 in the SEC) trailed by as many as 22 points midway through the second half but used a 21-2 run to trim the deficit to a single point with 1:11 to play.
Alabama had a chance to go ahead as Herbert Jones drove to the lane for a potential go-ahead layup with 4.1 seconds remaining. However, the senior forward was rejected by Missouri forward Mitchell Smith. Following two Missouri free throws on the other end, the Tide had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but Jaden Shackelford’s corner 3 came up short.
In the midst of what has been a dream season, Alabama was dealt its second wake-up call in a seven-day span. Saturday’s loss comes after the Tide saw its 10-game winning streak snapped by then-No. 24 ranked Oklahoma last weekend.
Alabama (15-5, 10-1 in the SEC) is still the only SEC team with fewer than three conference losses. However, Missouri (13-3, 6-3) won its third straight game to stay within striking distance of the Tide in the SEC standings. Alabama has not won a ranked versus ranked matchup since 2007.
This story will be updated.
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