'Bama blown out at Oklahoma

This wasn't the result anyone was expecting as Oklahoma crushed the Crimson Tide.

Brandon Miller photo courtesy of Crimson Tide photos/Alabama athletics.

The Oklahoma Sooners (12-9, 2-6 Big 12) have just created chaos in college basketball with a 93-69 blowout of second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (18-3, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) in the Big 12/SEC challenge in Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., on Saturday afternoon. 

Sooners leading scorer and senior guard Grant Sherfield had his third 30-point showing in his college career. Sherfield finished with 30 points on 11-for-20 shooting and 4-for-5 from deep, along with six assists. 

Sooner senior forward Jalen Hill paired well with Sherfield, scoring 26 points of his own off impressive 9-for-11 shooting from the floor, going 6-for-7 from the line as well, along with grabbing eight boards.

Oklahoma because of its defense and ferocity, with much credit going to big man Tanner Groves. Groves had three blocks and a steal and came down with 12 boards while scoring 14 points.

Alabama placed five players in double figures (Rylan Griffen, Mark Sears, Brandon Miller, Jahvon Quinerly, Noah Clowney) in the below average performance, however. Griffen led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 15 points, going 5-for-8 shooting from the field. 

Quinerly came off the bench and provided some needed scoring help with 12 points, but ended up fouling out in the final minutes. This is the third time in his last four games that he has scored double digits off of the bench.

Miller had an underwhelming performance, scoring 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting and going 1-for-4 from 3. This came on the heels of a 13-point game against Mississippi State. 

The game seemed to be almost out of hand before it even got going. 

Alabama shot 34% from the field in the first half and continued that trend for the entirety of the matchup with poor shooting from everywhere. The Sooners led 50-23 at the half and never let up from there.   

Upset of the year?

To date, this had been one of the best seasons in Alabama history, the No. 2 ranking being Alabama's highest in 19 years. However, the nine game win streak for Alabama ended. 

Oklahoma, meanwhile, not only snapped a three-game losing streak but also took down what many felt was the country's best team. The Sooners have proven that they can hang with the best of the best in college basketball after having close games with Texas, Baylor, and Kansas already this season. 

For the second game in a row, the Crimson Tide have seemed off on both sides of the ball. Shooting 37.9% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc, the offense has not been clicking for Alabama recently and it has surely raised some concerns from around the country. 

A glimpse of light

This season especially, many fans and experts have been concerned with Quinerly’s play this season. 

After coming off ACL surgery, and a speedy recovery, the senior started off this season playing very below average. Quinerly averages 7.5 points this year (he'd averaged 12.5 the previous two) and is currently coming off the bench which was not expected going into the season. 

Recently, however, Quinerly is seeming to find his groove offensively. He led 'Bama in scoring against Mississippi State with 14 points off the bench and scored 12 off the bench against Oklahoma. 

Though he may not be playing up to expectations this season, his recent success can be a sign of light for the Alabama on an otherwise dismal day.