Tuscaloosa, Ala. - While it wasn't the prettiest win in the world, Alabama handled business on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 90-69 to advance to 19-3 and 8-1 in conference play heading into the mid-week bye in SEC basketball.

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Alabama's defense had streaks of concern, with Georgia responding to a 14-0 run with an 8-0 run of its own in the first half to make the middle portion of the first half slightly concerning for the Crimson Tide. Alabama locked in and turned this basketball game into what it should have been - an easy Saturday for the Crimson Tide as Alabama rolled to a big victory in SEC play.

The sloppiness started early for the Crimson Tide, turning the ball over on its first two possessions without ever getting a shot up. Despite the turnovers, Alabama took the lead with 18:49 remaining in the first half, and outside of Georgia tying the game three times (the last tie was with 14:53 left in the first half), Alabama never relinquished its lead in the victory.

Turnovers continue to be an area of concern for Alabama, turning the ball over 20 times. It's the third time this season Alabama has turned the ball over 20 times or more, with the Crimson Tide going 2-1 in those matchups.

Despite the concerningly large turnover percentage (26.7%), Alabama's 44th-ranked defense handled the No. 77 offense in the country (according to Kenpom) exactly how Alabama should have handed it.

The entire game was not as sloppy as the first 10 minutes of the contest would indicate. Alabama's rebounding and assists were instrumental in the Crimson Tide's big victory over the Bulldogs. Alabama was able to bring down 52 total rebounds against Georgia and had 17 assists as well.

When Alabama wants to flip the switch and be one of the best teams in the country, Alabama is near-unstoppable. The Crimson Tide can score fast and furious, with runs of 14-2 and 7-0 to help Alabama jump out to a big lead in the first half, then extend the lead in the second half.

Two areas of concern so far this season have been free throw shooting and three-point shooting at home. Neither of those areas was of concern for Alabama on Saturday, with the Crimson Tide shooting 83% from the charity stripe and 42% from three-point range.

This year's Crimson Tide team is "very good" in terms of college basketball. The next stage to enter the "elite tier" is to consistently perform like Alabama did in the middle eight minutes of this basketball game, outscoring Georgia 20-15 in the four minutes leading into halftime and the four minutes coming out of halftime. Alabama also took three runs of seven, seven, and six points, respectively, in the second half to cement the victory for Alabama.

Alabama will have a mid-week bye this week, with the next game coming on the road at Arkansas on Saturday, February 8, at 7:00 p.m. CT.

Stat Leaders for Alabama

Points: Mark Sears - 20
Rebounds: Clifford Omoruyi - 11
Assists: Mark Sears - 6

Alabama Players With Double Digit Points

Mark Sears - 20
Aden Holloway - 10
Grant Nelson - 16
Chris Youngblood - 10
Aiden Sherrell - 12

Grant Nelson had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.

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