Alabama Duo Shines in Second Half to Defeat Texas A&M

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats shares halftime message that sparked Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon Jr.'s big second half.

Feb. 4, 2026 at 10:07pm

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Alabama basketball took down Texas A&M 100-97 at home on Wednesday night, with the Crimson Tide's backcourt duo of Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon Jr. combining for 29 points in the second half after a slow start in the first half. Alabama head coach Nate Oats revealed that he did not focus on the duo's scoring at halftime, but instead emphasized defense, effort, and toughness, which helped them turn things around in the second half.

Why it matters

This was a much-needed win for Alabama, as they had recently fallen out of the rankings for the first time since January 2024. The victory over the top team in the SEC standings could be a key turning point for the Crimson Tide as they look to turn their season around.

The details

Holloway and Philon, Alabama's top two scorers this season, combined for just 4 points in the first half, going 2-of-8 from the field and 0-of-5 from downtown. However, they exploded for 29 points in the second half, while the rest of the Crimson Tide scored 25. Oats revealed that he did not focus on their scoring at halftime, but instead emphasized defense, effort, and toughness, which helped them turn things around.

  • Alabama took down Texas A&M 100-97 at home on Wednesday night.

The players

Nate Oats

The head coach of the Alabama basketball team.

Aden Holloway

One of Alabama's top scorers this season, who had 20 points in the game.

Labaron Philon Jr.

One of Alabama's top scorers this season, who had 17 points in the game.

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What they’re saying

“I didn't really say anything about scoring. We were not going to talk about scoring this game. We're going to talk about our effort, our toughness and our plan for each other. Our mudita, if you will.”

— Nate Oats, Head Coach

“I've got to give credit to the guy guarding me. He was fouling me a few different times in that possession, but I was just trying to get the shot up because I knew the shot clock was going down. I knew we needed to just get on the rim, and we have a lot of guys that can get O-boards...and it happened to go in.”

— Aden Holloway

“This program is not used to losing, and we just got to turn this thing around. I feel like today was a great start, just showing how gritty we are, how bad we really want it and it's just time to turn things around.”

— Aden Holloway

What’s next

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The takeaway

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