CLEVELAND — As March Madness approached for Alabama basketball , one of coach Nate Oats' most frequent complaints was "too many guys" having career highs when playing against the Crimson Tide.
Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard's 38 points nearly sent Alabama back to Tuscaloosa with a loss in late January. At an NCAA Tournament news conference at Rocket Arena, Alabama basketball players Grant Nelson, Derrion Reid and Chris Youngblood said the team never heard the end of it.
Even though that was Youngblood's best scoring performance for Alabama to date at the time − and the USF transfer made the game-winning free throws − Oats calling out Hubbard's career game was the memory that stuck out most.
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"The point guard did what he did to us, and he's (Oats) like, 'Whoa, and another career high!'" Youngblood laughed. "But yeah, it's been a theme all season."
Heading into the Crimson Tide's second-round game against No. 7 Saint Mary's, Alabama has allowed 21 players (22 if you want to be picky and include Kylan Boswell's Illinois-best 17 points after transferring from Arizona) to set or match personal bests.
Players said Oats used that as motivation for the Crimson Tide's defense, which Reid said has something to prove in March.
"I definitely think our defense gets overlooked with the pace we play at. And that's just one thing we got to show you," Reid told reporters.
"I'm not gonna say who, but he'll be like, 'Such and such had this, such and such had this,' like, we'll just hear it all through practice," Reid said. "We take pride in our defense, so we just feel like we need to change something, like upgrade the defense, or just go even harder to make sure no more players down the line get their career highs on us."
Nelson offered an explanation besides not locking in the scouting report.
"I think that has something to do with how fast we play, and it kind of gives them a lot more possessions," Nelson said.
Here are the players that reached new heights against the Crimson Tide in the 2024-25 season:
Marshall wasn't the Red Wolves' top scorer, but he established a personal best with 11 points.
In Alabama's first loss of the season, Kaufman-Renn dropped a career-high 26 points with nine rebounds and four assists.
Illinois could be remembered for Alabama's first time dropping 100 on a ranked opponent in the 2024-25 season. Jakucionis remembers a career-high 15 points with a team-high six assists.
Cryer has scored 30 points just once this season, averaging a little over 15 per game heading into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He matched his career high against Alabama in overtime.
The freshman posted his seventh straight double-figure outing for a career-high 37 points. That was the highest scoring performance of his rookie year.
Barthelemy tied a career-high 22 points to pull off a major upset at the Players Era Festival championship. Heading into the second round against Arizona, the outing still stands as Barthelemy's best scoring game.
Ashworth didn't set a personal record in points, but his career-high nine assists gave Alabama a fit in an 83-75 victory on Dec. 14.
Eaglestaff dropped an unforgettable 40 points as UND nearly upset the Crimson Tide. He managed to top that with 51 points in the Summit League semifinal.
Wright tied a career-high 20 points against Alabama. Mid-Eastern conference member South Carolina State was the only other team that let Wright score 20.
Payne's then-career-high 23 points gave Alabama a scare in Reed Arena. He set a new record with 25 points against Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 6-foot-9, 250 pound forward gave UA trouble, and an upset, with first career double-double with 23 points and career-high 19 rebounds.
Alabama allowed Chest to post his first-ever double-double against an SEC opponent. The freshman had 12 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
The freshman stud registered a career-high five steals against a turnover-heavy Alabama team that picked up 20 against just six for Georgia.
Newell wasn't the only Bulldog to set a personal record against the Crimson Tide on Feb. 1. James did it in the same stat category with three steals.
Towering over the rest at 7-2, Uvisic put in a career-high 27 points in a near-upset of Alabama at Bud Walton Arena. His game against the Crimson Tide marked one of three times he scored 20 or more this season.
The sophomore made it a career-best with nine assists as the Crimson Tide pulled off an 85-81 win over John Calipari's team. As Arkansas' NCAA Tournament run continues, that's still Wagner's best night getting the ball to his teammates.
Of 110 total points from Missouri, a career-high 31 came from Mitchell to kick an Alabama team that was already down from a 94-85 loss to Auburn at home.
The freshman had a career-high 12 points in Coleman Coliseum. It's worth noting, though, that Kentucky was dealing with injuries and Perry was getting more minutes.
Mashack is remembered for the buzzer-beater three he splashed to get the win for Tennessee. He also matched a career-high two blocks.
In Florida's first brutalization of the Crimson Tide for the 2024-25 season, the 6-11 sophomore big man dropped a career-high 27 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.
Sears' buzzer-beater at Auburn soured Broome's final performance in Neville Arena. The Tigers' All-American still scored a career-high 34 points in the 93-91 loss.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article was updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How many players had career-highs vs Alabama basketball before NCAA Tournament?
