The 2022-23 Alabama men’s basketball team became the winningest in program history on Saturday.

The one-seed Tide charged through Bridgestone Arena with a 72-61 win over No. 4 Missouri in the SEC tournament semifinals. The 28-5 Tide slipped into another shooting slump after easing concerns on Friday against Mississippi State. It looked rattled at times by the stingy Tigers’ defense. But then Brandon Miller happened.

Alabama’s star freshman had a dominant showing, scoring 20 total points with 12 rebounds and four assists. He hit a few deep 3-pointers and started to demand the ball on fast breaks. Miller scored or assisted on 17 of the Tide’s first 22 points in the second half.

For the second day in a row, Alabama’s defense neutralized its opponent’s biggest target. Huntsville native Kobe Brown — who missed the team’s prior meeting with an ankle injury — posted six points with seven boards. His athleticism stressed the Tide’s backcourt handmade room for other Tiger scorers but Missouri’s 7-for-25 showing from range wasn’t enough to pull off an upset.

From the game’s opening minutes, the Tigers (24-9) utilized a press to stop Alabama’s quick-strike offense. Tide guards broke it more often than not, at least in the first half, generating multiple alley-oop finishes for Charles Bediako and others. Quick passes also led to open 3-pointers. But Alabama missed its first eight attempts from deep, finishing the first half 2-of-15.

An early Alabama lead was generated off points in the paint (it had 40 total). Jaden Bradley came off the bench for four-straight points, benefiting from more space created by a smaller lineup. The rebounding differential, 22 to 6 at one point, helped make up for the inconsistent offense.

Alabama played a tight man-to-man, converging on the rim whenever a black jersey would drive toward it. It trusted its bigs to handle Kobe Brown inside but when the 3s started falling for Mizzou, the Tide pressed higher and the Tigers took advantage. A trio of 3-balls — highlighted by a near buzzer-beating, cross-court inbound pass that led to a fadeaway hit for D’Moi Hodge — shrunk a 10-point deficit to one possession leading into halftime.

Coach Dennis Gates’ group won five in a row before Saturday and was ranked 25th in the associated press poll. They finished the regular season second behind Alabama in SEC points per game (80.1). And this was the furthest a Tigers team had gone in the SEC tournament. If momentum exists, the Tigers were the proof.

After the break, the press started to frustrate Alabama guards and turnovers were committed. Following one by Mark Sears, Oats called a timeout and the ESPN cameras caught him as he threw a punch at his whiteboard in the huddle.

The second half featured a Miller highlight reel. A pair of deep 3s near the Tide bench, a thunderous block on a Mizzou layup attempt, and a fastbreak steal-and-score after yielding one of his own a possession prior.

“They don’t want to see me,” Miller appeared to yell near midcourt after a slick pass to Noah Clowney resulted in a deep ball and Mizzou timeout.

Clowney, the freshman forward, registered his fourth double-double of the season, sinking three 3s. He finished with 19 total, capping the day off with a putback dunk. Miller, Gurley and Bediako were the only Tide players to finish with double-digit points.

Alabama will play the winner of Texas A&M-Vanderbilt in tomorrow’s championship.

This post will be updated.