Alabama men’s basketball routed Liberty, 101-56, on Saturday afternoon. The victory gave Nate Oats his 100th with the Crimson Tide. He became the fastest coach in program history to reach the century mark in Tuscaloosa.

The game was part of the 2023 C.M. Newton Classic and was held in Birmingham’s Legacy Arena at the BJCC.

“I thought it was a pretty good game, our defense kept them out of what they do well, we gave them 10 threes made and they shot 35 total which is too many. Our energy was good, our rebounding was good and that was a huge point of emphasis, making free throws and being good on the glass,” Oats said in a release provided by UA.

Six Alabama players finished with double-digit points, led by Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (19) and Mark Sears (16). Transfer guard Aaron Estra posted 13 points and 10 rebounds, his first double-double since joining the Tide. Flames guard Kaden Metheny scored 14 points on four 3-pointers.

UA (8-5) outshot (58.3% to 33.3%) and outrebounded (46 to 24) Liberty while committing fewer turnovers (eight to nine).

It was Alabama’s final nonconference game of the regular season and the second win in a row after a three-game skid. The Tide next travel to Vanderbilt on Jan. 6 for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff (SEC Network).

“Hopefully (Liberty) will play well in their league to get that NET ranking up and keep it in the top-50 and it will end up being a Quad-1 win. We have played plenty of Quad-1 teams in a tough schedule, but we just have not got a lot of wins,” Oats said.

Oats’ career coaching record improved to 196-90 overall. His record with Alabama is 100-47.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].