TUSCALOOSA, AL--Amari Allen scored 19 points off the bench and led six Alabama players in double figures, as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 111-93 win over Furman in the 2026-27 exhibition opener Thursday night at Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama is coming off its fourth-straight Sweet 16 appearance and won 25 games for the 12th time in school history in 2025-26, and will likely be tabbed as one of the favorites to claim the SEC crown once again this season, while Furman is the reigning SoCon champion and was tabbed to repeat that feat it was announced by the Southern Conference office as a part of its virtual media day earlier this week.
Both teams showed why they have been the standards for comparison in their respective leagues over the better part of the past decade, with Nate Oats entering his eighth season at the helm of the Crimson Tide, while Bob Richey heads into his 10th season at the helm of the Paladins basketball program.
The Crimson Tide and Paladins combined to connect on 34 three-point field goals in the game, with Furman making 18 (18-of-43/41.9%) shots from beyond the arc, while the Crimson Tide connected on 16 (16-of-39/41.0%), including 11 in the opening half, as Alabama was able to take an 11-point, 60-49, lead into the halftime locker room. Alabama set a program record with 450 made threes last season, which was the third-most in a single-season in NCAA Division I men's basketball history.
The Crimson Tide was able to build on that 11-point advantage just after the break, using a 13-3 run in the opening five minutes of the second half to assume a 78-57 lead. Furman bounced back with a 9-2 run of its own, highlighted by a Marcus Kell three-pointer, as Furman trimmed Alabama's lead to 84-70 with 8:40 remaining, however, it would be as close as Furman would get for the remainder of the evening.
The Crimson Tide shot the ball well all evening, blistering the nets to the tune of 56.2% (41-of-73) for the game, which included that impressive 41.0% clip from long-range. Alabama finished the game knocking down 65.0% (13-for-20) from the charity stripe. The Crimson Tide not only shot the ball well from long-range, but also was dominant in the paint, outscoring the Paladins, 50-24.
Allen, which nearly posted a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench in Alabama's 96-71 exhibition win over Furman at Timmons Arena last season, finished the contest with his six assists, five rebounds and one steal to go with his impressive 19-point scoring effort this time around, as he led a prolific Crimson Tide shooting display in the 18-point win a year later in Tuscaloosa.
The sophomore guard finished the game going 7-of-14 from the field, which included a 4-for-8 effort from three-point range and was 4-for-5 from the charity stripe in the win. Also delivering a strong performance was Crimson Tide forward Tarris Bouie, who posted 18 points, eight rebounds and six steals off the bench for the Crimson Tide, finishing just behind Allen in the scoring column.
Quayden Samules (17 pts), Kentucky transfer forward Brandon Garrison (15 pts), North Carolina State transfer Cole Clouer (15 pts) and London Jemison (10 pts) round out the Crimson Tide players to finish in double figures in the game. The Crimson Tide played without at least three players that are expected to be big-time contributors for the Crimson Tide in the SEC in the coming season, as talented freshmen guards Anderson Diaz and Jaxson Richardson did not log action, nor did uber-talented guard Aden Holloway, who was just added back to the roster by head coach Nate Oats following some off-the-court issues late last season.
Furman was without the services of Army transfer guard Jaxson Bell, who missed the game with a minor injury. He was the Black Knights' second-leading scorer a year ago, averaging 12.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG as a sophomore in 2025-26.
Furman finished the night led by Western Carolina transfer and preseason All-SoCon selection Marcus Kell, who finished with 22 points, five rebounds, a block and a steal in 29 minutes of action, leading six Paladins in double figures in the game. Kell connected on 7-of-13 shots from the field, including posting a 4-for-8 effort from long-range and was 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. Kell also added five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal to his overall statistical line in his first game donning Paladin purple.
Sophomore combo guard and Greenville native Abijah Franklin scored 18 of his 21 points for the Paladins in the opening half of play, as the former Wren High School standout connected on 7-of-13 shots from the field, including going 4-of-5 from three-point range and was 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. Franklin added four rebounds and dished out four assists, while turning the ball over only once in the game.
Fifth-year senior and preseason All-SoCon pick Charles Johnston started out his third season in a Furman uniform much like he did his second, which is starting out the campaign with a double-double, finishing the exhibition against the Crimson Tide with a double-double.
After posting 14 points and 12 rebounds in the 96-71 loss to Alabama last season, Johnston finished his evening with 16 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and a block. The native of Sydney, Australia connected on 4-of-10 from the field, which included a 4-for-8 effort from three-point range and 4-for-7 effort from the charity stripe. Johnston totaled 11 double-doubles and started and played in all 35 games for Furman last season.
Sophomore guards Cole Bowser and Collin O'Neal added 11 points apiece, while rookie sharp-shooting guard Cameron Elwer was impressive in his Furman debut, as he added 10 points.
In addition to shooting 41.9% from three-point range, the Paladins finished the game shooting 41.7% (30-of-72) from the field and connected on 68.2% (15-of-22) from the free throw line.
The Crimson Tide finished the game with advantages in the following categories; points off turnovers (21-11), points in the paint (50-24), second-chance points (17-11), fast-break points (27-22), total rebounds (44-38), second-chance points (17-11) and bench points (51-23).
Furman will play two more exhibition games before beginning its 2026-27 regular-season on Nov. 2 in Rock Hill, S.C., against Bethune-Cookman as a part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. The Paladins will take the floor again on Sunday, Oct. 18, as Furman will host former Southern Conference rival Georgia Southern at Timmons Arena. Tip-off for that contest is set for 4 p.m.
Positive Takeaways:
--Scoring 93 points on the road against an SEC foe, as the Paladins scored 90 or more points just three times last season against NCAA Division I competition, as the Paladins scored 90 or more points against Queens (W, 90-79), at Elon (W, 97-88) and at VMI (W, 90-72).
--Connecting on 18 threes in a road venue! The 18 triples by Furman were the most by the Paladins since Furman connected on 18 triples in a 96-72 win over Mercer at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Feb. 12, 2025.
--The big jump made by Baba. Baba Franklin's sophomore jump is very real, and though showing glimpses of that talent as a rookie guard last season, especially down the stretch of the season by impacting games with his defensive effort, it was his offensive game and confidence that were notably improved in the opener. I think Franklin has a Mike Bothwell type sophomore improvement on the offensive end of the floor.
--Marcus Kell looks good in forms of all shades of purple, looking the part of Furman's go-to-guy in the opener after being Furman's purple kryptonite each of the previous two seasons at Western Carolina. Kell was strong on both ends of the floor in his debut for Furman.
--A year after hauling in 19 misses on the offensive end of the floor against Alabama, Furman followed that up with grabbing 16 caroms in the road loss to the Crimson Tide, and that could be a positive sign once again for the Paladins when Furman enters Southern Conference play, as the Paladins were an elite offensive rebounding mid-major a year ago.
The Negatives:
--I know it's Alabama, but Furman's defense against this same highly potent offense was much better last season at Timmons Arena. Furman did not defend well in any capacity against the Crimson Tide, especially yielding threes in transition.
--Turnovers! Turning the ball over more than 12 times against anyone isn't ideal, but what makes the 14 turnovers even worse for Furman is that the Crimson Tide managed to turn those miscues into 21 points, holding a 10-point edge in the "points off turnovers" category.
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