Tuscaloosa, AL. - Just eight short months ago, Aden Holloway was being told publicly by his former head coach that he should shoot the ball less. When a head coach makes those comments publicly, it can shatter the confidence of a player, and that appeared to be where Holloway was as he entered the transfer portal from Auburn.

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When he got to Tuscaloosa, he heard a different tune from Alabama head coach Nate Oats. During media availability earlier in the season, Holloway revealed that Oats is upset with him if he does not shoot the ball, restoring the confidence of the sophomore guard.

On Tuesday night, the Crimson Tide saw the fruits of the labor Holloway and the rest of the Crimson Tide bench had been putting in this season.

The depth of the Crimson Tide has been tested in recent games, with Alabama losing Latrell Wrightsell Jr. earlier in the season, Houston Mallette appearing to be heading toward a medical redshirt, and Derrion Reid missing his third straight game for Alabama.

Apparently, nobody told the Crimson Tide's bench players that the depth was thin, as the bench propelled Alabama to a 103-87 victory over Vanderbilt.

Alabama's bench outscored Vanderbilt's, 52-22.

Alabama's leader on Tuesday night was Aden Holloway, who the team relied on to have the hot hand. Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide trusted Holloway, and it paid off. Holloway shot 8-11 from the field and a team-leading 4-6 from three-point range. Alabama earned its fifth win in SEC play to advance to 16-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play.

The scoring came fast for Alabama, with a staggering three players in the 20-point range.

It wasn't just Holloway who stepped up from the bench for Alabama. The unsung hero, Mouhamed Dioubate had a career night for the Crimson Tide, notching his first career double-double and scoring more than 20 points for Alabama for the first time in his career. Mark Sears was no slouch either, scoring 21 points in the big victory at home.

The story of Alabama's loss to Ole Miss one week ago was turnovers. Alabama turned the ball over a season-high 21 times in the 74-64 loss to the Rebels. Vanderbilt forced turnovers at a higher clip coming into the night, forcing 16.1 turnovers per game. Alabama turned the ball over just 11 times, although still not at the level that head coach Nate Oats wants. This is a much-needed improvement from a week ago.

Alabama earned more blue-collar points than Vanderbilt as well the help sweeten the 16-point victory. Alabama shot 56% from the field, while Vanderbilt shot only 39%. Alabama out-rebounded Vanderbilt 44-39. The Crimson Tide also had more points in the paint, winning that battle 54-34.

Alabama's next game will come back inside Coleman Coliseum on Saturday, January 25 at 7:30 p.m. CT against LSU.

Stat Leaders for Alabama

Points: Aden Holloway, Mouhamed Dioubate - 22
Rebounds: Mouhamed Dioubate - 10
Assists: Mark Sears - 7

Alabama Players in Double Digit Points

Aden Holloway - 22
Mouhamed Dioubate - 22
Mark Sears - 21
Jarin Stevenson - 10
Grant Nelson - 10

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.

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