Going into this year’s NCAA tournament, Alabama men’s basketball looked like a shell of the team that it had been all season, at least offensively.
This offensive firepower finally made its return on Friday night as the Crimson Tide took down the 13th-seeded Charleston Cougars 109-96. This is the most points Alabama basketball has ever scored in the tournament and the 10th time the team has scored over 100 points this season, a new SEC record.
“I give them [Charleston] a lot of credit,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said postgame. “I thought they played hard. I think [head coach] Pat [Kelsey] does a really good job. They had a good plan.”
There was a bit more pressure on Alabama coming into this one than expected. With five SEC teams already going down, along with three of the four teams from the state of Alabama, all eyes were on the Crimson Tide.
Charleston led for the first 10 minutes of play, as Alabama had to find its rhythm offensively. After the fuse of Nate Oats’ offense was lit, however, the Cougars would not see another lead.
The Crimson Tide began torching the Cougars and built a commanding 51-34 lead at the half.
Guard Mark Sears scored 20 of his game-high 32 points in the half.
Alabama continued to build upon its lead in the second half, as the team shot over 50% from both the field and long range.
The Crimson Tide led by as many as 31 in the second half.
Alabama’s offensive onslaught was fueled by the play of Sears and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. The two guards combined for 47 points, with Wrightsell hitting five of his six attempts from downtown.
Guards Rylan Griffen and Aaron Estrada scored 9 and 13 points, respectively. Estrada scored all his points in the second half.
“With the guard play we have, all of us can handle, all of us can shoot,” Sears said. “With how fast we play, it makes the game very easy with all the space we have on the floor.”
The Crimson Tide’s defense, which has been a thorn in its side all season, held up for 32 minutes. In the last eight minutes, the Cougars scored 32 points and ended up outscoring Alabama 62-58 in the half,
“We’ve had this issue with this team all year,” Oats said. “I think they play the scoreboard too much. … In the last seven or eight minutes of that game, we got up 31 and we quit guarding, which is a little frustrating.”
The Crimson Tide also struggled on the boards, allowing Charleston to finish with a 42-34 rebounding advantage. The Cougars grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, compared with just six from Alabama.
Despite these points of weakness, Oats believes that it is important that his team enters the next round on a positive note.
“We’re playing on Sunday. … That’s a big accomplishment,” Oats said. “We’re trying to be one of the 16 left playing after Sunday, so we’re trying to keep the energy positive.”
Alabama will look to keep rolling through the tournament when it faces 11th-seeded Grand Canyon University in the round of 32 on Sunday at 6:10 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on TBS.
