Alabama men’s basketball defeated Saint Mary’s 80-66 Sunday night, punching its ticket to a program-record third consecutive Sweet 16.
Most knew that this game would likely be decided by which team was able to play the game at its preferred pace. The fastest team in the country, Alabama, did not shy away from the moment and played the game the only way it knew how — fast.
Playing at a fast pace starts with rebounding. When a team rebounds well, it’s able to get out in space and run on teams. That’s exactly what the Crimson Tide did in the first half. It outrebounded the Gaels 26-16 overall and had just two less offensive rebounds, despite Saint Mary’s being the second-best offensive rebounding team in the country according to KenPom.
The Crimson Tide alleviated the impact of its opponents elite offensive rebounding by having its guards keep on pressuring Saint Mary’s players when they inevitably did come away with a board.
“We made it a point of emphasis for the guards to get in there and strip down when they did get an O-board, because we knew we weren’t going to hold them completely from getting O-boards,” forward Grant Nelson said.
Alabama ultimately won the rebounding battle 41-36, which Nelson said his teammates knew they were capable of because they had “done it against all the best teams who crash the glass.”
Center Clifford Omoruyi was a massive part of the rebounding effort, pulling down a game-high 11. He also had an impact on the scoreboard, scoring 10 points, completing the double-double.
“I thought our guards did a pretty good job finding him,” head coach Nate Oats said.
Oats also mentioned that his team’s depth was part of what made it so dangerous throughout the game.
“It’s tough to guard us when you’ve got six guys capable of getting double digits,” he said. “That’s not even counting multiple guys that have scored it well for us that didn’t get to double digits.”
He also referenced the team’s mentality as the reason that his team found success.
“I thought we had great leadership tonight,” Oats said. “We showed a lot of toughness. We said the tougher team is going to win this one, and that’s one of the tougher teams in the country. Our guys really stepped up and met the challenge there tonight.”
Alabama will return to the court for the Sweet 16 versus BYU at a time to be determined. The game will be hosted in Newark, New Jersey, at the Prudential Center.
