Alabama men’s basketball cruised to an 80-66 victory over 7 seed Saint Mary’s Sunday night, punching its ticket to a program-record third consecutive Sweet 16.
“I thought we had great leadership tonight,” Alabama head coach Nate 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.”
Early on, the Crimson Tide played at its desired pace, but momentum was often hindered by fouls, as the team committed five early on. This resulted in the game being tied at 13 going into the first 12 minute media timeout.
The team came out of the break with an 8-0 run with a series of defensive possessions that featured multiple blocks and strong rebounding, fueling the offense by allowing it to score in transition, giving Alabama a 21-13 lead in the process.
“We knew we had to come out and bring energy,” forward Grant Nelson said. “I feel like the starting group kind of got us going and then everyone came in and did their job. I feel like down the line everyone had a really solid game.”
The foot remained on the pedal throughout the half, as the Crimson Tide continued to get stops, turning them into points and gaining a 42-29 advantage at the break.
Saint Mary’s had trouble scoring for much of the period, converting on just 9/36 shot attempts and getting blocked on four occasions.
Alabama shot 16/29 from the field and converted on 5/9 3-point attempts. It also racked up nine assists in the frame and outrebounded the Gaels 26-16.
The team was hindered by eight turnovers and nine fouls in the half, which likely helped to keep the margin shorter than it could have been.
Saint Mary’s settled into the game for the first eight minutes of the second half, outscoring the Crimson Tide 16-13 and doing a better job of getting over to loose balls and rebounds. However, it still trailed 55-45.
“We knew they weren’t going to go away. They came out in the second half, they were scoring on us a little too much,” Oats said.
The concern for the Gaels was whether their starters could keep up with Alabama’s pace and depth down the stretch, as they had four players with over 23 minutes of action going into the timeout.
Saint Mary’s continued to hang around and the margin stuck around 10 points for the next several minutes as the teams traded buckets, resulting in a 66-56 lead for Alabama with 7:04 left.
Eventually, the Crimson Tide’s tempo wore on the Gaels, which appeared on the scoreboard as a 10-3 run with under three minutes left, killing off any hopes for an upset bid. Alabama won by double digits, advancing to its third consecutive Sweet 16.
Guard Chris Youngblood’s 13 first half points were enough to give him the most among Alabama’s players. He shot 4/5 from the field and was a perfect 3/3 from deep.
Center Clifford Omoruyi showed up big for the Crimson Tide, logging a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
“I hope something is clicking with him, because when he’s playing really well like he was tonight, we’re a different team. I thought he was great,” Oats said.
Nelson and guards Aden Holloway and Mark Sears all added 12 points. Nelson contributed eight rebounds, while Sears and Holloway each had three assists.k
Alabama will return to action on Thursday for the Sweet 16 versus 6 seed BYU. The game will be played at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, at a time to be determined.
