Alabama’s hopes of another Final Four run were shattered on Saturday, with the team losing to Duke in the Elite Eight. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Crimson Tide’s tournament run.
The good
Record-breakers. Despite the earlier-than-anticipated exit, the Crimson Tide made history in March when it knocked down an tournament-record 25 3-pointers against BYU.
It shouldn’t be surprising that guard Mark Sears led the barrage as he made a notably high 10 shots from downtown en route to a 34-point night. Guard Aden Holloway wasn’t too far behind, as he made six 3-pointers of his own and guard Chris Youngblood chipped in five.
Taking 51 three-point attempts is absurdly high, and making 25 of them is even more impressive. The Alabama offense consistently found ways to get open, and head coach Nate Oats credited the players’ strong work ethic for the 3-point barrage.
“These guys show up for voluntary shooting every time it’s available to make sure that they’re ready to go,” Oats said. “And that work pays off. We want to base our program on hard work.”
Playmaking. During this tournament run, Alabama excelled at sharing the basketball and finding open shots for each of its shooters, evidenced by the offensive onslaught against BYU.
It wasn’t just the 27 assists against the Cougars that was notable, as the Crimson Tide dished out 25 assists in a Round 1 victory over Robert Morris and then recorded 15 more even in a slower-paced game against St. Mary’s.
Sears and guard Labaron Philon were two of the driving forces behind the sharing of the ball, as the two guards combined for 49 assists in the team’s four games in the tournament.
The team maximized its season. Though the preseason expectations were higher than ever for Alabama, a deeper look shows this team went as far as it could’ve.
The group was never fully healthy at the same time. Losing guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. early in the season was a big blow, and guard Houston Mallette also had nagging issues that led to him getting a medical redshirt. Both players were big pieces of the puzzle that led to Oats raving about his squad in the preseason.
Forward Derrion Reid also dealt with nagging injuries all year, and Alabama had to play Duke, which might be the best team in the country, in the Elite Eight. As a result, this season shouldn’t be viewed as a failure or downgrade. Rather, it should be viewed as the Crimson Tide going as far as possible.
“I told our guys, we’ve raised this program to a level where the standard is really high,” Oats said after the loss to Duke. “99% of college basketball players would trade places with these guys with the year we had.”
The bad
Sears going out struggling. It was a difficult watch for Alabama fans against Duke, especially watching the 6-1 guard from Muscle Shoals seemingly looking helpless on the court.
While Sears dished out six assists, he only scored 6 points on poor 2/12 shooting and had five turnovers. It was a far cry from his 34 points in the previous game against BYU, and his performance was a big reason why Alabama was sent back to Tuscaloosa.
No matter what would’ve happened in that game, Sears is an Alabama legend. But his unceremonious performance in his final game in crimson was a tough sight to see, and fans will wish he could’ve gone out stronger.
The ugly
Inconsistency. Though it can be argued that some of the Crimson Tide’s poorer offensive showings were because of facing better opponents, it’s strange to see a team’s shooting game change drastically from one game to the next.
It would’ve taken a miracle for the Crimson Tide to replicate its shooting performance from BYU to Duke, but the regression hit hard. Alabama only shot 35.4% from the field and a much worse 8/32 from beyond the arc. If the team could have shot even average from downtown, the result might’ve been drastically different.
Ultimately, inconsistency plagued the Crimson Tide, and that is why it will be sent home with a sour taste in its mouth instead of dancing longer in March Madness.
