NEWARK, N.J. — The Crimson Tide continued one of the most successful runs in program history on Thursday night, clinching a second consecutive Elite Eight berth with a 113-88 regional semifinal win over BYU at the Prudential Center.
Mark Sears led the way for Alabama, catching fire from 3-point range and scoring a game-high 34 points. The 5th-year senior nailed a career-high 10 3-pointers.
The team broke NCAA tournament records for points (113), 3-pointers made by a team (25) and 3-pointers attempted by a team (51). So when Sears wasn’t drilling triples, Aden Holloway and Chris Youngblood kept up the hot shooting, hitting 11 of their 24 threes. The guard trio combined for 76 points, including 63 from beyond the arc.
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The victory marks the second year in a row Nate Oats’ team has advanced to at least the regional final in the NCAA tournament, a first for Alabama men’s basketball. The win was also Oats’ 11th in tournament play, breaking a tie with Wimp Sanderson for most in Crimson Tide history.
The two top-25 scoring offenses got out to a break-neck pace, but it was Alabama’s sharpshooting from distance that helped it gain control in the first half and never truly feel threatened. Twelve of the Crimson Tide’s 17 made field goals in the first half came from 3-point range.
BYU, despite having the strong 3-point shooting pair of Richie Saunders and Trevin Knell, were limited from long range in the first half. After finishing the season No. 11 in the nation in 3-pointers made, the Cougars shot just 1-for-13 beyond the arc in the first half.
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Instead, the Cougars leaned on interior scoring from Keba Keita and Fousseyni Traore to stay within striking distance of the Crimson Tide early. Saunders, who entered the game with a top-five shooting percentage from distance for BYU, managed to slash his way to a team-high 12 first-half points. While Alabama had a plus-33 advantage from long range, the Cougars outscored the Crimson Tide 28-8 in the paint during the first half.
The Cougars looked to be building momentum late in the first half after Saunders found freshman Kanon Catchings for an alley-oop to cut the Alabama lead to eight. Keita followed up with a block on Sears on the ensuing possession, leading to a BYU fast break. Catchings attempted a triple but missed and Keita was called for a foul while jockeying under the basket with Youngblood. The referee crew reviewed the play and upgraded the foul to a flagrant 1, again allowing the Crimson Tide to expand their lead to double figures.
After the break, the self-inflicted wounds continued for BYU. Knell, who had been knocked out of the game earlier after an ugly collision, nailed a 3 to open the second half. Knell was then whistled for a technical after celebrating. Alabama capitalized and opened a 16-point lead in the minutes that followed. BYU would utilize a rally powered by freshman guard Egor Demin to cut the lead to seven — the closest the game would get in the second half — before Alabama pulled away again.
Thursday night was the 20th time this season Alabama eclipsed the 90-point threshold, the most in Division I. It was the ninth time this season that the Crimson Tide scored 100 or more points in a game.
