2-seed Alabama put up a record-breaking performance in its 113-88 victory over 6-seed BYU to advance to its second consecutive Elite 8.
The story of the night was the Crimson Tide 3-point shooting. Alabama hit 12 3-pointers in the first half as it took an 11-point lead into the locker. But Alabama was just getting started. In the second half, the Crimson Tide put up 13 more 3-pointers.
The 25 made 3-pointers shattered an NCAA Tournament record for the most 3-pointers made in one game. Loyola Marymount previously held the record when they hit 21 of them in a 1990 NCAA Tournament game against Michigan.
“We were in the gym last night, the night before. These guys show up for voluntary shooting every time it’s available to make sure that they’re ready to go, and that work pays off. We want to base our program on hard work,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said.
Alabama guard Mark Sears was the one who led the team’s crimson red hot shooting. Entering Thursday night, Sears was just three for his last 25 attempts from behind the arc in the last five games. But in the Sweet 16 round, Sears silenced the doubters with 10 3-pointers on 16 attempts. Sears finished the game with 34 points on 11-for-18 shooting overall. With his performance from long range, Sears hit the second-most 3-pointers by a player in a NCAA Tournament game
“Yeah, even when I was shooting 14 percent my confidence was still high. I never stopped doubting myself and stopped believing in myself, and my teammates kept encouraging me to keep shooting it, keep shooting it, keep shooting it,” Sears said.
Sears was not the only guard to contribute to the 3-point explosion, it was also guard Aden Holloway and Chris Youngblood. Holloway and Youngblood hit six and five 3-pointers, respectively. Holloway put up 23 points off the bench as he shot 6-for-13 from deep while Youngblood nearly matched him with 19 points as he went 5-for-11 from downtown.
The Crimson Tide’s offense set another record, too. Alabama’s 113 points were the most points scored by a team in a NCAA Tournament game. Alabama shot 53% for the game as it went 25-for-51 from 3-point land. The 51 attempts from long range were also the most attempts ever from a team in a NCAA Tournament game, which yielded 77% of Alabama’s shot attempts.
“I would say just for these two guys next to me, an open three is kind of a lay-up, so we’re happy with 77 percent of our shots coming from three today,” Holloway said.
Defensively, a key coming into the game was defending BYU’s 3-point shot. With the Cougars finding themselves as the nation’s best offense since mid-February, Alabama did its job neutralizing BYU’s shooting from long range as they were held to just 6-for-30 shooting.
“Yeah, we’ve had plenty of games where we haven’t shot it well. I think we’ve been really focused on making sure we don’t overdo practice, legs are fresh, minds are fresh while still getting the scouting report in,” Oats said on how Alabama gives itself a chance to win if it does not replicate tonight’s shooting on Saturday.
With the win, Alabama secures its second consecutive regional final appearance. The win also occurs on the six year anniversary of the Crimson Tide hiring Oats as head coach. Alabama now has more appearances in the Elite 8 than it did prior to hiring Oats.
Up next, Alabama will get its chance to go to back-to-back Final Fours for the first time ever. The Crimson Tide will await the winner of 1-seed Duke and 4-seed Arizona in the Elite 8 Saturday. Alabama will tip off at a time announced later Thursday night.
