The Sweet 16 matchup between the 2-seed Alabama Crimson Tide and the 6-seed BYU Cougars was perhaps the most anticipated game on Thursday’s opening slate. Both teams play fast and can make threes at a high clip. With Alabama favored by 4.5 points, the pregame point total of 175.5 was one of the highest in recent memory.
The action opened in a breakneck scoring frenzy that exceeded even those ratcheted expectations. In the first 7:04, the teams combined for 45 points, on pace for 305 in the game. Powered by a massive night from senior guard Mark Sears, the higher seed seized control midway through the first half and ran away with a blowout win from there, 113-88. In the process, Alabama made some NCAA tournament history.
Raining Threes in New Jersey: Alabama Crimson Tide Elite 8-Bound Thanks to Mark Sears’ Career Night
In the arena of the New Jersey Devils hockey team, Alabama filled up the nets from deep starting at tipoff and ending at the final buzzer. As for the Cougars, they failed to deliver on the promise of a mutual shootout, going just 1-13 on threes in the first half to finish the game 6-30. Despite negative shot variance, they stayed within shouting distance by burrowing into the paint. Through 20 minutes they held a 28-8 advantage inside, but found themselves down by 11.
On fire all night, the Crimson Tide capitalized on the philosophy that three is more than two. 51 of their 66 field goal attempts came from beyond the arc. They made 25 of them, setting an NCAA tournament record and surpassing the previous mark by five.
Sears finished the game with 34 points, including a career-best 10 three-pointers (10-16). He set some tournament history of his own by recording at least eight triples and seven assists. Sears finished with 8 dimes and 3 steals. His 10 made threes fell one shy of the tournament record.
Richie Saunders led BYU with 25 on 11-14 from the field (1-2 from distance) along with 6 rebounds and 4 steals, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The loss ends an impressive run for the Cougars (26-10), who had won 11 of their past 12 games.
After Defeating BYU Cougars, Alabama Will Look to Reach 2nd-Ever Final Four
Already playing in a fourth Sweet 16 in five years, Alabama (28-8) advances to play the winner of Duke-Arizona next round. Last season’s appearance in the Final Four, where the Crimson Tide lost to eventual repeat champion UConn, was the program’s farthest-ever tournament run. Returning there will be no easy task against either #1-ranked Duke or an Arizona team capable of beating them.
In six years at the helm, coach Nate Oats has steered the Crimson Tide to five straight tournaments. In four of those seasons, Alabama has won 25 games or more. Before Oats’ arrival, the team had seen just two tournaments in 11 years.
Although Sears did the heavy lifting versus BYU, he was hardly the only one who shone. Fellow senior Chris Youngblood added 19 points, making 5 of 11 threes, while sophomore Aden Holloway scored 23 off the bench (6-13 from deep).
Sears’ eruption follows five subpar performances in a row, a stretch in which he eclipsed a 40.0 FG% just once and averaged only 13 points–well below his season average of 18. Despite his struggles, Alabama went 5-0.
While he might not need to set a new personal best, Sears will likely to need to go off again in the team’s biggest challenge yet on Saturday.
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