Alabama basketball knew its Sweet 16 matchup with BYU would feature more offense than its first two NCAA Tournament games. However, what the Crimson Tide did against the Cougars was unprecedented.
The Tide connected for its 22nd three-pointer with 7:41 remaining in the second half. That broke the single-game team record, set at 21 by Loyola Marymount in 1990.
The second-seeded UA squad will move onto the Elite Eight with a win over BYU. The record-breaking three got Alabama up to 97-76, and eventually led to a 113-88 win.
It was fitting that Mark Sears was the one to break the record. The shot he hit to pass the mark gave him 31 points, and he had led the Tide all game long, and was his ninth three made, also an Alabama single-game record.
Sears exited the game with under five minutes left. He had 34 points, and 10 made threes.
Chris Youngblood hit the shot that tied the record. Alabama also broke the NCAA Tournament record for most three-point attempts in one game, as it went over 44.
UA eventually ended the game with 51 threes tried. Alabama shot 49% from beyond the arc, 53% from the field.
Aden Holloway was second on the team in made threes, with six. Youngblood had five, while Labaron Philon and Aiden Sherrell had two each.
The Tide started out the NCAA Tournament with a win over Robert Morris, before beating Saint Mary’s in Cleveland to make the Sweet 16. No. 6-seed BYU took down Wisconsin in the second round to punch its ticket to Newark, where Thursday’s game is being played.
Alabama will play in the Elite Eight Saturday, for the third time in school history, against the winner of Arizona and Duke’s game, which will be played later on Thursday.
