No. 2 seed Alabama men’s basketball aimed to make a third consecutive Sweet 16 heading into Sunday.
Then the Crimson Tide did it. Alabama defeated Saint Mary’s 80-66 on Sunday in Cleveland. It’s the first time in 105 games that the Gaels have allowed 80 points.
The trip to the Sweet 16 marks the first time Alabama’s made three consecutive Sweet 16 trips since Wimp Sanderson from 1984-87. That’s the only other time in program history the Crimson Tide has accomplished that feat. Technically, that third Sweet 16 was vacated by the NCAA later.
Alabama advances to face No. 6 seed BYU on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey.
Here’s a rundown of what happened in the game between the Crimson Tide and the Gaels.
Second half
-- FINAL: 80-66 Alabama wins. That’s the first time in 105 games that Saint Mary’s has allowed 80 points.
--:46, timeout: Alabama leads 78-66 after Aden Holloway hits two free throws.
--1:24, timeout: Alabama leads 76-66 after Lewis hits a 3-pointer for Saint Mary’s.
-- 2:07: Sears makes both free throws. Saint Mary’s has three turnovers the last 2:02. Alabama leads 76-63.
--3:00: Labaron Philon hits both free throws to give Alabama a 74-63 lead.
-- 3:51, timeout: Alabama leads 72-63. Sears has now scored six points in the second half. Clifford Omoruyi has the most points of any Alabama player in the second half with eight.
-- 7:31: Saint Mary’s hits its first 3-pointer of the game. Alabama still leads 64-53.
-- 8:25: Back-to-back buckets from Sears, and Alabama’s up 62-49.
-- 9:08, timeout: Alabama leads 58-47. Holloway hit his first 3-pointer recently, and he’s got 10 points on the day. He joins Dioubate (10 points) and Chris Youngblood (13 points) in scoring double digits so far.
-- 11:50, timeout: Alabama leads 55-45. Saint Mary’s has made 8 of 16 in the second half so far. Averaging 1.231 points per possession.
-- 13:37: Saint Mary’s commits its first turnover of the game.
-- 15:14, timeout: Alabama leads 51-41 after Dioubate hits another three. Saint Mary’s is shooting much better in the second half. The Gaels are averaging 1.5 points per possession now. They’re shooting 6-10 from the field after halftime, too.
-- 16:13 Mark Sears picks up his third foul. Saint Mary’s now trails 48-39.
First half
-- Halftime: Alabama leads Saint Mary’s 42-29. Alabama is averaging 1.235 points and Saint Mary’s is averaging .784. Alabama has answered Oats' challenge on the glass so far. 26-16 rebounding advantage at halftime, and only down 7-6 in offensive rebounding to one of the country’s best in getting O-boards. Saint Mary’s has
-- 2:10: Alabama leads 37-24. Youngblood hit another triple. Saint Mary’s has missed its last 10 shots.
-- 3:55, timeout: Alabama leads 31-22. Saint Mary’s is 0 for its last 7 shots. The Gaels have shot 8-for-31 from the field and 0-for-5 from deep. Averaging .733 points per possession.
-- Turnovers really the only thing slowing Alabama much right now. Tide has 7 and Saint Mary’s has none.
-- 5:43, timeout: Alabama leads 29-21. Mo Dioubate stepping up offensively. He hit a 3-pointer to help extend the lead. Alabama still has an 18-11 advantage on the glass.
-- 7:57, timeout: Alabama leads 23-19. Chris Youngblood already has 10 points. Alabama winning the battle on the glass 14-9. The Crimson Tide only had one turnover over the most recent stretch between timeouts, and that gave Alabama the chance to start building a lead.
-- 9:38: Chris Youngblood hits another 3, and Alabama takes a 21-13 lead after an 8-0 run over 1:37. Amazing what happens when Alabama doesn’t turn the ball over.
-- 11:37, timeout: Tied at 13-13. Alabama has shot 6-for-13 (46%) while Saint Mary’s is 4-for-15 (27%) but turnovers have gotten in the way of the Crimson Tide. Plus, the Gaels have gone 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. Alabama has yet to have an opportunity to shoot at the charity stripe.
-- 12:23: Alabama has five turnovers and Saint Mary’s has none. Difference maker so far.
-- 13:23: Mark Sears picks up his second foul. The game is tied 11-11. Now Sears will sit.
-- 14:20: Saint Mary’s Jordan Ross just went to the locker room. TNT Sports reported it’s an ankle injury but he is expected to return.
-- Points per possession at first timeout: Alabama: .714; Saint Mary’s: .571
-- 15:58, timeout: Alabama leads 5-4. Grant Nelson has been a force. He has grabbed four rebounds, two O-boards, and one assist and one block. But he also has two turnovers and no points so far. Alabama has an overall rebounding advantage of 6-3.
-- 17:26: Saxen scores the first points of the day, dunking. 3-2 Alabama.
-- 17:54: Alabama already has 2 O-boards in the first 2 minutes, both from Grant Nelson.
-- 19:10: Youngblood scores first. He hits a three off an offensive rebound from Grant Nelson. Alabama up 3-0.
Alabama basketball injury news
Update: Grant Nelson was listed in the starting lineup along with the other regulars: Labaron Philon, Mark Sears, Chris Youngblood and Clifford Omoruyi.
Nelson expressed optimism during the day between the first and second rounds that he will be able to play against Saint Mary’s after he was questionable heading into the first round game against Robert Morris. Nelson didn’t play most of the first round game as Alabama hoped to hold him out and let him rest his knee until the second round. But Robert Morris remained into the game late, and Nelson and Alabama made the decision to put him in the game.
“I’m feeling pretty good, so I’m sure it’s going to be the same, like where I’m pretty much questionable, and it’s going to be day-to-day,” Nelson said Saturday. “But I’m going to see how I feel, and it’s going to be a game time decision. But I’m going to stick with my rehab plan, and it seems to be working.”
Meanwhile, Jarin Stevenson sustained a wrist injury during the Robert Morris game then returned. That isn’t expected to affect him moving forward.
“It hurt a lot at first and it was a scary fall,” Stevenson said Saturday. “But yeah, nothing severe happened. We had an X-ray and stuff like that, and it feels good.”
