In his opening statement after their Sweet 16 victory had ended, Alabama head coach Nate Oats joked, ‘That was a fun game if you like offense.’ Somehow, that may be putting things lightly.

At the halfway point of the first game in the East regional, it felt like this contest would be a race to 100 points. With a midway score of 50-41 in favor of the Alabama Crimson Tide, it felt like the BYU Cougars would be forced to play at a faster tempo they may be used to.

After all, that’s kinda what the Tide do. They don’t just roll over you with their speed and the fastest offense in college basketball, they force you to play at their pace.

That’s exactly what happened in the Sweet 16 in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday afternoon as Alabama knocked off BYU 113-88 to reach the Elite Eight.

In the process, the Crimson Tide set the NCAA Tournament record for the most triples hit (25) and attempted (51) in a single March Madness game. 

They now await the winer of Duke and Arizona to see who they’ll have to play to fight for a chance to get to the Final Four.

Alabama guard Mark Sears celebrates as the Crimson Tide advanced to the Sweet 16 over BYU

In the process, Alabama set a March Madness record for 3-point attempts and 3-point makes

Alabama’s dominant football team may have had plenty of strong running backs, but in recent years it’s the deep ball that’s been their trademark. Wideouts like Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, DeVonta Smith, and Jameson Williams have been known for their prowess down field to make big gains.

Basketball coach Nate Oats runs his offense in a similar way. He doesn’t want them taking mid-range jumpers. Just 3-pointers, layups, and dunks. And he wants them fast. Blindingly fast.

Every year since taking over, Oats’ Crimson Tide teams have been in the top 15 in tempo as their relentless pace overwhelms their opponents.

It’s what got them to a Final Four in 2024. The Tide swept through all comers and got themselves a trip to Phoenix before they were inevitably tossed aside by one of the greatest teams in the history of the sport, the 2023-24 UConn Huskies.

While some key players from that roster departed this past offseason, star guard Mark Sears and big man Grant Nelson stuck around and have been the catalysts for the Alabama attack.

In one of the best SEC basketball seasons ever, the Tide hung around the upper echelon but never truly claimed the top spot in the conference.

But they played more than well enough to earn a two-seed in this tournament. After taking care of a brief scare from 15-seed Robert Morris, they swatted aside St. Mary’s to get to this point for the fourth time in five seasons.

Alabama big man Grant Nelson is a key returner from last year’s Final Four team

Alabama head coach Nate Oats barks out orders against BYU in the Sweet 16

Sears totaled 34 points and eight assists – while hitting ten-of-16 shots from beyond the arc

Out of the gate, the Crimson Tide said ‘bombs away’ and began launching a barrage of 3-point shots. By half’s end, they had taken a shocking 27 attempts from beyond the arc and drained 12 of them.

Most of those makes came from Sears, who finished the first half with 17 points and drained 5-of-7 triples.

Alabama resorted to the dagger game after BYU’s defense offered resistance to pressure on the interior. But after the Tide began rolling from deep, BYU was forced to try and catch up.

They couldn’t quite do so in the first half, going 1-of-13 from deep.

Alabama’s foot stayed on the gas in the second half – reaching an improbable 83  points at the midway point of the final interval.

The Tide won that ‘Race to 100’ but by the time they hit the 8:00 remaining mark, the game was essentially over. 

BYU finished the contest shooting 6-of-30 from 3-point range while trying to play Alabama’s game. They just couldn’t catch up.

Sears knocked through ten shots from deep – tied for the second most in an NCAA Tournament game – and credited his teammates for finding him.