The Crimson Tide knocked down a record 25 threes to beat BYU 113-88 at Newark's Prudential Center. The March 27th game showed off scoring power that hadn't been seen before in tournament history.
Alabama's shooters topped a 33-year-old record set by Loyola Marymount, getting hot right from the start. Mark Sears weaved through defenders, hitting 10 threes on his way to scoring 34 points.
"That was a fun game if you like offense," said Alabama coach Nate Oats to Fox Sports.
Both teams combined to shoot an incredible 81 three-pointers. While Alabama shot an amazing 49% from three-point range, BYU just couldn't find their rhythm, making only 6 of 30 attempts.
Sears became the first player to hit eight threes and dish out eight assists in a tournament game. "I was just in a zone," he said. "Once I saw the first 3 fall in, I felt the basket was as big as an ocean."
Aden Holloway added to the scoring fest with 23 points. His seven three-pointers helped Alabama put up their highest tournament score ever.
BYU's coach Kevin Young could only watch as the shots kept dropping. "We felt like it would be hard for them to sustain that, and so that's where you have to give them credit because they did," he admitted.
The loss shocked a BYU team that had been on fire, winning 11 of their last 12 games. "But that's a really good basketball team. I mean, it was an all-time night for them. It felt like there was nothing we could do at times," Young reflected.
The win moves top-seeded Alabama to their second straight Elite Eight. BYU President Shane Reeves said his team just ran into a team that couldn't miss.
Oats knew the shots would be there. "They had been going under ball screens just about every game we watched," he said. "I told both those guys, Holloway and Sears, 'Man, I hope they go under us because we're going to rain 'em.'"
