Nate Oats cuts down nets as Alabama advances to first Final Four in school history
The No. 4 seed Alabama Crimson Tide made some history on Saturday night in their Elite Eight matchup vs. the No. 6 seed Clemson Tigers. The final few minutes of the second half were absolutely electric, with both teams trading baskets down the stretch. Alabama sharpshooter Mark Sears found freon coursing through his veins when his team needed it the most down the stretch, draining clutch three after clutch three. And the Crimson Tide managed to pull off one of the biggest wins in school history, 89-82, and punched their tickets to their first Final Four ever. After the massive win, Nate Oats got the chance to cut down the nets with his team.
Sears erupted for 23 points, while connecting on seven of his 14 three-pointers (50%). Clemson’s Jack Clark missed two costly free throws with 37 seconds left, with the Tigers trailing 82-77. Then Alabama’s Aaron Estrada drained two free throws with 35.2 seconds left to put the Tide up 84-77.
Clemson’s P.J. Hall fouled out late in the second half with 3:30 remaining.
The Crimson Tide were scorching hot from the outside, connecting on 16 of their 36 shots from beyond-the-arc (44.4%). Clemson got plenty of scoring from all of their stars (Schieffelin–18 points), (Hall–14 points), (Hunter–12 points), and (Girard–19 points). They even got 12 points from R.J. Godfrey, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to keep pace with a high-octane Crimson Tide offensive attack.
The Tigers shot very poorly from the free throw line, which proved to be crucial in deciding the outcome, only hitting eight of their 16 attempts (50%) from the charity stripe.
Alabama has had one of the best offenses in college basketball all season long and it delivered in the big moments on Saturday night when they needed it. The Crimson Tide also manhandled Clemson on the glass, outrebounding them 44-33. Nick Pringle had 11 rebounds, Aaron Estrada had eight boards, and Grant Nelson chipped in seven.
Up next for Alabama, they’ll get the unenviable task of facing the top-seeded UConn Huskies, who nobody in this year’s NCAA Tournament has come close to touching. The Huskies are looking like one of the most dominant teams in college basketball history and the Crimson Tide will need to play absolutely perfect to have a chance.
The Huskies’ defense was spectacular in their 77-52 blowout victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini, holding them to just 25.4% shooting from the field. They also came away with 10 total blocks as a team.
On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.