Final Four Bound: Alabama bests Clemson to win West Region
LOS ANGELES – For the first time in program history, Alabama is heading to the Final Four.
The No. 4-seed Crimson Tide defeated No. 6-seed Clemson, 89-82, in Saturday’s Elite Eight at Crypto.com Arena. In its second-ever Elite Eight appearance, Alabama accomplished something no other team in school history has done as it improved to 25-11 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Clemson scored the game’s first six points before Alabama countered with six of its own. After that, the Tigers went on a 20-7 run and led the Crimson Tide, 26-13, at the 7:54 mark. It was a rough start for Alabama, which only made five of its first 25 attempts from the floor, but then shots started to fall for the higher seed. Aaron Estrada ended the Clemson run with a jumper and Jarin Stevenson knocked down a much-needed three to ignite an impressive close to the first half for the Tide. UA used a 22-6 run to take a 35-32 lead at intermission.
Similar to the first, the Tigers scored four straight points out of the break to take a brief 36-35 lead before a Mark Sears triple. From there, the Tide reclaimed a lead that it wouldn’t relinquish and the All-Ameircan took over. Leading 55-52 with 10:22 left, Sears started a barrage of treys with Alabama making four in a row. Rylan Griffen and Stevenson each answered a Joe Girard 3-pointer before Sears made his fifth of the night, gave UA a 68-59 lead and forced a CU timeout. On his way back to the huddle, Sears threw up four fingers.
But the Tigers wouldn’t go away, as PJ Hall drained a three out of the timeout. Clemson used a 6-0 run to cut the Alabama lead to 76-73 with 2:16 left to play, but Nick Pringle pushed it back to six points with an and-1. The Tigers scored on a tough layup on the other end, but Sears drained a three, making it 82-75. Clemson was able to score a couple of late layins, but Estrada and Grant Nelson made five free throws to secure the first Final Four berth.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Sears, who was named the West Region MVP, led Alabama with 23 points and was 7-14 from 3-point range. Four other Tide players scored in double figures, including Stevenson (19 points), Pringle (16), Griffen (13) and Estrada (10). It was a career-high for Stevenson, while Pringle recorded a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, and went 8-13 at the free-throw line. Clemson also had five players score in double figures against Alabama and was led by Girard, who had 19 points and hit five threes.
KEY STATS
Alabama shot 47 percent (29-62) from the field, while Clemson shot 48 percent (33-69). There was a larger gap from the 3-point line as the Tide made 44 percent (16-36) of its deep shots compared to 31 percent (8-26) for the Tigers. UA also made (15-8) and attempted (22-16) more free throws than Clemson. The Tide dominated on the glass with a 44-33 edge, which included a 16-12 lead in offensive rebounds and nine more second-chance points (15-6). CU did end up with more points in the paint (42-26), but UA had four more blocks (6-2).
OATS QUOTE
“I couldn’t be more proud of a group of guys. We challenged them at the beginning of this tournament that we’re going to have to pick up our defense, and our defense got significantly better.
“And they’ve just been all about winning. I mean, nobody really cares who’s scoring the points, and get a little frustrated and they just keep playing together. I mean, I’ve got multiple guys telling me to keep other guys in the game. And there’s been no selfishness in this four-game run.
“… They got up 13 on us. And after that we went on a big run to close the half to have a three-point lead. And they made some runs on us in the second half. And it seemed like we just hit timely 3 after timely 3, whether it was Jarin or Rylan or Mark. Mark hit one, felt like it was from half court. And it was big 3 after big 3.
“And Rylan’s not up here but his defense on — the last two games, RJ Davis and his defense on Girard, he’s been really locked into these shooters that we know they’re going to have actions for. And Nick Pringle’s leadership over these last four games has been the best Nick’s played since he’s been here.
“Truly proud of these guys. We’re going to enjoy it for a night, go enjoy Easter Sunday back in Tuscaloosa. And then figure out the plans when we’re going to Phoenix.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Alabama will face No. 1-seed UConn (35-3) in the Final Four on Saturday, April 6, in Phoenix. A tip-off time for the semifinal matchup at State Farm Stadium will be announced later.
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