Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats had full trust in the Crimson Tide against the Grand Canyon Lopes. Even during the most intense moments of the contest, Oats knew that his team would come through, and that was reflected by what he told his bench late in the game.
“I went to the old bench and I told them ‘We're winning this game,'” Oats said during a postgame interview as he recalled his message to his team.
“As soon as they took the lead I just felt like everybody…turn the momentum, let's get it back, so we turned the momentum and we got it back. They got some stops and got some buckets. Mo Dioubate was huge for us off the fifth. Oh yeah, he made huge plays for us. I'm super happy for him,” Oats added.
Ultimately, Alabama basketball made the better decisions and more right plays toward the end of the game against Grand Canyon to come away with a 72-61 victory and a ticket to the next round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Alabama basketball pulls away late from Grand Canyon to avoid early March Madness exit
Don't let the final score fool you. This matchup between Alabama basketball and Grand Canyon was a whole lot closer than what the score suggests. The Crimson Tide was clinging to just a one-point lead with less than four minutes in regulation before they started to make stops and convert those outstanding defensive plays into points to give themselves a significant lead down the stretch.
Mark Sears led Alabama with 26 points on an 8-for-18 shooting from the floor and connected on five of 11 attempts from the 3-point area. He also had 12 rebounds and six assists plus three steals in an all-around effort to help Alabama stay alive in March Madness.
And as mentioned by Oats, freshman forward Mo Dioubate gave the Crimson Tide a needed spark off the bench. He finished the game with nine points and five rebounds along with two blocks.
Alabama basketball did not exactly sculpt a masterpiece of a win against Grand Canyon, as the Crimson Tide recorded just a 36.9 field goal percentage and turned the ball over 13 times, but a win is a win and Oats will take any victory they can.
Crimson Tide helping carry the flag for SEC amid conference's struggles in 2024 NCAA Tournament
The 2024 NCAA Tournament kicked off with eight teams from the SEC. Only the Tenessee Volunteers, Texas A&M Aggies, and Alabama made it to the second round among teams from the said conference. Among the notable SEC programs that got embarrassed in the first round were the Kentucky Wildcats and the Auburn Tigers, who fell prey to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies and the Yale Bulldogs, respectively.
While the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers are headed to the Sweet 16 round, the Aggies are in trouble of getting eliminated in the second round at the time of this writing, as they are having trouble against No. 1 seed Houston Cougars.
Alabama on a collision course with North Carolina Tar Heels
Alabama basketball, which defeated the Charleston Cougars, 109-96, in the first round, will next be dealing with another tough opponent, as the Crimson Tide are scheduled for a showdown against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Wednesday in a regional semifinals matchup at the home of the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Tinseltown.
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