Alabama shatters NCAA Tournament 3-point record in Sweet 16 win over BYU

NEWARK, N.J. — With just under eight minutes left on the clock at the Prudential Center, Mark Sears let it fly from downtown and sent those in crimson into a frenzy. 

Sears had buried Alabama’s 22nd 3-pointer of the night, a new NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament record, and all BYU head coach Kevin Young could do was watch. He tried to stop the bleeding with timeouts and attempted several different defensive looks in the second half, but a Crimson Tide team that shot 25-of-51 from downtown would not be denied.

Sears finished with a game-high 34 points, including 10 3-pointers and eight assists, as Alabama clinched its second straight trip to the Elite Eight with a commanding 113-88 victory over the Cougars on Thursday night.

By burying 25 triples, Alabama broke Loyola Marymount’s previous Big Dance record of 21 made triples set in a 1990 second-round win over Michigan, while also smashing the tournament single-game record with 51 attempts. 

In a battle of top-10 offenses, Alabama began the game at a track-meet pace and BYU could never slow the Crimson Tide down. Sears was the star, finishing three points shy of his career-high on 10-of-16 shooting from downtown. After making just three of his last 25 from downtown entering Thursday’s game, Sears told the media on Wednesday that he wasn’t concerned about his recent shooting struggles. In fact, he put in extra time this week by attending all of Alabama’s optional shooting sessions.

“I told [Mark] Sears there’s a thing called regression to the mean,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said following his team’s historic win. “They [BYU] had been going under ball screens just about every game we watched, so I told both those guys, [Aden] Holloway and [Mark] Sears, ‘I hope they go under us because we’re going to rein them. We were in the gym last night, the night before. These guys show up for voluntary shooting every time it’s available to make sure that they’re ready to go, and that work pays off. We want to base our program on hard work. 

“I told Mark, he’s playing chess, not checkers.” 

On Thursday night, with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line, it was checkmate after checkmate for Sears against BYU. 

“I was just in a zone,” Sears said. “Once I saw the first 3 fall in, I felt the basket was as big as an ocean. And every time I shot I felt like it was going in. I just lost myself in the game and let everything else happen.” 

The fifth-year guard showed America that when he’s on his A-game, there’s no better guard in the country. And the Crimson Tide showed that they have the DNA to win this regional, whether it’s Duke or Arizona on the other side. 

While Sears was the hero, Holloway played the Robin role perfectly, finishing with 23 points while shooting 7-of-14 from downtown.. Just when BYU appeared to be making a run, cutting it to 68-61 with just over 13 minutes left, the Auburn transfer splashed a couple of triples.

“It was a perfect storm for them, just because I think the 3-point line can be very paralyzing, and we play a similar style,” said BYU head coach Kevin Young, who led the Cougars to their first Sweet 16 since 2011. “I’m disappointed at myself for not being able to find a solution. But some nights you try everything, and it doesn’t seem to work. 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.”

Alabama’s performance will be remembered as one of the best offensive performances in NCAA Tournament history. The Crimson Tide dominated a Cougars team that had won 11 of its last 12 games, overwhelming them from tip to buzzer by shooting 53% from the field and outscoring the Cougars, who went 6-of-30 from downtown, by 57 points from beyond the arc.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

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