Alabama basketball roughs up Maryland, advances to Sweet 16 in March Madness

Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News
·3 min read
6

BIRMINGHAM ― The 24 hours of college basketball leading into Alabama basketball's game against Maryland reminded how No. 1 seeds are far from invincible the first weekend.

First it was Purdue losing on Friday, Then it was Kansas on Saturday.

So, even though it wasn't always pretty and had bumps along the way, the Crimson Tide will certainly take the 73-51 win over Maryland at Legacy Arena on Saturday.

Alabama advances to the Sweet 16 to face No. 5 seed San Diego State in Louisville.

Here are observations and takeaways from the game between No. 1 seed Alabama (31-5) and No. 8 seed Maryland (22-13).

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Alabama shows grit in second half as Jahvon Quinerly closes it out

Alabama didn't care how it had to get it done. The Crimson Tide just clearly made a decision it would.

So when triples weren't falling and Alabama wasn't scoring in highlight-reel fashion, the Crimson Tide found a way to push through.

See a basket from Noah Gurley late in the second half. After Brandon Miller missed a 3-pointer, Gurley crashed toward the basket and scored.

Alabama also battled on the boards. The Crimson Tide held a significant advantage in second-half rebounds, 26-16.

Then Quinerly got hot from beyond the arc late to knock down some 3-pointers in the final minutes to help Alabama maintain its lead and close out the game. He finished with a team-high 22 points.

Defense stifles Maryland

Maryland started 4-of-4, and Alabama's defense looked like it could be in trouble.

Then the nation's No. 3 team in defensive efficiency got locked in and got to work. The Crimson Tide made life difficult for any Maryland scorers to make shots, and when the Terrapins had good looks, they couldn't make most of them.

After making their first four shots, the Terrapins missed 18 of the next 20.

Still, Alabama couldn't capitalize to the full extent it needed to take over the game. The Crimson Tide grabbed the lead and extended it to nine at one point, but it wasn't dominating by any stretch. Maryland's defense also stepped up. Alabama led 28-23 at halftime, shooting 10-of-26 (38%) and 1-of-7 from deep (14%).

The defensive dominance continued in the second half, too. Maryland never found ways to make shots consistently.

Alabama 3-point offense limited for most of game

Maryland often didn't give the Crimson Tide much breathing room from beyond the arc, especially early.

That prevented the Crimson Tide from taking over or pulling away for a while. Many buckets had to be earned through hard-nosed play near the basket.

And when Alabama had good looks from beyond the arc, it often couldn't get shots to land. Quinerly helped that 3-point shooting percentage improve in the second half, though.

The Crimson Tide finished 6-for-21 from deep.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball roughs up Maryland, advances to Sweet 16 in March Madness