NEWARK, N.J. – Alabama broke the 35-year-old March Madness record for 3-pointers with 25 and Mark Sears scored 30 of his 34 points on 3s, a relentless long-range spree that ushered the second-seeded Crimson Tide past BYU 113-88 on Thursday night in an NCAA Tournament East Region semifinal.
Alabama reached the Elite Eight in consecutive years for the first time in program history.
Recommended Videos
The Crimson Tide made 25 of 51 3-point attempts to break the record of 21 set by Loyola Marymount in a second-round game against Michigan in 1990. Sears, a first-team All-America guard, hit the record-breaking 22nd 3 late in the game to make it 97-66 and received a standing ovation from the Alabama fans when he checked out with 10 3s and more than four minutes left to play.
Sears and the Crimson Tide (28-8) showed they are no March fluke under coach Nate Oats. Riding a wave of 3s, Alabama set itself up for a date against top-seeded Duke for a shot at the Final Four.
Richie Saunders scored 25 points to lead sixth-seeded BYU (26-10), which hasn't played in a regional final since 1981.
Sears’ 10 3s were one short of the record set by Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer in that memorable 149-115 win over Michigan. Sears was 1 of 9 from 3 in the first two NCAA Tournament games.
He missed only seven times against BYU.
“I felt like the basket was as big as an ocean,” Sears said. “I lost myself in the game.”
The Crimson Tide made their first Final Four appearance in school history last season, when they lost to eventual national champion UConn.
Alabama loved the 3 this season, averaging 28 attempts a game. Against BYU, Sears and the Crimson Tide feasted on the long ball.
Sears hit five in the first half, camping out behind the arc without much of a hand in his face. Sears and Chris Youngblood hit back-to-back 3s for a 38-30 lead and repeated the feat minutes later for a 44-34 advantage. BYU’s Egor Demin followed with an airball and Alabama could smell crimson in the water.
Alabama attempted 15 2-pointers and made 10 of them.
“We've been working all week to prepare to get our shot right,” Sears said.
Sears raised his teammates out of their seats and into a frenzy when another 3 early in the second half opened a 63-47 lead that sent the shaken Cougars into a timeout. The deep, up-tempo Crimson Tide let Sears bury 3 after 3 after 3 with the Elite Eight in sight.
Alabama's previous 3-point record was 23 against LSU in 2021. John Petty Jr., twice hit 10 3s, the latter time against Samford in 2019.
Takeaways
Alabama continued the Southeastern Conference's run in the tournament and coasted in its third straight Sweet 16 appearance. Holloway made six 3s and Youngblood had five. Collectively, Alabama shot 53% from the floor and it also made 18 of 21 free throws.
The shots — and now, free tater tots — dried up for BYU. Saunders, a descendant of the man who invented tater tots, had fueled BYU’s run to the Sweet 16.
BYU was a bust trying match Alabama beyond the arc. The Cougars missed 12 of 13 3s in the first half.
“We felt like it was hard for them to sustain that,” coach Kevin Young said. “You’re trying everything and nothing seemed to work.”
The Cougars gamely pulled within striking distance only to get socked down by, yes, another Alabama 3. Demin hit a 3 that pulled BYU within 63-55, only for Aden Holloway to connect again beyond the arc for the Tide.
“An open 3 is kind of a layup,” Holloway said.
Up next
Alabama will try to reach only the second Final Four in program history.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
