Other seeded Alabama and its eastern region Second round of opponents, No. 7 Frö Saint Mary’s, enter Sunday’s matchup in Cleveland, each of which has received a dose of high efforts basketball.
Crimson Tide (26-8) held a tough challenge from Horizon League champion and No. 15 Frö Robert Morris, 90-81, behind 22 points and 10 assists from Mark Sears-and with an unforeseen contribution from Grant Nelson.
Nelson, who suffered a knee injury in last week’s Southeastern Conference tournament, fit on Friday but was hesitant to play. With Robert Morris left within one or two possessions from Alabama, Nelson played seven minutes along the route.
“We didn’t play as well as we had hoped, and Grant was as:” We will not come home, put me in, “said Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats.
Sears and Nelson led Alabama’s driving to 2024 Final Four, and the duo is once again the top waters. Sears leads the road with 18.8 points per match, while Nelson is second at 11.6. Sears also leads Alabama with 5.1 assists per match, and Nelson is the team’s best rebounder on 7.5 boards per match.
“I think he will have a good time,” Oats said about Nelson’s status for Sunday. “We have to get him a bunch of rehabilitation because we will surely need him … (Saint Mary’s has) got a much bigger front court (than Robert Morris).”
Gaels (29-5) took advantage of his front court length for a 41-28 rebounding edge in their upcoming, 59-56 victory over Vanderbilt.
Saint Mary’s took hold of nine of its ten offensive boards during the second half, including Mitchell Saxen who came down with one of his 11 returns in total at the last minute to make a trip to the free throw line.
The game proved critical, which forced Vanderbilt to take a contested 3-pointer on his final possession.
“A large part of rebounding for us is exhaustion,” said Gael’s coach Randy Bennett. “We just keep coming, keep coming.”
Saint Mary’s heads into the second round were ranked as a second nationally in offensive recovery percentage. Gael’s Frontcourt size helps: The scissors are 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, while Harry Wesseis is 7 foot-1, 275 pounds.
But Saint Mary’s Guard also crashes the boards effectively, clearly on Friday with Wings Luke Barrett who took 10 returns, Augustas Marciulionis comes with eight, and Jordan Ross’ three including a victory-eating snare.
Alabama has its own size, especially if 6-foot-11 Nelson can contribute a lot. Nelson can stretch the floor and move out to the perimeter, when 6-foot-11 Clifford Omoruyi is in court with him.
Otherwise, Crimson Tide could hire a smaller, faster range that emphasizes effective percska Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway, which have an average of 10 and 11.2 points per match.
Saint Mary’s will probably not vacate from its game plan no matter what type of assortment it looks on Sunday.
“It’s just a contrast in styles. (Opponents will) go down (i) size and play with a big and … just kind of stretch you,” said Bennett about teams that want to neutralize Gael’s interior length this season. “Because we have scissors, we can protect those things better than people think. We have two 5’s out there, Mitchell can protect 4s.”
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