Alabama has historic shooting night in Sweet 16, Duke, Florida also dominate

• The NCAA’s Sweet 16 got off to a roaring start courtesy of Alabama. The Crimson Tide hit a record 25 three-point shots to win 113-88 over BYU.
• The Duke Blue Devils are next on the schedule for the Tide after their win over Arizona on Thursday, March 27.
• Florida, the No. 1 seed in the West region, is also moving on after an 87-71 win over Maryland.

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After a few days to relax and recharge, the NCAA tournament resumed Thursday, March 27, with the Sweet 16. There are no mid-major ‘Cinderellas’ left in the Big Dance; every team remaining is from a Power 4 conference.

What led to Alabama’s big win, and who’s next?

The 2-seed in the East region, Alabama, put on an absolute show in the first game. They crushed BYU by hitting an NCAA tournament record 25 three-pointers. Mark Sears had ten threes; his teammate Aden Holloway had seven. Alabama just kept shooting and scored 113 points to move to the Elite Eight round. Sears was asked after the game why his shooting percentage suddenly went sky-high.

“My teammates also kept encouraging me to keep shooting, keep shooting, and keep shooting, and, you know, that’s just to show trust in them that even though when I’m not at my highest peak that they still trusted and wanted me to shoot the ball,” Sears said. “So, you know, it’s a big shout out to them, and yeah, you know, just they went under the ball screens, and I was able to get my rhythm early.”

There won’t be many teams that can hang with the Crimson Tide if they continue that hot shooting. One team that might be able to hang on the offensive side is the Duke Blue Devils, who took care of Arizona Thursday, March 27, despite a 20-8 Wildcat run in the second half. Both Alabama and Duke are in the Elite Eight for the second straight tournament.

How did No. 1 Florida fare in the Sweet 16?

The number one seed in the West region, SEC champion Florida, went back and forth with 4-seed Maryland in the first half of their matchup, but a 12-2 run out of the locker room in the second half opened things up a bit. The Gators had trouble stopping Maryland freshman Derik Queen, who scored 27 points, but they dominated the glass and got some balanced scoring—five players in double figures—to win it by 16. Head coach Todd Golden broke down why his team had success.

“We were elite in the second half, you know; we did a great job staying aggressive, you know, handling their pressure and their quickness and their length,” Golden said. “Our defense stayed consistent. We were awesome on the glass all night on both sides of the ball, and we started taking advantage of, you know, the opportunities we got in transition, and that allowed us to step on the gas a little bit and break away from them.”

The Gators are moving on to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2017. They’re currently riding a 9-game winning streak. They’ll meet the 3-seed Texas Tech who won an overtime thriller over 10-seed Arkansas. The Red Raiders came back from a 16-point second half deficit to force overtime and won it on a shot in the extra frame, with seven seconds left.

Who highlights Friday’s Sweet 16 action?

Friday’s action is anchored by two number-one seeds. Auburn and Houston have been strong in the South and Midwest brackets, respectively. They’re the headliners of a group that features a total of four SEC teams and three Big Ten teams. As part of the Friday schedule, Kentucky and Tennessee will match up. They’ve already played twice this year, and the Big Blue Wildcats have won both times.