Spokane, Wash. – Nose bleeding. Friends, scrapped. The players took to the field. The showdown between Alabama basketball and Grand Canyon couldn’t have been more physical.
There has never been a better time for the Crimson Tide to call upon true blue-collar basketball. Alabama had no chance to win the March Madness battle without it.
But the Crimson Tide players kept working hard until the end. As a result, Alabama advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating Grand Canyon 72-61 on Sunday. This is the third Sweet 16 appearance for Alabama in four seasons.
Here are observations and conclusions from the game between No. 4 seed Alabama (23-11) and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon (30-5).
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Defense shows up early and often in rock fight for Alabama basketball
The first part was not for the faint of heart. There was physicality, there was intensity and there was defense.
However, there are not a lot of points. At least not for a good part of the first half. The good thing is that Alabama didn’t let its offensive issues affect its defense.
When shots weren’t falling the Crimson Tide brought the defensive intensity that was needed.
By the first timeout, Alabama led 2 of 10. However, the Grand Canyon could not take advantage of this. The Crimson Tide defense made sure of that. Alabama fought and battled throughout, rarely giving up easy buckets. As a result, Grand Canyon started 1-for-11. The Crimson Tide held Lopez to .833 points per possession in the first half, which is a strong mark.
Eventually, Alabama started getting more shots, largely due to Mark Sears and Rylan Griffen. Each scored 13 points before halftime, making four shots each. With Latrell Wrightsell Jr. out of the game with a head injury, the Griffons were in great need offensively.
Alabama shot only 38% in the first half but still led 38–30 at the break.
Fouls plague Alabama basketball in second half, but Mo Diaubet steps up
The Crimson Tide had to deal with substitutions in the second half. Fouls kept happening one after the other and many players had to face the problem of fouls.
Especially older people. Jarren Stevenson fouled out with 6:46 remaining. By that time, Grant Nelson had already picked up his fourth foul, and soon after, Rylan picked up his fourth foul.
GCU then scored its own loss from the free-throw line. Lopez had already surpassed 20 free throws before the game reached its final five minutes.
Nothing Mo Diaubet couldn’t fix. The front bench stepped into the game and made their wish known. He grabbed rebounds, he made buckets and he sank free throws.
In the end, he ensured Alabama’s victory.
What’s next for Alabama basketball?
Alabama will advance to the Sweet 16 when it faces No. 1 seed North Carolina on Thursday in Los Angeles. This is the third trip to the Sweet 16 for coach Nate Oats at Alabama.
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men’s basketball. Reach or follow him at [email protected] @_nikkelly OnX, the social media app formerly known as Twitter,
