With No Drama, Alabama Defeats Maryland 73-51

(CTN News) – Two No. 1 seeds fell and a third had to come from a double-digit deficit before Alabama took the court.

The Crimson Tide did not have any drama.

73-51, Alabama sweeps Maryland behind dominating second half performance from Jahvon Quinerly and Brandon Miller.

Following a 21-point win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round, the Tide romped in the second round.

We haven’t done our job yet, Miller said. Win the national championship.”

Alabama (31-5) advanced to its ninth Sweet 16 in three tournaments. San Diego State will play Alabama in the South Region semifinals Friday.

Ahead of the late-night game, Purdue and Kansas lost, and Houston trailed Auburn by 10 points at halftime earlier at Legacy Arena.

Quinerly said the games were crazy. “Coach (Nate Oats) didn’t really address the team.

March is anyone’s game. It was just a matter of focusing.”

Miller, an All-America freshman and top NBA prospect, ended up with a more typical performance after going scoreless in the first round. A groin injury has kept Miller from shooting for nine holes so far.

“The more he went, the looser it got,” Oats said. The pop wasn’t there. 3 of 11 on 2. A lot of them were at the rim. He finishes really well. Definitely not 100%. Tough kid. Playing through some stuff. It’s hard for him to admit he’s hurt.”

On the anniversary of the left knee injury he suffered early this season, Quinerly had a big game against Notre Dame. 4 of 6 3-pointers.

When Quinerly was a ninth-grader at Seton Hall, Maryland coach Kevin Willard offered him a scholarship.

A 10/10 performance from Charles Bediako. With a couple of minutes left, Alabama’s starters ended the game to chants of “Sweet 16”.

Oats said playing in front of his hometown fans and reaching the Sweet 16 was incredible.

Maryland (22-13)’s Julian Reese fouled out with 14 points. Young scored 12 points

A quick third foul in the first half caused Reese to play only four minutes in the first half.

A foul was his first. Second one was mysterious, and third one was the game,” Willard said. “That was a horrible call. It changed the game.”

We were going to pound it inside, pound it inside. However, the second foul call was awful. The game plan was changed by a terrible call.

With 44-32 rebounding advantage, the Tide won.

In the end, Alabama was easier than the other No. 1 seeds.

Fairleigh Dickinson upset top-seeded Purdue 63-58 on Friday night in only the second such upset. Then No. 8 seed Arkansas defeated the Jayhawks 72-71. As Auburn waited for their moment, Houston pulled away.

Other than the 28-23 deficit, the first half was more to Maryland’s liking, considering they give up just 63 points per game.

During Willard’s first season, Maryland failed to reach the Sweet 16 for the 15th time. Under former coach Mark Turgeon, they also lost to Alabama in the second round. The Maryland defense held the lead despite nine straight misses during the first half.
Alabama won the NCAA Tournament with the largest margin of victory by a team that shot under 40% overall and under 30% on 3-pointers. … Alabama’s depth is on display.

Nick Pringle, the star of the opening game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, did little scoring for the Tide despite starters Mark Sears and Noah Clowney.

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