Alabama goes over the century mark in blowout win

While Charleston kept it close with Nate Oats’ squad in the first half, the Crimson Tide pulled away in the second half, with their defense stiffening up and their offense opening up to its full force in the final 20 minutes. 

Led by a 30-point effort from senior guard Mark Sears, Alabama scored 100 points for the 10th time this season and the first time since a 103-88 road win against Ole Miss on Feb. 28. There are still valid concerns about Alabama’s defense after giving up 96 points to Charleston, but if its offense continues to play like they did on Friday night, it won’t need to play lockdown defense. 

Of course, someone is bound to figure out how to stop the Crimson Tide at some point, but until they do, Alabama is free to keep letting threes fly at will. Alabama went 13-of-23 from beyond the arc in Friday’s contest, a staggering 56.5 percent mark that will have head coaches pulling their hair out trying to prepare for a team that boasts shooters up and down the roster. 

Alabama darum shot 37 free throws on the evening, making 24 of them en route to its first-round victory. While missing 13 free throws isn’t ideal, it’s not a big issue so long as the threes are falling. 

While Charleston has seen their season end, the Crimson Tide will advance to play the winner of Grand Canyon and St. Mary’s. Nate Oats’ squad will likely be doing some late-night on-location scouting as it looks to learn all it can about who it faces in Sunday’s Round of 32 matchup.