Alabama
27-8,13-5SEC
Saint Mary's
29-6,17-1WCC
Alabama Advances to Third Straight Sweet 16 with 80-66 Victory over St. Mary’s
3/23/2025 9:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide had six players score between 10 and 13 points in a balanced offensive attack
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The No. 2 seed Alabama men's basketball team has advanced to its third consecutive Sweet 16 thanks to an 80-66 victory over No. 7 seed, St. Mary's, Sunday night in the 2025 NCAA Tournament second round.
The Crimson Tide (27-8) had six players reach double figures and none scoring more than 13 points to lead a balanced scoring attack. Chris Youngblood led UA with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Clifford Omoruyi collected his 11th double-double this season with 10 points and 11 boards to go with two blocks, while Mark Sears (12), Grant Nelson (12), Aden Holloway (12) and Mouhamed Dioubate (10) all scored in double figures.
The Gaels (29-6) were led by Mitchell Saxon's 15 points in the loss, while Harry Wessels grabbed a team high eight rebounds.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"(St. Mary's) is a tough team. We knew they were tough. We got up on them 13 at the half. We knew they weren't going to go away. They came out in the second half and were scoring on us a little too much. After they made a little run there, I thought our guys answered. We played well on the offensive end for most of the game. We had too many turnovers. They had zero turnovers at the half. We were able to turn them over six times in the second half, which was big, helpful.
"I thought we had great leadership tonight, showed a lot of toughness. We said the tougher team is going to win this one, and that's one of the tougher teams in the country. Our guys really stepped up and met the challenge tonight."
Team Stats
- Alabama became the first St. Mary's opponent to reach 80 points in a game since 2022 – a span of 105 games since it last occurred
- It is the third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance for the Crimson Tide, marking the second time that's occurred in program history, with the only other time coming in 1985, 1986 and 1987 (vacated)
- Mark Sears moved into third on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,910 career points at The Capstone
- The Crimson Tide outrebounded the Gaels 41-36 on the night and while outscoring St. Mary's inside the paint, 42-30
- Alabama led for all but 30 seconds of the contest, trailing only at 10-9 early in the first half
- Alabama captured its 12th win over an AP Top 25 opponent this year, as the Gaels were ranked No. 20 going into Sunday's contest
First Half
- Leading 24-21 at the 7:33 mark, Alabama went on a 13-3 run over the next five minutes to stretch its lead to 37-24 at the 2:33 mark
- Alabama held St. Mary's to just one field goal over its final 12 shot attempts of the half to take a 42-29 lead at intermission
- The Tide held the Gaels without a made three in the opening stanza (0-of-6) while UA finished 5-of-9 from deep
- Chris Youngblood led Alabama with 13 points with Grant Nelson adding six points and seven rebounds
- Alabama shot 55 percent (16-of-29) from the floor while holding St. Mary's to only 25 percent shooting (9-of-36)
Second Half
- Alabama led throughout the half as St. Mary's never got any closer than seven points over the final 20 minutes
- The Tide's largest lead came at 80-66 with 36 seconds remaining
- Alabama held onto the lead for the final 28-plus minutes
Up Next
- Alabama will square off against BYU in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
- Time, television and day of the game will be announced at the conclusion of Sunday's contests
