Crimson Tide dial up long-distance win
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Tide crashed ashore Thursday afternoon.
Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, hit 15 3-pointers in a 96-75 blowout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Brandon Miller, the Tide’s All-American freshman forward, went scoreless while limited to 19 minutes with a groin injury.
The Crimson Tide (30-5) will play eighth-seeded Maryland — a 67-65 winner over ninth-seeded West Virginia — in Saturday’s round of 32.
Playing less than an hour from its Tuscaloosa, Ala., campus, the Tide ignited the crimson-and-white crowd of 15,198 at Legacy Arena with a 9-0 spurt to open the game and led by double-digits for the final 28plus minutes. Mark Sears and Noah Clowney combined for six of Alabama’s 3-pointers and 25 points.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which advanced with a 75-71 win over Southeast Missouri State in the First Four, finished the season at 24-11.
Alabama was 10-of-17 from beyond the arc in the first half, taking a 54-34 halftime lead. Miller, a projected NBA lottery pick, missed all five of his shot attempts and sat on the bench for the final 14 minutes. Coach Nate Oats said Miller — whose previous season-low point total was eight against Houston on Dec. 10 — is dealing with a groin injury suffered in the SEC championship game.
“Hopefully he’ll get a lot of rehab and look a lot more like himself Saturday,” Oats said.
Nick Pringle, who came into the game averaging three points, had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Tide. Sears added 15 points, including three 3s in a 58-second span midway through the first half.
Jahvon Quinerly added 13 points and Nimari Burnett had 11 for Alabama. Clowney set the tone early for the Tide, scoring all 10 of his points — three from beyond the arc — in the first five-plus minutes.
“We’re making shots at a pretty high level,” Oats said. “It’s nice to put up 96 without Brandon scoring any of them.”
Alabama’s bench accounted for 49 points.
“Their offense is very equal opportunity,” Islanders secondyear coach Steve Lutz said. “Those other guys are not shy about shooting the basketball. To their credit those other guys stepped up and made shots.”
Miller continues to be asked questions about his presence at the scene of a fatal shooting that led to capital murder charges against ex-teammate Darius Miles and another man. The 6foot-9 forward, who has not been accused of any crime, is being accompanied to the tournament by an armed security guard because of threats, Oats said Wednesday.
“It doesn’t really matter how much I score,” Miller said. “I think our whole team are just winners. The final score at the end of the game, that’s what we care about.”
Trevian Tennyson, the Islanders’ leading scorer, overcame a 0-for-8 start and scored all 20 of his points in the second half. He sparked a mini rally after halftime with eight straight points, including back-to-back 3s, as the Islanders pulled within 57-44.
Jalen Jackson, who had a career-high 22 points as the Islanders won their first tournament game against Southeast Missouri State, did not make a field goal until 6:01 left and finished with four points.
Alabama, the SEC’s regular season and tournament champion, responded with a 7-0 run and led by at least 20 for most of the final 12 minutes.
“They answered back,” Tennyson said. “They have a chance to win the national title.”
Isaac Mushila had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Owen Dease added 14 for the Islanders. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi played without guard Terrion Murdix (left knee), the Southland Conference’s defensive player of the year.