Alabama Basketball’s Defense, Rebounding Stand Out in Win Over Saint Mary’s

CLEVELAND— To get past Saint Mary’s on Sunday and into the Sweet Sixteen, the Alabama basketball team had a job to do: crash the boards and answer the call on defense.

The No. 2-seeded Crimson Tide (27-8) could ill afford the alternative: being dominated on the glass and surrendering possessions to a nationally ranked team known for its slow playing style. Avoiding that scenario went hand in hand with avoiding elimination.

Alabama outrebounded the Gaels (29-6), albeit narrowly, 41-36. Center Clifford Omoruyi led the team with 11 in the 80-66 win, followed closely by forward Grant Nelson with eight. Both are fifth-year seniors whose college careers lived and died by the result of the Round of 32 game, and they rebounded like it.

“We knew they were gonna be physical,” Nelson said. “We’ve played pretty much all the best rebounding teams in the country, so we know where we’re at with them. We know we’ve gotta be more consistent with it.”

The challenge the 7-seed presented was not only with pace, it was also with size. Saint Mary’s is a tall team with a very physical and experienced frontcourt. Furthermore, Alabama was outclassed on offensive rebounds in the first round against Robert Morris (minus 11, 16 to 5 overall).

“We did our scouting,” Omoruyi said. “We knew the guys are gonna be tough. They’re gonna attack the boards every time. All five guys [are] gonna be defensive.”

Head coach Nate Oats wasn’t shy about the impact Omoruyi, who also rocked the rim on multiple occasions, had in the contest.

“I hope something is clicking with him because when he’s playing really well like he was tonight, we’re a different team,” Oats said. “Their bigs are good. They’re big… look at what they did. [Mitchell] Saxen had a good game. He had 15 and 5. He shot 7-of-12 from the floor. [Harry] Wessels was only 3-of-9 from the floor. I thought Grant, Aiden Sherrell, Cliff kind of affected those two guys a little bit.”

Saint Mary’s still got the edge in offensive boards, 15 to 8. The difference from Friday’s effort on the Crimson Tide’s part? Defensive intensity had a role in it. The first half of Sunday’s game was one of the best defensive halves Alabama has played all season. The Gaels didn’t hit a triple.

Nelson thinks Alabama can still do better on that side of the ball, even as the NCAA Tournament is well underway.

“B-plus,” he said in regard to the defensive performance. “Definitely room for improvement… I think our physicality and how we rebounded was really solid.”

Freshman guard Labaron Philon said Saturday that he hoped to see multiple guards collect more than one rebound apiece. That didn’t happen, but Philon held up his end; only Nelson and Omoruyi finished with more rebounds than Philon’s six.

“I just gotta keep the same mentality,” Philon said. “The coaches still feel like I could make an even more impact and go get a triple-double… When it comes to my team, I just want them to succeed, so it’s been a great journey.”

Fellow freshman Sherrell didn’t seem as fazed as a young player might be against such a challenge, particularly given his role on the inside. He snagged four boards in 11 minutes of action.

“It was a battle down low, for sure,” Sherrell said. “They didn’t back down. We knew what we were coming in to do… [Physicality] was a big factor for sure. A lot of our guys had a lot of rebounds.”

Saint Mary’s did not have a single player amass 10 rebounds or more. Wessels and Luke Barrett had eight and seven, respectively. Alabama freshman Derrion Reid suggested that part of the reason for the Crimson Tide’s intensity on the glass, apart from trying to win the game, was personal.

“It was kind of personal for us,” Reid said. “Coach made an emphasis. People were saying we were soft, [that] they were gonna kill us on the glass after they saw us struggle with Robert Morris, but that was just a bad game for us. We knew we had to bring it this game.”

The Crimson Tide will face No. 6-seed BYU, which downed No. 3 Wisconsin in its Round of 32 game, in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday, with a second straight trip to the Elite Eight on the line for Alabama.