Alabama ROUTS Clemson to advance to Final Four for 1st time in SCHOOL HISTORY | CBS Sports

In fact, Alabama tied and headed to its first

final

four

in

school

history

thanks and in part to that young Mark Sears who scorched it by defeating Clemson 8982 Mark Sears 23 points 7 even of 14 from Beyond The Arc Alabama was down by 13 in the first half they closed. In the first half, with a 22-6 run, they have had multiple deficits in this NCAA tournament, they recovered to beat Clemson 8982 with a barrage of Threes in the second half and the highest scoring team in division one heads to the

final

four

for the First

time

in

school

history

here with CBS Sports basketball analyst Tim Doyle Alabama 8982 Mark Sears I mean, he was cooking there in the second half, what did you see from that young man?

Oh, he was making really tough shots and I had a chance to cover. him at Ohio University Landing in Columbus our trip to Athens and when I got there what I saw was that Jaylen Bruno Jr doesn't have much of that going for him. Great step back making difficult shots and even though he got off to a slow start in this game he found that rhythm, it seemed like every shot he was going to take would end up going in. We just saw Bronson go absolutely crazy for 60 against the Spurs. Well, he didn't score 60 in this game, but 23 important points. a lot of them came in the second half, this was a game, you see, Sears here first 1554 with no points that really matched Alabama and their history, the first 12 minutes of the game only had 13 points, yes, that means that in the last 27 In minutes and 56 seconds they scored 76 points, which is a crazy statistic from a team that has been so good from an offensive perspective, but it wasn't just Sears, five Alabama players were in double figures. um Jiren Stevenson was amazing.

From the bench he scored five three-pointers. had a career-high 19 points and Nick Pringle, I know he's eight of 13 from the free throw line and Clemson was terrible from the free throw line, but as a freshman he shot 36%, 47%. in second year and now at 54% still not. well, but you can even see it with the way he takes, he turns it over, but he made some really big ones, he threw the ball too. I want them to miss me, woo, he threw it there. Clemson couldn't make any key stops they made. some big shots Gerard made some big shots they finally hit some threes to keep going but they couldn't make big stops when it counted most Alabama's identity is scoring the ball if they can put the ball in the bucket they're going to run we ran up the score like we were like if out 23 to 13 at a

time

we were just looking, we are like or 26 to 13 was the biggest deficit that you are seeing, a deficit of 10o, a deficit of 13o like all the ones that are going to come. back, why is it only because they can hit all three?

Is that so? They live for the three. They die for the team of three. Are they. Your only identity. No, I think you know. I think it would be unfair to call them that. I know what they're not, it's one dimensional, it's not just Sears, who was the last game was Grant Nelson, yeah, I mean, Sears is an amazing story guy that transfers from Ohio U Estrada, transfers from up to, Grant Nelson transfer from North Dakota State, credit to Nate. Oaks got the right transfers, anyone can get transfers, but he got these guys to buy in, obviously, they had a pretty amazing identity and culture.

You have a culture, uh, when you have all these new players and their culture was us. It's going to be very difficult to defend, we're going to shoot a lot of three-pointers. And in this game they made 16 three-pointers, they shot 44% from three. That was the difference in this game and, yeah, they're really explosive. They have a chance against Yukon, they'll have to make 16 or more threes if they do, they have a chance, they have a chance, is what you're saying. Alabama has nine new players on its roster, they lost eight players. Last year's team was number one in the overall standings.

Last year they were eliminated in the Sweet 16 by San Diego State. They rebuilt the team that lost to Yukon in the national championship, so here we have the little Six Degrees of Separation, but Yukon. and Alabama are different teams here, what does this matchup look like in the national semifinals? Well, after watching Alabama today dismantle embarrassed Illinois, you find it hard to believe they won't be significant double-digit favorites in this game over Alabama. and you wonder what Yukon's suffocating defense is for a team that went 30-01 against arguably the best offensive team in college basketball, you just wonder how Alabama will remain competitive unless they shoot the ball extremely well.

I'll tell you right now. Jiren Stevenson isn't going to make 5 threes because when you have a game like this, boom, you fire the scout report, guys are going to be crowded, you're going to have to put the ball on the floor, but he made some big shots today. He had the game of his life, they have the ability to keep the game interesting by the way they shoot and score, but you know the way Yukon defends their size and you know Nelson could take out the king on the perimeter. I think Alabama could create something. mismatches, but they're going to have to throw the ball at a high level, which they did against North Carolina, which they did against Clemson.

I want to go over what deficits Alabama faces in the round of 64 of the tournament against Charleston, they're up to six. in the first half 1 for 13 round of 32 against Grand Canyon they go for three with 540 remaining 1 for 11 sweet 16 against North Carolina they go for eight at halftime they won by two in the Elite 8 here tonight against Clemson they go for Behind by 13 in the first half they come back and win by seven, you know who has only been behind for 28 seconds in this entire NCAA tournament? Yukon, so to me it's like what Yukon does is they're going to smother you and if you can only score three and I know they worked inside the paint there with Pringle, but what Yukon does defensively is they're going to be content, let it be enjoy, let him enjoy.

I am, but they just end because I'm happy for them. I'm just you, you wanted, you wanted to pivot. and turn it forward, so I'm already turning it forward if you want to enjoy Alabama, we'll enjoy Alabama. My point is they are like a python, they just squeeze the life out of you, that's what Yukon does, they squeeze the life out of you, that's what they do. Alabama is a great three point shooting team, they are the highest scoring team in the first division, but that's what Yukon can play in the 60s, they can play in the 90s, so take your pick whenever you want.

Talk about multi-dimensional, it's Yukon and yes, I'm drinking Connecticut water. Congratulations first of all, Alabama. Yes, tip of the hat, you made it to a final four. Is incredible. Nate Oats. Nate Oat was a high school basketball coach in Buffalo, which I love. his story to get here is incredible and since he gets paid a lot of money he's one of the five highest paid coaches in college basketball so you have to perform on the big stage that they didn't get to last year so this is a time here when they too won't be making history in this national semi-final one way or another, yeah, pretty ironic of course, it was Alabama last year where everyone was looking for the right thing and I know I picked them to win and now it's Yukon who everyone searches. uh yeah, the way Yukon holds their own against them, I don't think anyone would have beaten them that particular day, but you could say the same thing about other teams, the way Purdue played against Gonzaga, especially in the second half. , shooting almost 60%, I'm not sure anyone would do it.

I beat them on their particular day, the way Marquette played most recently against NC State. I think a lot of teams would have beaten them because they couldn't make a shot and if Alabama comes out and instead of making 16 threes, they make six threes, well, that's a 30 point difference, so yeah, that's a big swing in this game. Clemson showed a lot of fight. Clemson simply missed so many free throws that they missed the key one-and-ones, and when you miss the front of a one-and-one, that is. two misses because you don't even get the second shot, so they certainly had their opportunities, maybe to tie this game, maybe even take the lead down the stretch, but the free throws ended up doing it and like I said about Marquette, they missed all of them . their 3-pointers Alabama in the second half made all of their 3-pointers and yeah, they're going to have to have a special night just to stay competitive with Ukon.

Congratulations to Alabama for making the final four for the first time in school history. That is incredible. uh, congratulations to Mark Sears and his mother to M Sears, who is making the free throws. I can not wait. Look, this is a fun team to watch, like an Alabama football school, and making it to the final four is a huge accomplishment. I totally think the game has a lot of potential to be a lot of fun, it's just going to take Alabama having an outstanding shooting night to keep the game competitive. Well, shout out to Alabama, tied for the final four for the first time in school history.

Have a day, kids, and we've got coverage continuing on Sunday, the final two spots up for grabs in the final four, who will join Yukon and Alabama in the final four, we'll find out on Sunday, when Yukon takes on Alabama, how. Should you bet on this game? What will be the difference? Would you give the points to the Huskies? They have won 10 in a row by more than 13 points. You might want to check him out next on CBS Sports HQ.