After a cold start that put the team in a 13-point hole, Alabama rallied past Clemson 89-82 on Saturday night to advance to the first Final Four for the first time.
head coach Nate Oats said earlier this week that he credits legendary, now-retired Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban for his mantra of always looking to the next play, the next game in order to not get caught up in the success or failure of the present.on Saturday night in the Elite Eight, what's"next" for Alabama is now uncharted territory -- its first appearance in the Final Four.
All tournament long, the Tigers have made a name for themselves with quick starts. On Saturday, they did it once again, racing out to a 26-13 lead in the first 12 minutes, thanks to 14 points in the paint, while their defense limited Alabama to 1-of-13 from beyond the arc. At one point, the Tide didn't score for nearly four minutes of play.
Clemson didn't go away easily. Early in the second half, the Tigers took the lead for a split second before a 3-pointer by Sears gave it back to Alabama, which didn't relinquish it the rest of the way. Saturday's game was ultimately decided on 3-point success. After their frigid start from beyond the arc, Alabama didn't stop shooting and proceeded to make 10 of its next 17 3s. The Tide finished the game shooting over 40 percent from deep.
Even when Clemson was forced to play Alabama's style of game and start shooting more 3s, it wasn't enough. With just under eight minutes left in the second half, Clemson'swas able to make 3s on back-to-back possessions. The only problem? Alabama matched him on the other end with 3s on three consecutive possessions to build a nine-point lead with just over six minutes left.
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