Alabama outlasts Robert Morris in first round of NCAA Tournament
CLEVELAND — It felt like a road game for Alabama on Friday inside Rocket Arena. The Crimson Tide survived a scare against a scrappy Robert Morris outfit, winning 90-81 inside Rocket Arena.
It was far from easy for Alabama. It needed a lift from its best rebounder after an awful performance on the glass. Mark Sears finally came alive, and the Tide’s playmaking helped Nelson’s running mates in the frontcourt generate enough offense to sweat out a win and avoid a catastrophic upset at the hands of the Colonials.
Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s matchup against Robert Morris.
Nelson ignites Tide
Alabama forward Grant Nelson was available for Friday’s game. Alabama ended up needing him in the worst way.
Nelson checked into the game shortly before the under-eight-minute media timeout. The Tide had already surrendered a bevy of offensive rebounds and things didn’t change when he checked in, and it became up to Nelson to do damage control.
The former North Dakota State forward delivered. He made a massive impact on both ends and finished with five points, three rebounds and a steal in just seven minutes on the floor. His outing culminated in a dunk in the final minutes.
Nelson’s play negated what was otherwise atrocious performance for Alabama on the glass. Robert Morris racked up a whopping 16 offensive rebounds, compared to just five for Alabama. It nearly defined what would have been a heartbreaking end to the Tide's season.
Alabama would defined relatively well for most of a possession, only to be caught out of position or get out-scrapped by a Robert Morris player for an offensive rebound. The Colonials collected 15 second-chance points compared to just four for Alabama.
The absence of the Tide’s leading rebounder for most of the game in the first hurt Alabama on the glass, even against a smaller Robert Morris. Despite Robert Morris’ tallest starter standing just 6-foot-9, the Colonials ate Alabama alive on the glass. Robert Morris won the total rebounding battle 39-37 and it felt a lot worse than the stat line showed at times. The Colonials scored 50 of its 81 points in the paint Friday.
Guards forced to switch focus
Alabama’s backcourt didn’t the Tide much of a lift offensively for large portions of the contest. The offense was stagnant, averaging just 1.23 points per possession.
Mark Sears was finally able to come alive in the second half. He scored 19 points in the final 20 minutes and ended up leading Alabama with 22 points. Like Nelson, he made a few clutch buckets including an and-1 late in the second half.
The Tide also improved to 12-0 in games where Sears racks up seven assists. It was the veteran guards' playmaking, along with that of his backcourt teammates that helped Alabama hold on to a win Friday.
Sears finished with a double-double, getting 10 assists along with his points. His passing was on-point all game, including a few no-look dimes and lobs. His running mate Labaron Philon finished with a goose egg in the scoring department but racked up eight assists with no turnovers. As a team, Alabama moved the ball well finishing with 25 assists to 12 turnvoers.
Alabama was able to take a narrow lead into the break thanks to its playmaking. The Tide managed 13 assists to just five turnovers as a team in the first 20 minutes. Sears and Philon combined for 10 of those, constantly dishing the ball into the frontcourt. It set a crucial tone offensively as Alabama struggled to slow down Robert Morris on the other end.
Frontcourt scoring
The absence of the Tide’s leading rebounder hurt Alabama on the glass, but his counterparts found enough offensive success to give the Tide just enough of a push when the guards weren’t finding their rhythm and as it got decimated in the rebounding category.
Clifford Omoruyi was a threat around the rim all game on offense against a smaller Colonials team. The Tide lived around the rim all game and was seemingly able to lob it to him on every possession. Omoruyi finished with 17 points, along with two blocks and three steals defensively.
When Alabama needed some energy off the bench, it turned to Mouhamed Dioubte, who seems to thrive in the bright lights of March Madness. Dioubate finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. For a second straight game, he was the Tide’s best player on the glass and dragged Alabama to a win with his blue-collar plays.
Derrion Reid also had one of his best performances in an Alabama uniform. The forward has struggled to get healthy in the back half of the season, but finished with nine points and four rebounds in just 10 minutes, giving Alabama a critical kick it needed against the upstart Colonials.
| 2d 3:07 PM ET ago |
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