Alabama Basketball: Revisiting Tide’s “3-on-5” game vs. Minnesota from 2017
By Cody Larson
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Game MVP: Collin Sexton.
How could this award go to anyone else? Sexton’s performance seemed to only escalate as the going got tougher. His performance was like when you get 5-stars in Grand Theft Auto then just insert a gazillion cheat codes to get dig yourself out of trouble; that’s the best way to describe it (for those who don’t get the reference). Sexton ended the game with 40 points (on 54.6% shooting), 5 assists, and 6 rebounds (again, while being triple-teamed for a long while).
Underrated Performance: Riley Norris.
Given such unprecedented circumstances, I think it’s very important that Alabama was lucky enough to have an experienced senior on the floor during the “3-on-5” session of this game. That senior being Riley Norris. He managed to score himself a season-high 13 points in what was likely the wildest game of his college career. He also found a solid majority of his 13 points when his team was handicapped; his performance deserves a shout out here.
Peak Moment: 4:24-3:10 in the 4th.
4:24 is when Sexton fades away from three defenders before cashing in one of the most ridiculous shots of 2017. 3:10 is him essentially doing that once again 3 minutes later. This one minute snippet is the snippet that defines this game; Sexton continuously doing the unthinkable under one of the craziest scenarios in basketball. The wild crowd reaction is only a bonus.
Surprising Stat: Minnesota’s OR% of 41.7%.
For the 2017-18 season, Minnesota had a 30 percent offensive rebounding rate (per Kenpom); which had them ranked 132nd in the nation. On November 25th, 2017 though; the Gophers had a 41.7 percent offensive rebounding rate (which would have ranked them 1st in the nation). This stat only amplifies how much of an advantage the Gophers had that day; it also confirms the idea that it is certainly easier to rebound when you have five players on the court rather than three.
“Where are they now?” Award: Nate Mason.
As incredible as Sexton’s performance was, for about a half Nate Mason was fairly dueling the star point guard (until he got ejected, as earlier discussed). In fact, Mason himself looked like a star that night, right up to par with Sexton actually. To the point where you watch and think “huh, whatever happened to that guy? He seems good.”
Well, while he certainly played up to par with Sexton during this matchup, his career, unfortunately, did not turn out the same. After college, Mason got a contract with the G-League’s Texas Legends (where he averaged 13.41 points per game across 2 seasons). Then, more recently, he scored a gig in the Israel Basketball Super League for the Hapoel Eilat.
Rewatch-ability Score: 87/100.
On my “games every basketball fan should watch” list, this game honestly ranks pretty high. It has everything you want in a classic game to revisit. A brewing NBA star (if that’s not too far when referring to Sexton) in his college heyday, two ranked teams, a hyped New York crowd, and one of the wildest endings in college basketball history.
Seeing Sexton and Mason clash in the first half is worthy of viewing; but it’s the final ten minutes that make this game the game that it is. I think each standalone classic game needs its own standalone, defining characteristic; Jordan’s “flu game” in 1997, “the shot” by Laettner in 1996, and of course the “3-on-5” in 2017 are examples that.