Alabama rolls over Maryland Basketball to advance to Sweet Sixteen

The Alabama Crimson Tide weren’t afraid of the turtle and shocked the shells of Maryland basketball to move on to the Sweet Sixteen. They have won eight straight games.

How did they do it? Their perimeter shooting and ball movement were superb.

Darryl Morsell and John Petty Jr. scored the first points of the second-round matchup.

The Terps forced the ball inside early with dribble penetration thanks to Eric Ayala and Hakim Hart. Donta Scott knocked down a three-ball to give the Terps a 9-5 advantage.

The first highlight of the game came from Aaron Wiggins with a high-flying one-handed slam.

The Crimson Tide kept pace with the Terps as they got baskets from Joshua Primo, Herb Jones, and Jahvon Quinerly to cut their deficit to four points, 18-14.

Alex Reese came through in the clutch once again as he knocked down a three and got a steal that resulted in a Juwan Gary layup to take the lead, 19-18.

A 15-4 run by the Crimson Tide gave them a 27-22 lead. The Crimson Tide were pushing the pace now that they had the momentum, and they forced the Terps into bad shots.

The drive and kick play was significant for the Crimson Tide in the first half as they were 5-of-7 from the perimeter and had a 14-2  advantage in bench points.

Ayala was the high point man with nine at the 7:45 mark, while Reese and Primo combine for 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the perimeter to lead the Crimson Tide.

The Crimson Tide put on a perimeter shooting clinic from three to take a 44-33 lead under three minutes to go until halftime. They knocked down eight threes at that point in the game, and six of the last seven field goals were from the perimeter.

The Terps tried to get back in this game via the three-ball, and it wasn’t helping. They managed to get a much needed shot from out there thanks to a steal in transition.

The Crimson Tide had a 46-38 lead going into halftime. Aaron Wiggins made two significant buckets at the end of the half to get the team within single digits.

He had a game-high 13 points with three rebounds and assists, followed by Ayala’s nine points. Reese went into halftime with 11 points and three rebounds, followed by Shackelford’s eight points.

Maryland basketball needed to get more dribble penetration and score. They tried outshooting the Crimson Tide to cut their deficit. Attacking the Crimson Tide in the paint with Wiggins or Ayala needed to be a point of emphasis in the second half.

Offensive rebounding and second-chance points were a problem once again for the Terps. Alabama had a 7-2 and 12-2 advantage in those categories, respectively.

In the second half, the Crimson Tide pushed their lead to 59-42 with back-to-back threes from John Petty Jr.

They pushed their lead to 72-51 and made 14 of their 28 perimeter shots. The Terps couldn’t handle them on the boards, either.

Quinerly was a wizard with the basketball off the bench with his 11 assists, 7 points, and five rebounds under eight minutes to go. He finished with 14 points, 11 assists and those five rebounds.

Wiggins was the bright spot for the Terps with 27 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He put on a show in a game that got out of hand in the second half.

Jaden Shackelford and Petty Jr. combined for 41 points, nine rebounds, and three steals.

The Alabama Crimson Tide rolled over Maryland basketball 96-77.

Maryland basketball ends the season losing to a very talented Crimson Tide squad. They weren’t expected to make the NCAA Tournament earlier in the season and beat a Connecticut Huskies team with dynamic scorers. They have a lot to be proud of.