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For the first time in 17 years, Alabama Basketball is Sweet 16 bound

By Matthew Travis

Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; The Alabama Crimson Tide huddle in the second half against the Maryland Terrapins in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; The Alabama Crimson Tide huddle in the second half against the Maryland Terrapins in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Alabama Basketball put on an absolute show on Monday night as their incredible display of shooting suffocated Maryland, leading to a 96-77 win, the third biggest win of all second-round games behind only USC who beat Kansas by 34, and UCLA who beat Abilene Christian by 20.

With the win, Alabama will play in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004, and only the ninth time in program history, with a chance to make the Elite Eight for only the second time in program history.

The win was fueled by incredible shooting as they were 35-66 from the field, and 16-33 from the three-point line, led by Jaden Shackelford who was 6-11 from the field, and 5-8 from three, totaling 21 points, John Petty who was 7-15 from the field, and 4-9 from three for 20 points, and a total of 39 points off the bench.

Another thing that was big for Alabama in this game was the fact that they got freshman guard Josh Primo back who hadn’t played since Alabama’s first game in the SEC Tournament, due to an MCL sprain.

With Primo back, Alabama is even better as he is a consistent shooter (shot 43.4% from the field, and 39.4% from three this season) and he spices up Alabama’s roster because he’s another threat on the offensive side alongside Petty, Shackelford, Jahvon Quinerly, Shackelford and the rest of the Tide.

Primo wasted no time getting back into the swing of things Monday night as he played 23 minutes shooting 4-6 from the field and 2-3 from three, adding up to 10 points. As time moves on I would expect him to score more and be a bigger part of Alabama’s offense, but that is certainly a great start.

Another great sign for the tide was Alex Reese who was absolutely incredible, he shot 5-7 from the field and 3-5 from three scoring 13 points off the bench for Alabama. As someone who shot 36.7% from the field and 27.9% from three this season, getting those numbers from Reese off the bench is MASSIVE for Alabama as it makes the Crimson Tide‘s offense even more of a headache for opposing defenses.

Next. Biggest winners/losers from first 2 rounds. dark

In total, Alabama had five players score in double-figures including three from the bench, which added up to 96 points for Alabama, their third-highest mark of the season.

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