Is Alabama Basketball Due For A Big Shooting Night?

Newark, N.J. - The Crimson Tide is in Newark, New Jersey, for the Sweet 16 in the 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament, where Alabama will face off against the BYU Cougars on Thursday, March 27. If the Tide can defeat the Cougars, Alabama will advance to the Elite Eight for the third time in program history.

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BYU is no easy opponent, however. Ranking No. 24 overall in Kenpom, the Cougars boast a top-ten offense. BYU plays similarly to Alabama, with a fast-paced offense allowing for big scoring runs. Defensively, BYU is sitting just outside of the top 70, but make no mistake, the Cougars can play defense when it's needed, holding a high-flying VCU offense to 71 points in the round of 64.

For the Tide, the offense has not been what Oats had hoped for so far in the tournament. In the opening game against Robert Morris, Alabama shot 28.6 percent from three in a nine-point victory. Against Saint Mary's, Alabama shot closer to what Oats wants with a 41.2 percent three-point shooting night. However, throughout the tournament so far, Alabama is only shooting 34.2 percent from beyond range.

Is it something to be concerned about for Alabama?

Not according to guard Chris Youngblood, who was asked by Jim Dunaway and the Next Round on Wednesday.

"If you're a 40 percent shooter, and you're shooting 15 percent for five games, I mean, you're due for a crazy game," Youngblood told The Next Round. "We're in a slump right now, but we're due for a couple of good games. It's around the right time, too, so I'm excited."

One player in a slump for Alabama is Mark Sears, who is shooting a career-low 37 percent from the field and 11.1 percent from three in the tournament.

Sears hasn't been concerned by or rattled by his recent tournament slump.

"To me, that's not a concern. Just keep being me," Sears said during media availability on Wednesday. "I put in the work. I'm gonna keep shooting, and my teammates are gonna do a great job of finding me when I'm open. But no concern here."

Alabama will face BYU in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27 at 6:09 p.m.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.