Alabama’s offense is already difficult to stop, let alone when the bench gets going. The Crimson Tide’s scoring depth was the difference as six players scored in double figures in their 80-66 second-round win over Saint Mary’s on March 23 at Rocket Arena. No. 2 Alabama (27-8) advances to the S weet 16, where it take on No. 6 BYU in a East Regional semifinal on March 27 in Newark, N.J. Chris Youngblood led Alabama with 13 points, all coming in the first half. Mark Sears, Grant Nelson and Aden Holloway all scored 12 points, while both Clifford Omoruyi and Mouhamed Dioubate scored 10. PHOTOS: Alabama vs. Saint Mary’s men’s basketball, March 23, 2025 On the flip side, Saint Mary’s (29-6) doesn’t have much depth at all. The Gaels play only seven players major minutes and it showed as the game went on. “I thought we wore them out, particularly toward the end of the first half,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “They kind of play a seven-man rotation. (Ashton) Hardaway played just under two minutes, and then that was it for their eighth guy. So, seven guys played the bulk of the minutes. (Mitchell) Saxen played over 39, (Luke) Barrett played almost 37, (Augustus) Marciulionis over 34, Ross over 34. So four of their starters were over 34 minutes.” “If you look at us, we didn’t have anybody over — the most minutes — Labaron (Philon) led us in minutes with 28 and seven seconds, and nobody had over 27 minutes really. And then we played, what, nine guys double-digit minutes. We got a lot of contributors.” Along with scoring contributors, rebounding was a team effort for Alabama. The Tide were outrebounded by Robert Morris in their first-round win and were motivated for a better showing against the second-best offensive rebounding team in the country in Saint Mary’s. Omoruyi played two impressive games in Cleveland, including a double-double against the Gaels with 11 rebounds. Nelson returned to the starting lineup and grabbed eight boards in 28 minutes. The Crimson Tide outrebounded Saint Mary’s, 41-36, and had a 10-rebound advantage in the first half. Depth played a factor on the glass as well. “We knew we were capable of it because we’ve done it against all the best teams who crash the glass,” Nelson said. “We know we’ve got to bring it. We’ve got to bring it more often, even against teams who don’t crash as hard or teams who aren’t as physical. But I think if we do that, we’ll win a lot more games.” Up for next Alabama is the Sweet 16, a familiar place. The Crimson Tide are making their third-straight trip to the second weekend. Following last year’s Final Four run, they are looking forward to the challenge ahead. It’s a scary thought that Oats feels this year’s team is more equipped to make a deep run than a year ago. The Tide’s depth is a big reason for that. “We’re definitely deeper with more guys available,” Oats said. “I thought Darrion Reid was great on Friday. Didn’t work out to play him as many minutes this game, but we have 10 guys I’m comfortable playing double digit minutes. Grant Nelson was hurt. We got away without playing him hardly at all. Darrion was part of that, being able to not play Grant until about seven minutes to go in that game. Whether it’s injuries, foul trouble, just depth to wear teams out, guys just not playing well and you need somebody else to step up, I definitely think we’ve got it. No doubt, they stepped up big from last year’s run, even today.” ...read more read less