Alabama uses treys, routs BYU; Florida rolls

NEWARK, N.J. — Alabama broke the 35-year-old March Madness record for 3-pointers with 25 and Mark Sears scored 30 of his 34 points on 3s, a relentless long-range spree that ushered the second-seeded Crimson Tide past BYU 113-88 on Thursday night in an NCAA Tournament East Region semifinal.

Alabama reached the Elite Eight in consecutive years for the first time in program history.

The Crimson Tide made 25 of 51 3-point attempts to break the record of 21 set by Loyola Marymount in a second-round game against Michigan in 1990. Sears, a first-team All-America guard, hit the record-breaking 22nd 3 late in the game to make it 97-66 and received a standing ovation from the Alabama fans when he checked out with 10 3s and more than four minutes left to play.

Sears and the Crimson Tide (28-8) showed they are no March fluke under coach Nate Oats. Riding a wave of 3s, Alabama set itself up for a date against either Duke or Arizona for a shot at the Final Four.

Richie Saunders scored 25 points to lead sixth-seeded BYU (26-10), which hasn’t played in a regional final since 1981.

Sears’ 10 3s were one short of the record set by Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer in that memorable 149-115 win over Michigan. Sears was 1 of 9 from 3 in the first two NCAA Tournament games.

He missed only seven times against BYU.

“I felt like the basket was as big as an ocean,” Sears said. “I lost myself in the game.”

The Crimson Tide made their first Final Four appearance in school history last season, when they lost to eventual national champion UConn.

Alabama loved the 3 this season, averaging 28 attempts a game. Against BYU, Sears and the Crimson Tide feasted on the long ball.

Sears hit five in the first half, camping out behind the arc without much of a hand in his face. Sears and Chris Youngblood hit back-to-back 3s for a 38-30 lead and repeated the feat minutes later for a 44-34 advantage. BYU’s Egor Demin followed with an airball and Alabama could smell crimson in the water.

Alabama attempted 15 2-pointers and made 10 of them.

“We’ve been working all week to prepare to get our shot right,” Sears said.

Sears raised his teammates out of their seats and into a frenzy when another 3 early in the second half opened a 63-47 lead that sent the shaken Cougars into a timeout. The deep, up-tempo Crimson Tide let Sears bury 3 after 3 after 3 with the Elite Eight in sight.

Alabama’s previous 3-point record was 23 against LSU in 2021. John Petty Jr., twice hit 10 3s, the latter time against Samford in 2019.

Alabama continued the Southeastern Conference’s run in the tournament and coasted in its third straight Sweet 16 appearance. Holloway made six 3s and Youngblood had five. Collectively, Alabama shot 53% from the floor and it also made 18 of 21 free throws.

The shots — and now, free tater tots — dried up for BYU. Saunders, a descendant of the man who invented tater tots, had fueled BYU’s run to the Sweet 16.

BYU was a bust trying match Alabama beyond the arc. The Cougars missed 12 of 13 3s in the first half.

“We felt like it was hard for them to sustain that,” coach Kevin Young said. “You’re trying everything and nothing seemed to work.”

Alabama will try to reach only the second Final Four in program history.

FLORIDA 87, MARYLAND 71

SAN FRANCISCO — Florida’s three standout seniors and its deep bench kept bringing energy until it became too tough for Maryland’s “Crab Five” to keep up.

Coach Todd Golden could see his Gators wearing the Terrapins down.

Will Richard scored 15 points, Alijah Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds, and No. 1 seed Florida played a steady second half to run away from fourth-seeded Maryland and into the NCAA Tournament’s West Region final with an 87-71 win Thursday night.

Walter Clayton Jr. contributed 13 points and four assists as Florida’s senior leaders and their deep supporting cast took down Maryland’s hardworking starters — one of Terrapins coach Kevin Willard’s concerns coming into this matchup.

“We come in with great energy,” said Florida reserve Denzel Aberdeen, who scored 12 points in 19 minutes. “Just everybody being ready, whoever’s name is called, I think that’s what we did.”

Freshman sensation Derik Queen scored 27 points to lead Maryland (27-9) in what might have been Willard’s final game guiding the program.

“I think their bench really wore us down,” Willard said.

Florida (33-4) advances to play Saturday against the winner of Thursday’s late game at Chase Center between third-seeded Texas Tech and No. 10 seed Arkansas.

The Gators, in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and seeking the program’s first Final Four berth since 2014, committed 13 of their 17 turnovers in the first half but took better care of the ball over the final 20 minutes. Florida already eliminated two-time defending NCAA champion UConn in the second round and is 10-1 in regional semifinals.

“The message was simple: We have to take care of the ball,” Golden, the Gators’ third-year coach, said.

The “Crab Five” — featuring WNBA star Angel Reese’s brother Julian, who had his sister in the stands to cheer — roared back in the first half when it seemed Florida might pull away. Queen, who hit a buzzer-beater in a 72-71 victory Sunday over Colorado State in the second round, shot 8 for 17 and made all 10 of his free throws.

Clayton, Martin and Richard combined for 42 points and three others scored in double figures for Florida. The senior trio had scored 56 of the Gators’ 77 points in the two-point victory against UConn last Sunday. That sent coach Golden back to the Bay Area, where he played for Saint Mary’s and coached at the University of San Francisco before taking the Florida job.

Now, they get to extend their stay into the weekend.

“It’s surreal, to be honest. The thing that I keep kind of going back to, selfishly, personally, I just don’t want it to end,” Golden said. “We have a uniquely tight group. … It’s been an amazing run.”

What’s next for Willard?

Willard’s future was unclear as he has been linked to the Villanova job and also publicly expressed concerns last week with the direction of the Terrapins program, calling for “fundamental changes.”

Fans booed the coach as the team departed its hotel earlier in the day.

Golden had described the Terrapins as “freaky talented” coming into the game.

Clayton from deep

Willard had compared Clayton to Stephen Curry when it comes to shooting off the dribble.

Clayton had been 22 for 43 from 3-point range — 51.2% — over his five postseason tournament games coming in. He wound up 2 of 6 from deep.