BamaCentral Courtside: No. 5 Alabama 68, Iona 55

INDIANAPOLIS — It wasn't exactly a picture-perfect day for Alabama basketball on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but the Crimson Tide still advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 68-55 win over the Iona Gaels.

Defense was the name of the game for both sides. While Alabama seemed to be on track to score a lot of points in the opening minutes of the game, coach Rick Pitino and Iona soon locked down and managed to keep up with the Crimson Tide until the game's final minutes.

In its 17 games played, Iona established itself this season as a solid rebounding team. On Saturday, however, Alabama out-rebounded the Gaels 42-26 — no doubt a big determining factor of the game.

"Tonight we thought with every phase we could stay in the game," Pitino said after the game. "The one area I'm surprised at was the rebounding. They beat us 42-26. Now, we did a great job defending them. They had 13 second shots. That was the key. Take away the three, but don't give them a second shot. We did, and that was our demise."

Alabama senior wing Herb Jones led Alabama in points with 20 and finished second on the team in rebounds with six. Sophomore guard Jahvon Quinerly finished second on the team in points with 11, while senior guard John Petty Jr. and sophomore guard Jaden Shackelford both finished with 10 points.

BamaCentral's own Tyler Martin and Joey Blackwell break down the Crimson Tide's win over the Gaels from Hinkle Fieldhouse in the video located at the top of the page.