The Run That Changed Momentum, Turning Alabama's Sweet 16 Sour
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Alabama fans and players could feel it. The Crimson Tide had just gone up nine points with its largest lead of the game, and visions of Alabama's first Elite Eight in nearly 20 years seemed so close.
San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher called a timeout, and his Aztecs responded with a 3-pointer out of the break. Right after that, one of Alabama's costly 15 turnovers turned into an easy layup for the Aztecs. And just like that, the Crimson Tide's lead was cut down to four points, and the visions of an Elite Eight dissipated as quickly as they had appeared.
A 12-0 run stretched into a 23-5 run, and Alabama could never get back into the game as No. 5 San Diego State beat No. 1 Alabama 71-64 Friday night, ending the Crimson Tide's magical season.
"It’s a game of runs," Alabama forward Noah Gurley said after the game. "Momentum swings back and forth, and it ended up swinging their way last."
After a dreadful first half offensively, Alabama came out on fire in the second half. The Crimson Tide made just eight shots from the floor total in a 23-point first half. At the first media timeout of the second half, Alabama had made five field goals, including Brandon Miller's first (and only) 3-pointer.
A couple baskets from Gurley, Jahvon Quinerly, Charles Bediako and a thundering dunk by Nick Pringle helped get the Alabama lead to nine points and temporarily swing the momentum back in Alabama's favor.
"We came out strong," Alabama forward Noah Clowney said. "I feel like the timeout didn’t really change much, but they went on a run. They came out and hit two 3s off a ball screen that changed the momentum of the game completely."
San Diego State guard Darrion Trammell hit both of those 3-pointers as part of a personal 8-0 run that kicked off the overall run for the Aztecs. He led all scorers with 21 points.
"Trammell had 8 of those 12 points," Alabama coach Nate Oats said after the game. "Our defense on him wasn't good. We had some turnovers that fueled some of that. We didn't score a point in transition this game. You know, they had eight. I think they had some on that run.
"I thought we did a great job coming into the half ready to play. And they're a really good group with some veteran players. They definitely got experience, and they got down nine and came out and turned it right around. You've got to give them a lot of credit."
Alabama had five turnovers during San Diego State's 21-6 run. The Aztecs finished with 15 points off of turnovers, which as been a weakness for Alabama in all of its losses this season.
San Diego State got up by as much as nine points and led 66-57 with 2:12 to go. Mark Sears made a personal run in the final two minutes, scoring 7 points in 32 seconds, to try and make something of it, but the deficit was too large.
The Crimson Tide, which has hung its hat on defense all season, could not get the stops it needed down the stretch as the game and season slipped away.
Freshman guard Rylan Griffen said the team came out of halftime with a lot of energy because it was losing, but they couldn't keep that energy up once they built the lead.
"They went on a run, and we were never able really to respond after that run," Griffen said.
The first team in program history to earn a No. 1 seed became the ninth Crimson Tide team to lose in the Sweet 16.
See also:
No. 1 Alabama Basketball Falls to No. 5 SDSU, Eliminated from NCAA Tournament
Everything Nate Oats, Alabama Basketball Said Following Sweet 16 Loss to SDSU
Everything Brian Dutcher, SDSU Said Following Sweet 16 Win over Alabama
