Nate Oats reveals difference in second half against Maryland, previews Sweet Sixteen matchup

It was a rough first half offensively for Alabama in the second round NCAA Tournament game against Maryland. However, the Crimson Tide found their rhythm in the second to pull away with a dominant 73-51 victory and advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Alabama outscored the Terrapins 45-28 over the final 20 minutes as guard Jahvon Quinerly led the team with 22 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Speaking with CBS’ Tracy Wolfson postgame, coach Nate Oats commended his team for how they turned things around to run away with the win.

“I thought our offense settled in in the second half,” he said. “Our defense was pretty good and kept us in the game. Our offense came around. JQ got a little more aggressive and started hitting some more shots. He only had one 3 in the first half. Shoot, we didn’t make many. We only had six the whole game. But it was nice to make a few shots. Our defense was pretty solid the whole game though.”

The Crimson Tide came out firing in the second, increasing their lead to 15 points by the 10-minute mark. After shooting just 8-of-26 (31%) from the floor in the first, Alabama was 13-of-32 (41%) in the second, including 5-of-14 from beyond the arc.

Of Quinerly’s 22 points, 15 came in the second half and he also finished with three steals. Meanwhile, Alabama’s defense forced 13 Maryland turnovers and held the Terps to 19-of-54 (35.2%) shooting for the game. They also won the rebounding battle 44-32. In addition to Quinerly, star freshman Brandon Miller chipped in 19 points along with seven rebounds.

With the win, Alabama is on to its second Sweet Sixteen appearance under Oats. It draws a matchup against San Diego State, which defeated Furman 75-52 earlier on Saturday to punch its ticket to the round of 16.

The game between the Aztecs and Crimson Tide figures to be a defensive battle, as both teams rank among the top five in adjusted defensive efficiency according to Ken Pomeroy. With that in mind, Oats hopes for much of the same effort out of his defense as he saw Saturday.

If he gets it, Alabama has a real shot at making its first Elite Eight since 2004.

“They’re a great defensive team,” Oats said of SDSU. “Furman’s a really good offensive team and they shut them down. They switch 1-5 so we’re gonna have to get ready to play. Our defense is gonna have to be great. Our offense is gonna have to be good too, but they’re a great defensive team.”