Last season, the Tide made its unlikely run to the semifinal as a high powered offensive threat, lacking defensive authority. Now, in 2025, the team is a much improved version of itself, playing at possibly its highest level yet.

Mark Sears hadn't made more than one three in the last five games for Alabama basketball. To beat BYU, he had 10, and head coach Nate Oats is why.

That movement, and the attention that Sears sucked BYU’s defense into, made for Alabama breaking a 35-year-old March Madness record for 3-pointers with 25 in the game. Of Alabama’s 66 shots, 51 were from beyond the 3-point arc.