Although Seton Hall’s men’s basketball team was not in this year’s NCAA “March Madness” tournament, the university hosted the East Regional Sweet 16 at the Prudential Center on Thursday, March 27— and it did not disappoint.
No. 6 BYU vs. No. 2 Alabama
The first game of the night was the No. 6 seeded BYU Cougars against the No. 2 seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. Both teams entered this game with single-digit losses on the season (26–9 for BYU and 28–8 for Alabama). Additionally, both teams fell in the semifinal of their respective conference tournaments to the eventual champions, with BYU falling to Houston in the Big 12 Tournament and Alabama losing to Florida in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
In their last game, BYU upset the No. 3 seeded Wisconsin Badgers, 91-89, in the second round of the tournament. The Cougars are led by junior guard Richie Saunders and freshman guard Egor Demin, who is projected to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, according to Yahoo’s latest mock draft.
Playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time in 14 years, the Cougars looked to win their first national championship as they awaited the arrival of A.J. Dybantsa—the No. 1 high school basketball recruit in the 2025 class, who reportedly agreed to a NIL deal with the Cougars “close to $7 million,” according to Bleacher Report.
Their opponents, Alabama, are led by graduate guard Mark Sears, who helped the Crimson Tide upset the 27–4 Auburn Tigers earlier this month with a game-winning floater. With one of the deepest rosters in the country, the Crimson Tide averaged 91.1 points per game this season, which was the most among teams in NCAA Division I basketball.
After reaching the Final Four for the first time in program history last season, Alabama looked to make even more history by making its first-ever national championship appearance this year.
Although the Cougars started strong, hitting six of their first 10 shots, Alabama responded with a barrage of 3-pointers. Sears was the catalyst, as he hit back-to-back 3s to give Alabama a 24-17 lead early in the half. A powerful one-handed dunk by graduate forward Grant Nelson and a 3-pointer from graduate guard Chris Youngblood (Alabama’s 10th of the game) moments later gave the Crimson Tide an eight-point lead, as they led 38-30 with six minutes remaining.
By the end of the first half, Alabama managed to gain an 11-point lead as they led 51-40. Sears led all scorers with 17 points while hitting five first-half 3s. Saunders led the Cougars with 12 points, while junior center Keba Keita followed with eight of his own.
Although both teams shot roughly the same amount and percentage in the first half (17-37 for BYU and 17-34 for Alabama), 3-point shooting made the difference: Alabama managed to hit 12 3s in the first half—the most made in any half over the past six NCAA tournaments—while the Cougars made just one (1-13).
Alabama’s barrage from 3-point range continued in the second half. Nine minutes into the second, sophomore guard Aden Holloway matched Sears’s first-half effort with a fifth 3-pointer of his own as Alabama led 80-63. Minutes later, Sears hit his ninth 3-pointer of the game, breaking the NCAA Tournament record for most 3s made in a single game with 22, which was previously held by Loyola Marymount when they hit 21 in 1990. But Sears didn’t stop there—after a steal, he would make his 10th and final 3-pointer of the game to give Alabama a 23-point lead as they led 100-77 with six minutes remaining. Alabama went on to win the game, 113-88, as they advanced to the Elite Eight to face the winner of Arizona and Duke.
Sears led all scorers with 34 points and was just one 3-pointer shy of tying the record set by Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer for most 3-pointers made by a player in an NCAA Tournament game. Holloway followed Sears with 23 points and six 3-pointers of his own, as the backcourt combined for 57 of Alabama’s 113 total points. They became the first SEC teammate duo in NCAA Tournament history, each with six or more 3-pointers in a game.
As mentioned, Alabama set a new NCAA Tournament record for both 3-pointers made and attempted in the game, going 25-51 (49%) from 3-point range (notably, with their 3-pointers and free throws made, the team could have missed every 2-pointer and still would have won the game). Despite a strong 25-point performance from Saunders, BYU was unable to overcome Alabama’s record-breaking 3-point shooting and ultimately fell to the Crimson Tide.
No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 1 Duke
Led by a veteran backcourt in junior guard Jaden Bradley and graduate guard Caleb Love, the Arizona Wildcats were the third best team in the Big 12 this season. Love, who transferred from North Carolina after three seasons with the Tar Heels, is used to high-stake games: this marks the 13th tournament game of his career, and he helped UNC advance to the national championship game in 2022 after he scored 28 points against Duke in the national semifinal game. As a former Tar Heel, Love will be even more driven to upset the Blue Devils this season.
After advancing to the Sweet 16 last year, Arizona looked to make its first Elite Eight appearance since 2015 by defeating the Blue Devils.
Coming into this game, Duke held the best odds of winning the national championship. The team featured three future NBA lottery picks in freshman forward Kon Knueppel, freshman center Khaman Maluach, and, most notably, freshman forward Cooper Flagg—the projected No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Although Flagg is already destined for greatness at the next level, a national championship would set him apart from other Duke greats and his peers who never won a title.
With a 31-3 regular season record, Duke was ranked as the No. 1 in the nation heading into the tournament. While Arizona looked to reach the Elite Eight for the first time in a decade, the Blue Devils were focused on winning a national championship for the first time in that same time span.
Both teams came out firing in the first half, making five of their first six combined attempts from 3-point range. Flagg started the game somewhat cold, hitting just one of his first five shots. When he checked out of the game for the first time, Duke led 17-16 with 10 minutes remaining in the half. Love scored his first points of the game with an off-the-dribble 3-pointer to make it 23-19 minutes later, as Arizona trailed by three with eight minutes left.
When he returned to the game, Flagg heated up, making his next four shots to become the first player to reach double figures. With under a minute left, Flagg hit a mid-range jumper before Love responded with a contested side-step 3-pointer to tie the game at 42 apiece. After an Arizona miss, Flagg collected the ball in the backcourt and hit a deep pull-up 3-pointer in transition as time expired.
Two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds, including Flagg’s incredible buzzer-beating shot, gave Duke a six-point lead at halftime. Flagg led all scorers with 18 points, his most points scored in a first half this season. For the Wildcats, Love had 14 first half points, including three 3-pointers. Despite making seven fewer shots than Duke, Arizona stayed in the game thanks to a significant free-throw advantage, as they went 11-13 (85%) from the line, while the Blue Devils made just three-of-five (60%).
Duke extended their 11-point halftime lead to 15 early in the second half after Flagg found Maluach for back-to-back alley-oops. After Maluach scored his 11th point of the game moments later, Duke had four out of five of their starters in double figures (Flagg, Knueppel, Maluach, and graduate guard Sion James). With 12 minutes remaining, an and-one from freshman center Patrick Ngogba II gave Duke their biggest lead of the game as they led 70-51 with 12 minutes remaining.
Arizona made a late push, bringing the game within six points with three minutes left as Love and freshman forward Carter Bryant started to heat up. But it wasn’t enough, as Duke managed to pull away, winning the game 100-93 and advancing to the Elite Eight against Alabama.
In this game, Flagg showed why he is such a highly sought-after talent that any NBA team would be lucky to have on its roster. Nearly recording a triple-double, Flagg led the Blue Devils with 30 points, along with six rebounds and seven assists (six of which came in the second half). It’s remarkable for a player of his stature and length to have such a well-rounded game, especially at such a young age (Flagg is just 18 years old). He not only makes shots from all three levels (from inside, mid-range, and 3-point range), but he also showcased his playmaking ability that’ll be sure to impress NBA scouts and fans alike.
However, it was a collective effort for Duke that helped them win this game, with Knueppel scoring 20 points of his own, while James added 16. The Blue Devils shot an efficient 60% (33-55) from the field, including 57.9% (11-19) from 3-point range.
In what would end up being his final collegiate game, Love scored 35 points for the Wildcats, including five 3-pointers and a 21-point second half. Only one other Arizona starter scored in double figures, as Bradley added 15 points. Bryant also scored 13 off the bench, most of which came in the second half. The Wildcats’ first-half free-throw advantage was not enough, as Arizona couldn’t stop Flagg and the tournament-favorite Blue Devils, falling 100-93.
With Alabama and Duke winning, the East Regional Elite Eight was set. The last time the two teams met was in 2013, when Duke defeated 74-64 in the preseason NIT semifinals, just 20 miles east, at Madison Square Garden. The teams will return to Prudential Center on Saturday, March 29 to fight for a spot in this year’s Final Four.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
