3 takeaways from BYU’s Sweet 16 loss against Alabama

NEWARK, N.J. — BYU’s NCAA Tournament run has come to an end.

The Cougars fell to No. 2 seed Alabama in the Sweet 16 Thursday night in Newark, closing out their season on the losing end of a 113-88 blowout.

BYU finishes Kevin Young’s first campaign in Provo with a 26-10 record along with the program’s third-ever Sweet 16 berth.

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3 takeaways

Alabama went nuclear from 3-point range. The Crimson Tide broke the all-time NCAA Tournament record for most made 3-pointers in a game, sinking 25 of a whopping 51 attempts (49%) from long distance.

The typically sweet-shooting Cougars, on the other hand, hit just 6 of 30 (20%) such shots, having gone 1 for 13 in the first half.

Much could be said about this game, but at the end of the day, all that truly matters is that Alabama hit 25 3-pointers. Sixty-six percent of the team’s 113 points came from the triple. It was impossible for BYU to prevail against such an outrageous shooting effort.

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BYU had no answer for Mark Sears. There’s a new villain in Cougar basketball lore, and his name is Mark Sears.

Alabama’s superb guard played the game of his life against BYU, scoring 34 points with 10 made 3-pointers, eight assists and three steals.

No matter what the Cougars tried, Sears couldn’t be stopped, and now he has an Elite Eight appearance to show for it.

Despite the finish, both BYU’s NCAA Tournament run and season as a whole were tremendous successes. Cougar fans may not want to hear it right now, but Young’s first season with the program went about as well as anyone could have hoped for a year ago when Mark Pope bolted for Kentucky.

BYU finished 14-6 in Big 12 play and proved that its first season in the league was far from a fluke. The Cougars won their first tournament game in 13 years and advanced to the Sweet 16 for just the third time ever.

Additionally, should Egor Demin declare for the NBA Draft, his March Madness performance may have raised his stock back into lottery range, possibly giving BYU its first draft selection since Jimmer Fredette.

AJ Dybantsa is on his way next season. If BYU can retain its current core of Richie Saunders, Dallin Hall and Keba Keita while bringing in a high-impact transfer or two, the Cougars can absolutely go even farther in this tournament a year from now.

The first year of the Kevin Young era at BYU was fantastic — and he may just be getting started.