Alabama faced the 7th-seeded Saint Mary’s Gaels tonight in search of a third consecutive trip to the Sweet Sixteen and they got it in relatively comfortable fashion.

The first half went about as well as you could hope. Alabama came out looking to force the pace but the crafty Gaels kept forcing turnovers as Tide guards dribbled into traffic. At the first media timeout, Nate Oats was visibly annoyed and after that the team played much more under control. Chris Youngblood was on fire, leading the way with 13 first half points in only 11 minutes of action including 3-for-3 outside the arc. Mark Sears had a few nice drives but wasn’t much of a factor after picking up two quick fouls at the beginning of the game.

Saint Mary’s had a horrible time shooting the basketball, and Alabama thoroughly dominated the glass. As unbelievable as it may be given some recent performances including on Friday, Alabama’s interior defense and rebounding was the key to the first half, and allowed the Tide to take a 42-29 lead into the half. Grant Nelson was particularly active with seven first half boards. Nate Oats used his bench liberally, as Mo Dioubate, Aden Holloway, Derrion Reid, Jarin Stevenson, and Aiden Sherrell all logged quality minutes.

Saint Mary’s came out of the locker room with a little pep in their step offensively and scored on their first three possessions. Alabama answered with a three from Mo Dioubate and a nice drive from Aden Holloway, who was in because Sears picked up his third foul early in the half. The Tide maintained a double digit lead for the first 14 minutes of action.

The veteran Gaels wouldn’t quit. They started picking up the pace on offense and found some success, star guard Augustas Marciulionas in particular, but that also opened up opportunities for the Tide to run. A pair of free throws cut the lead to eight at the six minute mark, then transition dunks from Cliff Omoruyi and Grant Nelson pushed it back out to 12. Saint Mary’s was able to briefly get it to nine one more time, but Alabama’s depth and athleticism proved too much.

It’s survive and advance season, and Alabama did just that in Cleveland. Next up is a trip to Newark where BYU awaits, followed by the Duke juggernaut should the Tide manage to advance again.

Roll Tide.