Film study: Shooting struggles no problem in Alabama's win over Maryland

Top-seeded Alabama outclassed No. 8 Maryland by a final score of 73-51 in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday to stamp its birth in the Sweet 16.

Here’s a look into the statistics and standout areas from the Crimson Tide’s 22-point victory.

Alabama is among the top 20 teams in the country in offensive rebound rate, grabbing 32.8% of its misses this season. On the other hand, Maryland ranks outside the top 150 in defensive rebound rate. The Crimson Tide was able to exploit this advantage in Saturday's matchup.

On this possession, star freshman Brandon Miller rises into a heavily contested 3-point jumper on the move. Fortunately for Alabama, 7-foot center Charles Bediako is able to leverage his five-inch height advantage to grab the offensive rebound and find the red-hot Jahvon Quinerly for a right-wing 3.

That 3-pointer from Quinerly was three of Alabama's 16 second-chance points on the evening. Bediako recorded five offensive rebounds, Miller with four, and the remainder of the team combined for six.

There’s no doubt that offensive rebounding can correlate with higher offensive efficiency, especially on a night when Alabama shot 6 of 21 from deep. Bediako has tremendous timing to be able to tip the ball back to himself, Miller is always the first to crash the boards for his own miss, and the rotation in general has the requisite size from Noah Clowney to Nick Pringle to effectively make life tough on shorter opponents.

Maryland shot 30.7% from the field in the first half, struggling to generate quality offensive looks with forward Julian Reese in foul trouble. In addition to ineffective 2-point scoring, Maryland doesn’t have a high-powered 3-point shooting attack to keep up with Alabama’s bevy of options on the offensive end.

Here, redshirt sophomore guard Nimari Burnett exhibits some stellar on-ball defense. He is in a terrific defensive stance to cut off the initial drive, flip his hips to adjust for Donald Carey’s behind-the-back move and fixate his body in front of the ball-handler to easily block the shot.

On the play of the night, Miller goes up for a chase-down block in transition. Mark Sears grabs the defensive rebound, and Miller runs through the slot before Sears hits him with a high-velocity, one-handed pass for a spot-up 3.

If Miller is open on the wing, he’s going to make it more often than not. This season, he is shooting an outstanding 49 percent on unguarded catch-and-shoot jumpers, ranking in the 90th percentile, according to Synergy Sports. Additionally, Miller is shooting a remarkable 65.4% on right-wing transition 3s.

At 200 pounds, Miller isn’t a physically imposing force, which makes his off-hand usage so vital as he uses his left hand to bump defenders to generate a sliver of space.

Onthis possession, Miller is backing down his defender in the mid-post, uses his left hand to push off, and spins into an open floater with a beautiful touch.

As noted by Alex Brehm on Twitter, this move from Miller was very Carmelo Anthony-like with the usage of the left hand to create space, post-spin, and crafty finish.

Alabama’s 22-point victory was the largest win in NCAA Tournament history by a team that shot less than 40% from the field and less than 30% from three, according to OptaSTATS.

On that note, it’s proven time and time again that Alabama can win without an overreliance on 3-point efficiency and volume, despite the common ‘live by the three, die by the three’ notion on social media.

This season, it’s 12-2 in games in which it shoots 30 percent or less from 3 – the two losses coming at Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

Alabama has yet to see an explosive shooting performance from Miller in the tournament, but when comes, opponents should lookout. The Crimson Tide will look to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2004 when it faces No. 5 San Diego State on Friday, March 24 at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky.