Alabama basketball didn’t just avoid the upset Friday night. It flat-out dominated.

The No. 4 seed Crimson Tide’s blowout 109-96 win over 13-seed Charleston in Spokane, Washington didn't just punch the Tide's ticket to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, it served as a return to mid-season SEC form for Alabama. Alabama had its full lineup available for the first time since Feb. 17. It played with the confidence of a team that was never shaken by injuries or stirred by lackluster form coming in, setting a school record for points in an NCAA Tournament game.

Alabama was outstanding against mid-major foes all season and Charleston was no different. Alabama shot the ball with the confidence of a side that’s been shooting 60% or better in its last four games, rather than 30%. Crimson Tide superstar guard Mark Sears didn’t shy away from the big stage. He put in one of the best performances by an Alabama player in the Big Dance and passed Brandon Miller for the second-most points in a single season by an Alabama player.

It’s the kind of game that allows Alabama fans to at least temporarily forget about the lackluster form that saw Alabama limp into the Big Dance. The Crimson Tide will undoubtedly get a better defensive effort from its next opponent. But it's confidence on both ends of the floor Friday indicates that it has shaken off its slumping shooting form and is treating the NCAA Tournament like a new season, just as Alabama coach Nate Oats said it would need to do.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama's NCAA Tournament win over Charleston.

After a back-and-forth start, Charleston went on a 9-0 run to take a 17-11 lead. It gained an early advantage on the offensive glass and was first to loose balls. The lead was stretched to 19-13 just a timeout. Alabama hadn’t scored a point in nearly three minutes.

It was a similar run that Alabama failed to recover from in its loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament. When the Gators punched Alabama back after it missed some shots, the Crimson Tide was down for the count.

That wasn’t the case Friday. Instead Alabama went to its corner during the timeout and came back with a 10-0 run and took a 30-26 lead into the under-8 media timeout. Alabama held up and was able to open the game in response. Another kill shot run helped the Tide balloon its lead to 17 at the break.

Charleston scored the opening three points of the final period but it was all Alabama from there. At one point, the Tide was averaging 1.55 points per possession for the game 1.76 for portions of the second half mark in the second half. After failing to eclipse 30% from 3-point range in its last four games, it buried 13 of 23 3s, while the Cougars went ice cold, shooting just 28.1% from deep.

After struggling in the first half of Alabama’s recent games, Sears poured on the points from the opening tip and finished with 30 points, four rebounds and five assists. He was able to put the team on his back in a game where fellow starter Aaron Estrada was held to an inefficient 13 points and both Rylan Griffen and Grant Nelson were held to single digits.

"I just wanted to be aggressive early," Sears said. "Get by by my guy and make something happen for others, or if nobody was in front of me have a layup."

Sears finished just five points shy of tying his career high in scoring. His backcourt mate Latrell Wrightsell Jr. finished as Alabama's second-leading scorer with 17 points on five made 3s, despite needing to get attention for a banged up nose. While Estrada didn't pile it up in the scoring department, he finished with his typical near-triple double stat line, adding seven rebounds and eight assists to his scoring numbers.

"They say you win games in March with guard play. I think that's true," Oats said. "[Sears, Estrada and Wrightsell] combined for 60 points. That's pretty good play out of your guards. Aaron and Mark had 13 assists to two turnovers. Trelly and Mark, combined 8 of 12 from 3, which is shooting it pretty well. So thought our guards played well."

When turnovers have affected Alabama on offense, its foul trouble often crippled an already weak defense.

The Crimson Tide avoided that foul against the fast-paced Cougars on Friday. Alabama made up for its lackluster effort on the defensive glass by keeping Charleston off of the free-throw line and getting to the charity stripe itself.

Alabama didn’t put Charleston in the bonus until the 1:41 mark of the first half, helping open up the game and making its life easier in the first half. The Cougars took just five free throws in the first half. It managed to get 29 shots from the charity stripe with Alabama playing in neutral in the second half, but the Tide still outshot Charleston from the line with 37 free throw attempts.

It wasn’t a perfect game defensively. The Crimson Tide allowed Charleston to corral 17 offensive rebounds and score 27 second-chance points. It was out-played on the boards 42-34. But Alabama’s ability to wall up without fouling meant Charleston was unable to turn to its forwards when it wasn't connecting from outside.

After falling behind on the glass early with its small-ball lineup, Alabama turned to its reserves to make up ground.

On the biggest stage in college basketball, freshman forward Mouhamed Dioubate played with immense composure. The forward nicknamed, "Scooter Mo" came off the bench and finished with six points, four rebounds and a pair of steals. He and his Mo counterpart Mohamed “Big Mo” Wague, who has also been relegated to a limited bench role due to a nagging foot injury, accounted for eight rebounds between them.

"Mo Dioubate and Mo Wague came in and really got the energy turned the right way," Oats said. "We were having problems. We really had problems rebounding the whole game. They did a great job on the glass. I give them a lot of credit. I thought they played hard."

Wague also logged six points and four boards. He and Dioubate logged plus-5 and plus-12 box plus/minus ratings respectively. Their performances are made all the more significant by the fact that are both fasting for Ramadan and didn't eat until midway through the game. The duo helped the Crimson Tide grow its advantage in the first half, which allowed them to play extended minutes in the NCAA Tournament in the second.

The Mo’s led an Alabama bench that scored 37 points. Freshman Sam Walters scored nine points in 12 minutes, while Jarin Stevenson buried a pair of 3s and grabbed a rebound. After single Alabama player, including Max Scharnowski and Kai Spears scored as the Crimson Tide cruised.

Alabama faces the winner between 5-seed Saint Mary's and 12-seed Grand Canyon. The two teams face off Friday night.