{"id":132383,"date":"2026-03-23T11:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T14:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/901248161"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T14:06:22","slug":"alabama-routs-texas-tech-90-65-to-reach-sweet-16-for-4th-straight-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/23\/alabama-routs-texas-tech-90-65-to-reach-sweet-16-for-4th-straight-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama routs Texas Tech 90-65 to reach Sweet 16 for 4th straight season"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. scored 24 points and fourth-seeded Alabama earned a fourth straight trip to the Sweet 16 with a 90-65 second-round rout of No. 5 seed Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament<\/a> on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

The Crimson Tide (25-9), who also got 15 points from Houston Mallette, advanced to the Midwest Region semifinals against top-seeded Michigan in Chicago next Friday night. They built an early double-digit lead against the Red Raiders (23-11), exploiting a size advantage inside to dominate the backboards and making 11 3-pointers on the way to leading 49-25 at halftime.<\/p>\n

\"Ncaa<\/a><\/p>\n

Texas Tech forward LeJuan Watts goes to the basket against Alabama forward Aiden Sherrell during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/John Raoux)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Texas Tech, which reached the Elite Eight a year ago, didn\u2019t get closer than 18 the rest of the way. Alabama, two years removed from a Final Four run, led by 34 in the second half.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the fourth straight Sweet 16 we\u2019ve been to, these guys know what it takes,\u201d Alabama coach Nat Oats said. \u201cRight out of the gate \u2026 we were ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both teams entered March Madness short-handed. The Red Raiders were playing without injured All-American JT Toppin, who tore the ACL in his right knee last month, and Alabama played without star guard Aden Holloway, who was suspended indefinitely after being arrested on a felony drug charge<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n

Texas Tech, which had a school-record four wins over top-10-teams this season, struggled down the stretch after losing Toppin and simply had no answers for Alabama\u2019s suffocating defense or the Crimson Tide\u2019 speed.<\/p>\n

The Red Raiders shot just 34.4% from the field, including 4 of 25 on 3-point attempts, and were outrebounded 47-35, with Alabama collecting 12 offensive rebounds alone in the first half.<\/p>\n

\"Ncaa<\/a><\/p>\n

Texas Tech guard Jaylen Petty (11) battles with Alabama guard Labaron Philon (0) for a loose ball during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/Chris O\u2019Meara)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Ncaa<\/a><\/p>\n

Texas Tech guard Jaylen Petty, left, moves the ball around Alabama forward London Jemison during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/John Raoux)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Alabama only got nine points from Labaron Philon, Jr. after its leading scorer had 29 in a first-round win over Hofstra. But with Wrightsell making six 3-pointers and Mallette finishing with five, Alabama didn\u2019t need any more scoring. Philon did lead his team with 12 assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came out there with an energy and effort that wasn\u2019t matched (by Texas Tech). We played for each other. We played to move on, but we also played one possession at a time,\u201d Wrightsell said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t take it for granted. \u2026 It was never looking at the bigger picture, never looking at the score.\u201d<\/p>\n

LeJuan Watts led Texas Tech with 16 points. Donovan Atwell had 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a tough night for our team,\u201d Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland said. \u201cAlabama was awesome. They were so much more aggressive on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one is on me. I didn\u2019t have us ready to go,\u201d McCasland added. \u201cWe ran into a team that was more determined, that was tougher than we were, and that\u2019s always our standard for winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parade of 3s<\/h4>\n

The teams combined to shoot 67 3-pointers, with Alabama going 19 for 42 and Texas Tech finishing 4 of 25.<\/p>\n

Familiar territory<\/h4>\n

Alabama advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 12th time, fifth under Oats. Texas Tech made it out of the first weekend of the tournament each of the past two years under McCasland.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP March Madness bracket: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ncaa-mens-bracket<\/a> and coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/march-madness<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here<\/strong><\/a> for local news.<\/em>\t<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… #47;John Raoux) Texas Tech<\/span>, which reached the Elite Eight a … drug charge\u00c2\u00a0last week. Texas Tech<\/span>, which had a school-record … in the first half. \u00c2\u00a0 Texas Tech<\/span> guard Jaylen Petty (11) battles … score.\u00e2\u0080\u009d LeJuan Watts led Texas Tech<\/span> with 16 points. Donovan Atwell …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132383\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}