It is not easy to categorize the St. Mary's Gaels. They are a bit of a throwback to an era with a more deliberate pace; certainly when compared to the torrid pace of Alabama Basketball. The Gaels are a good but not great offensive team; while being one of the top defensive teams.
Straight comparisons of roster talent give Alabama a clear edge; especially in bench depth if Grant Nelson is not significantly hampered by injury.
The Gaels are not intimidated by playing the Crimson Tide. Starting St. Mary's big man, Mitchell Saxen said, "It's not David versus Goliath for us." Before the First Round game in Cleveland, Saxen said, "We've been here before. We know that these are going to be really tough games. But they're very, very winnable."
One reason Saxen can be so confident is his 6'11", 250 lb. body, backed up by two 7'1" players will outsize the Crimson Tide. With their size, the Gaels are a good rebounding team, averaging 13.9 offensive rebounds per game to 12.7 for the Crimson Tide. St. Mary's has 29 wins, including two regular season wins over Gonzaga. Computer models rate the Gaels as one of the best defensive teams in college basketball.
Nate Oats intends to counter the Gael's slow pace with what Alabama does best, "The emphasis is going to be on rebounding. Some teams will be afraid to get in a running match with us...but they're not. They send their three, four and five every single time, pretty much no matter what. So if we can defensive rebound, we can get some run-outs on these guys. So it's not as if we've got to prepare. We just got to rebound, and we know it." Alabama will not waver from a Nate Oats mandate of getting off a good shot attempt within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock.
St. Mary's has a simplified offensive approach, but it is effective. Oats added, "They're not complicated in that they don't run 50 different sets. They're complicated in that they're extremely good, and it's hard to take them out of what they do. So they're simplified, but good at what they do, and it's going to take some toughness."
Key numbers favor the Alabama Crimson Tide
Many numbers favor the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama averages more than 13 more possessions per game than St. Mary's. At 56.5% to 50.8% Alabama has the higher effective field goal percentage. Alabama averages 25.8 free throw attempts per game to 18.4 for St. Mary's. The Crimson Tide also shoots better at the line; 71.5% to 69.4%.
As Oats said about not playing soft, "it's going to take some toughness." If Alabama has it, the Crimson Tide will advance to the Sweet 16.
Note: Stats provided by ncaa.com