Alabama avoided being on the wrong side of history. Thirty-three teams had knocked off a four-seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. No. 13 Charleston had the make-up and matchup potential to give the Crimson Tide some issues, just like Yale had given Auburn half an hour before UA’s tip-off.

But after Nate Oats said a week between games could be an advantage, Alabama proved their coach right in an opening-round blowout. The four-seeded Tide (23-11) stomped No. 13 Charleston (27-8), 109-96, in Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.

Alabama reached double-digit 3-pointers, thanks to five from Latrell Wrightsell Jr., for the first time since Feb. 28 at Ole Miss. UA also set its school program record for points in an NCAA Tournament game (97 against Xavier in 1986).

The Tide will play the winner of No. 5 St. Mary’s and No. 12 Grand Canyon on Sunday with a trip to Los Angeles on the line.

Here are our takeaways from the big win.

Alabama rides strong 1st half, takes advantage of Charleston’s cold spell

The Cougars kept it competitive, if only briefly, in the opening frame thanks to offensive rebounding. CofC turned the game’s first seven into 13 second-chance points. That was about the only thing that went the underdogs’ way. After building a six-point lead that led to some frustration on the Tide bench, Alabama answered with four 3-pointers and a 36-15 run.

Charleston, a 34.5% 3-point shooting team, started two for 15 from range as the Tide pressured ball-handlers to beat them off the dribble. The Cougars’ first-half shooting rate was 20 percent worse (33.3%) than Alabama’s 55.2%, which would’ve been the lowest field-goal rate Alabama had allowed in a single game since Jan. 9 against South Carolina.

Sears (more on him shortly) was dominant and Wrightsell Jr. added 17 points despite missing a chunk of the frame with a bloody nose. The Tide walked off the court at the intermission with a 51-34 lead and a mosh around Nick Pringle and Jarin Stevenson, who had stuffed a shot attempt in the waning seconds.

Oats has brought an opponent’s points scored per possession to gauge defensive efficiency all year. Charleston had a 1.16 rate.

Stars show out in March and Mark Sears got the memo

Charleston players said Thursday they knew Alabama’s Second-Team All-American guard would be impossible to keep off the board completely. Sears was just too good, a walking 20-points. The goal was to make him work for every bucket. Instead, Sears scored 20 points before the break.

In the first half, Sears ended a two-minute scoreless run for Alabama with a pair of free throws. He finished a three-minute stretch without a field goal with a deep 3-ball with a hand in his face. He was the engine behind a 7-0 run with the Tide trailing, then a 10-0 stretch to establish a comfortable lead. Sears didn’t leave the court for the first 12 minutes of the game, and when he did, he looked surprised before realizing Oats was trying to sneak a rest in before a media timeout.

He finished with 30 points and walked off to a small ovation from the team bench as he checked out of the contest with 6:15 remaining, the Tide up by 30.

Sears became the fifth Alabama player to score at least 30 points in an NCAA Tournament game, per UA Athletics.

Meanwhile, Charleston’s two best players, Reyne Smith and Ante Brzovic, entered averaging nearly 25 points combined and settled for 17 points. Brzovic said that Alabama’s defense, which has struggled against bigs all year, offered opportunities. He missed five of his first seven shot attempts.

Alabama gives the state (and the SEC) hope after rough start to NCAA Tournament

The NCAA selection committee’s sense of humor sent all four teams from Alabama out west, three of which going to Spokane, Washington (call it payback for Auburn and the Tide getting to stay in Birmingham a year ago). It nearly yielded quick exits for all: Samford and UAB dropped heartbreakers to Kansas and San Diego State, respectively; The Tigers were shocked by a late collapse against Yale.

That energy had filtered out of the arena as the stands emptied and the court was cleaned for the second session of games. When action resumed, however, the team favored by 10 points played like it. Alabama forced Charleston into tough shots, never looked too pressured on offense and the bench delivered a spark.

Mouhamed Dioubate triggered Alabama’s initial run, disrupting passes and deflecting one to himself for an easy dunk. He finished with five points, three rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes, even running as the team’s lone big in the four-guard lineup on some possessions.

Southeastern Conference teams made the league a gauntlet through the regular season and in Nashville. It didn’t fare much better in the big dance. Tournament champion Auburn was one-and-done. Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky and Mississippi State each lost. Tennessee, Texas A&M and now Alabama will try to represent the conference in the Sweet 16.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].