Without its leading man at full strength, the show still went on in March Madness.

No. 1 Alabama advanced to the Sweet 16 after beating an eight-seed Maryland team for the second time in three years. In a battle of defense-first squads, Alabama’s length bought the offense time to pull away for a 73-51 final.

For most of Saturday night’s second-round matchup, the Terrapins played the style of game it wanted. Plenty of fouls limited fastbreak sequences and Maryland showed an ability to create space in its halfcourt offense. Alabama eventually broke the underdogs down, though, and a 19-point showing from Brandon Miller sparked another NCAA Tournament weekend in Louisville.

How many teams can win when not playing their best basketball? What about prevailing with its projected top-three NBA Draft on a nagging groin? With a pair of No. 1 seeds out by the 9:02 p.m. local tipoff in Legacy Arena, an ailing Alabama would have plenty of reasonable excuses for an early exit. But this group has proven all year it’s different, and with two solid performances in Birmingham, Alabama has potentially the easiest route to a Final Four it could’ve wished.

The game started with a slow start from the Tide, something that’s been more common this month than coach Nate Oats would probably prefer. It turned the ball over on two early possessions while Maryland scored on its initial four trips down the floor. Maryland big Julian Reese caused issues for Alabama early, contesting attempts near the rim.

The pace quicked once Reese sat three minutes in with two fouls, then once again when he picked up his third foul with 8:50 left in the opening half. With the extra room, Charles Bediako tied the score at 12 apiece with a two-handed dunk. Mark Sears followed up with a shot-clock-beating turnaround jumper for Alabama’s first lead.

Then Miller, who was grimacing after jogging down the court at times, made his first shot of the tournament with a finish over a defender. Miller played a season-low 19 minutes against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and was limited in practice in the lead-up. But he looked fine with the ball in his hands, spinning into space while backing down Jahmir Young on a one-on-one in the post and drawing a Maryland timeout after he scored.

Oats correctly predicted the “battle of tempo” that an overwhelming pro-Alabama crowd viewed. The No. 1 seed was at its best when playing fast and it didn’t give red jerseys a chance to lock in on defense, like Nimari Burnett when he drew a foul on a breakaway 3-pointer in front of the visitor’s bench.

Meanwhile, the Tide’s defense forced another opponent into a multi-minute scoreless stretch near the end of a half. The Terrapins went on a 2-for-16 stretch as the Tide built a five-point lead which ballooned to double-digits after the break.

Alabama continued to have varying success inside the paint. It went 10-for-24 on layups overall but drew a fourth foul on Reese by the midway point of the half. No matter who was on the court for Maryland, however, Miller stayed aggressive. Each of his two 3-pointers came in the second half. His first was from a few feet behind the wing and his second came off an arena-shaking block off the backboard.

The Terrapins’ offense ranged from inefficient to hapless. Maryland converted 12 of its 22 layups, losing the rebounding battle 44 to 32 while scrambling for momentum in the second half. Maryland tried a zone defense, then a full-court press with seven minutes remaining. Neither worked as Miller still drove inside and Jahvon Quinerly sunk a corner 3-pointer.

Alabama’s 11 turnovers, seven of which came in the first half, delayed the blowout and the chance for both benches to empty. Oats deployed five substitutes before garbage time but only two, Burnett and Noah Gurley, recorded more than 10 minutes.

The Tide’s starters scored 62 points and even though its 39.7% team field goal rate was its lowest since its last loss (it shot 33.8% on March 4 against Texas A&M), a weekend of upsets stayed out from Legacy Arena and the Tide kept dancing.

This post will be updated.