This is an opinion column.

Newark is a gritty place.

Where its neighbor across the Hudson gets all the glamour, hard work is done across the river on the Jersey side.

Take note, Alabama. As you arrive in the land of refineries, that smell is … well, don’t worry about the smell.

It’s about the job.

And it could be one of those workmanlike assignments Thursday night as the Crimson Tide kicks off Sweet 16 play against BYU.

The 6:09 p.m. CT tip in the Prudential Center pairs two of the best offensive teams in the nation. In terms of adjusted efficiency, these are two of the top 10 — Alabama at No. 4 followed by BYU at No. 9.

Nerdy stuff, yes, but the numbers tell an interesting story.

The Cougars (26-9) score at almost the same clip (81.2 points per game) as the Crimson Tide (90.8 per game to lead the nation).

But it’s how they score that differs.

For a while now, Alabama has been known as a team that lives and dies by the 3-pointer. In the past, that may have been true.

Two years ago, it had the nation’s 36th-highest percentage of scoring come from 3s.

Last season’s Final Four team? It was 31st.

This year, it is 114th, according to KenPom.com.

By comparison, BYU gets 39.3% of its points from the perimeter—the 18th most. T was 12-for-26 (46.2%) in the 91-89 win over Wisconsin in the Round of 32.

That’s closer to live/die range.

Like its last loss, a 74-54 pounding from No. 1 seed Houston when the Cougars made just 6 of 28 shots from deep. That’s 21.4%.

BYU lost six of the bottom 10 3-point shooting percentage games of the season.

Alabama lost just three of its bottom 10.

And that’s good news since it made just 13 of 38 attempts (34.1%) in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

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That was buoyed by a 65.8 shooting percentage (50 of 76) inside the arc in wins over Robert Morris and St. Mary’s.

These were games when Clifford Omoruyi made his first 13 shots as the center, who knows New Jersey well, feasted. The Rutgers transfer missed just six shots in his last five games as Alabama pounded the paint with lobs to the 6-foot-11 presence.

If 3-point shooters like Mark Sears continue to struggle outside, this could be another blue-collar game in the paint. Unlike in years past, Alabama’s got the balance to withstand some of the outside shooting slumps.

Like the 2023 Sweet 16 when a 3-for-27 night against San Diego State contributed to the 71-64 loss. The Tide shot just 45.5% (20-for-44) inside the arc that night.

This year, Alabama’s No. 3 nationally with a 60.0% success rate shooting 2s.

BYU is No. 6 there (58.4%) but it takes fewer as it ranks 319th in 2-point scoring percentage.

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Who plays the best defense is another factor worth noting here.

Alabama brings a much-improved group back to the Sweet 16 with a defensive efficiency rating that ranks 29th (compared to 111th last year).

BYU is 72nd.

Opponents shoot the ball well from the perimeter against the Cougars, so Sears might have daylight to break out if his 16-for-63 slide over the last six games. This is an All-American who made 43.6% of his 3s last year but is down to 32.9%. His season-long 3-point shooting percentage dropped nearly three points in the six-game span in which he made just 25.3%.

Sears made half of his 18 shots from around the rim in the first two games of the tournament and shoots 84.9% from the foul line.

That’s also key as Alabama arrives as the fourth-most fouled teams in the nation (20.7 per game). That lead to an average of 25.6 foul shots a game — No. 6 most in the nation.

The Crimson Tide lost just one of its top 13 games in terms of free-throw shooting percentage and just one of the 11 in which it shot more than 30 foul shots.

You don’t get to the free-throw line living by the 3-point shot.

Alabama gets there by playing in the paint.

By doing it the gritty way.

Down the boardwalk, they’re getting ready for a fight.

Alabama should be, too.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.