PITTSBURGH (AP) – Collin Sexton scored 21 of his team-high 24 points after halftime to lead Alabama to an 86-83 victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday night for the Crimson Tide’s first NCAA Tournament win in a dozen years.
John Petty kept ninth-seeded Alabama (20-15) in it while Sexton struggled during a sluggish opening half and finished with 20 points while shooting 6 of 8 on 3-pointers. Sexton found a rhythm in the second half, including a handful of big shots over the final five minutes to give the Crimson Tide a bit of breathing room in a game that featured 10 lead changes, with no team ever being up by more than seven points.
Alabama will face top-seeded Villanova in the East Region’s second round on Saturday. The Wildcats had little trouble dispatching Radford earlier Thursday.
Things weren’t nearly as easy for the Crimson Tide, who needed their freshman backcourt mates and a serious uptick in defensive intensity in the late going to advance to the second round for the first time since 2006.
Sexton and Petty were in elementary school back then. Now they’re the centerpiece of coach Avery Johnson’s dynamic attack with the Crimson Tide. Alabama shot 61 percent (14 of 23) from the floor in the second half, including a 17-footer from Sexton that hit the back of the rim and dropped in to put the Crimson Tide up 70-64 with 5:11 to play.