In the past four seasons, no NCAA Division I men’s basketball team has made more 3-pointers, nor launched more shots from behind the arc, than Alabama.
Teams might struggle to match the Tide’s sheer volume heading into March Madness, but they’re leaning into those long-distance shots, too.
“Finding efficient shots is at the top of what we do,” Oats said recently. “It’s at the top of what everybody in the NBA is looking at is generating efficient shots. And if you’re not thinking about how to get open catch-and-shoot 3s, I don’t think you’re thinking about creating efficient shots.”
This marks the 40th season with the 3-pointer fully integrated into college basketball, an advancement that has transformed the sport since its 1986-87 introduction. Years of pounding the ball inside to big men have given way to skilled players stretching defenses to create space for shooters to take those matchup-tilting shots.
In the NCAA tournament, the 3 is an equalizer capable of igniting seismic upsets like Middle Tennessee State University’s takedown of Michigan State in 2016 and the first-ever 16-versus-1 seeding upset with UMBC beating Virginia in 2018. Going cold can just as easily mean an abrupt end to the season.