LOS ANGELES — The buzzer blared, and Adam Bauman knew immediately what to do next.
He didn't have to think once Alabama basketball officially advanced to the Final Four. Bauman just acted.
"The first thing I wanted to do was hug coach (Nate Oats)," Bauman told The Tuscaloosa News. "We've been together a long time. Man, lots of emotion. I don't even know what went through my head. A lot of relief."
Bauman, the Crimson Tide's director of scouting and analytics, has worked with Oats at UA and Buffalo for a total of nine years. He has seen all the losses and the wins. The lows and the championships.
Bauman has been right there with Oats at his side as Oats brought his system to college basketball. Bauman was there with Oats when onlookers questioned whether Alabama's style of fast-paced, analytically-informed basketball could win in late March. Bauman was there when Oats and the Crimson Tide proved Saturday it could.
That's why Bauman knew he had to hug Oats once the game ended. Then other coaches and staffers joined in, all taking part in one big group embrace as No. 4 seed Alabama beat No. 6 seed Clemson 89-82 to win the West region and advance to the Crimson Tide's first Final Four.
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"I know there's been a lot of talk whether our style of play could make it to a Final Four, whether it would win in the postseason," Bauman said. "There's no doubt in my mind that we can. We can win more. There's no doubt in my mind. We believe strongly in what we do."
And now the rest of the college basketball world will too, if it doesn't already.
The Crimson Tide beat Clemson while attempting 36 3-pointers. Alabama made 16 of them, which doesn't sound like many, but that's 48 points off triples alone. The second half was especially productive from beyond the arc, with Alabama hitting 10 of 15 attempts.
"Ten of 15 in the second half ain't bad," Oats said. "I think you can win playing this way. They win playing this way in the NBA. We just proved you can make a Final Four run."
The Alabama offensive is much more than attempting a lot of triples, though. The 3-pointers are a byproduct of the Crimson Tide trying to get layups. The shots Alabama wants to take are, in this order: free throws, layups and 3-pointers. Why? Because those are most efficient.
"We're not trying to shoot 50 threes," Oats said. "We're trying to take the most efficient shots we can."
Which is why Oats was happy that Alabama only took two non-rim two-pointers vs. the Tigers. And the Crimson Tide attempted 62 field goals over the course of the game.
The Alabama system worked against Clemson, as it worked against No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon and No. 13 seed Charleston. The Crimson Tide has beaten a variety of teams with different styles and skillsets to go on this run in March Madness.
Over his previous four seasons at Alabama, Oats had won four SEC championships. He had produced a handful of NBA Draft picks. He had made the NCAA Tournament in all but one year, the first, when the tournament didn't even happen because of COVID-19. But he had never made it past the Sweet 16. Despite all the success, the lack thereof in late March loomed. Could this system actually get it done in late March?
Saturday in Los Angeles provided that answer.
"It's amazing," said Christian Pino, UA director of player development. "We believe in what we do, and we believe in our system and we trust our system. You might have heard this before, but let all the naysayers know."
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter .
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Final Four: Nate Oats' system works in March. Alabama let naysayers know
