Sunday night’s beatdown that the Alabama Crimson Tide handed the Texas Tech Red Raiders was a clear indication of how special this team can be.

Alabama dominated the fifth-seed Texas Tech by the score of 90-65, and now it heads to its fourth consecutive Sweet 16 to take on the top-seeded Michigan Wolverines.

It’s a position that many felt unsure the Tide could reach, given not just their inconsistencies throughout the season, but the sudden loss of star guard Aden Holloway, who’s currently under investigation after a drug-related arrest a week before the NCAA Tournament.

However, Friday’s win against Hofstra proved that they demand to be taken seriously.

And Sunday’s win against Texas Tech proved their desire to be feared.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s dominating win on Sunday night.

My goodness.

I found myself saying those two words every five minutes, because Alabama’s incessant desire to grab offensive rebounds are what turned this game from an even playing field, to an AAU team playing a CYO team.

It took a little bit for the Crimson Tide to get going with their shot-making, but their ability to create second, third, fourth, sometimes fifth chances are what helped get them into a rhythm.

Coming into this game, the Tide were ranked 63rd in the country, averaging 10.8 offensive rebounds per game. 

However, Alabama also entered this game 263rd in extra scoring chances per game which had proven to be a major catalyst in dropping a few games this season.

Last night? The Tide out-boarded the Red Raiders on the offensive glass 18-14, and notched 12 second-chance points.

It was textbook basketball backed by pure effort. Anytime the ball hit the rim, the Tide were a step or two quicker than Texas Tech and wrote this game off before halftime even hit.

Graduate combo guard Houston Mallette made his presence felt in this game.

Giving the Tide 25 minutes off the bench, Mallette drained five 3-pointers out of seven tries, with 15 points and eight rebounds.

It’s been a grind for Mallette to get going this season. His perimeter jumpshot was the one thing that he’d always lean on, but throughout the season, his 3-pointers only fell through 34% of the time.

Outside of shooting, Mallette has always been a “meat and potatoes” type of guy. He’s the one who will throw his body around the court to dive for loose balls, be an aggravator on defense, or the one to get the team hyped.

But this time, he was all of that, and his shot was falling. So much so, that he was awarded the team's "Hard Hat" which is given to the player who racks up the most "blue collar points" according to head coach Nate Oats.

Mallette was expected to have a bigger role on this team when the season began, but a shooting slump from early January until last night solidified his role as just a role player.

A role that he embraces with open arms.

Earlier this season, he was asked why he wears the number 95, and his answer was clear:

“You only have the ball 5% of the game. How do you impact it the other 95% of the time.” 

Even though Holloway didn’t suit up, Latrell Wrightsell stepped up in a massive way.

Wrightsell, who Oats has often trusted, had dealt with injury issues for the better part of the two seasons prior to this one. But last night proved exactly why Oats had that trust in Wrightsell.

He ended up draining six of nine 3-pointers for 24 points as well as two steals.

Meanwhile superstar guard LaBaron Philon unsurprisingly left viewers in awe.

No, he didn’t light up the scoreboard like he did against Hofstra. His shot surprisingly wasn’t falling, scoring nine points for the game.

He decided to make his impact felt in other ways, by distributing the ball, and getting it into the hot hands of his teammates.

Philon ended the game with 12 assists, the first time in his college career where he recorded over 10 assists in a game.

Alabama takes on Michigan on Friday, March 27 at 6:35 p.m. CT on TBS in what will ultimately be its toughest opponent since the Tide fell to Arizona by 21 points on December 13.

Friday gives the Tide the chance to not just right those wrongs, but take themselves one step closer to a National Championship

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