LOS ANGELES — Alabama coach Nate Oats threw two fists into the air before the final buzzer sounded. And then, the mosh pit began.

Alabama, for the first time in program history, is headed to the Final Four.

The No. 4 Crimson Tide outlasted No. 6 Clemson 89-82 on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena, with Oats — in only his fifth season as head coach — having officially lifted the tide of what should be expected from Alabama men’s basketball. Oats has made four straight NCAA Tournaments and two previous Sweet 16s, won two SEC regular-season and tournament championships … but none of it touches what his current squad has accomplished. By upsetting No. 1 North Carolina in the Sweet 16, and then beating Clemson in a rematch from late November, Alabama will officially face No. 1 Connecticut in Phoenix next Saturday.

Clemson, on the other hand, is left searching for its first Final Four appearance. These Tigers still made program history in their own right, with Clemson’s second-ever Elite Eight appearance, but ultimately fell short against the No. 3 offense in the nation.

And it was that offense — especially in the second half — which propelled Alabama to this point. The Crimson Tide entered Saturday as a top-25 3-point shooting team in the nation, but struggled early; Oats’ team went 1-for-13 from deep to start the game, falling into an early 13-point hole against Brad Brownell’s Tigers. Mark Sears, Bama’s All-American guard, especially struggled, going 0-for-7 early on and 0-for-4. He didn’t make his first basket until almost 16 minutes of game time had elapsed.

But eventually, the law of averages took over, and for as bad as Alabama had been early on, it was that hot from 3 over the final eight minutes before the half. The Tide — spurred by a career-high 19 points from reclassified freshman forward Jarin Stevenson — made four of six threes in one short burst to not only close the deficit but retake a three-point lead entering the half.

And after intermission? Well, Clemson simply could not compete with Alabama’s hyper-efficient, 3-point-heavy offense. The Crimson Tide shot 66.7 percent from 3 in the second half — better than Clemson shot overall — and made backbreaking triple after backbreaking triple. Even when Clemson sharpshooter Joe Girard made consecutive 3s to seemingly swing the momentum back in Clemson’s favor, Alabama had an answer: a literal logo 3 from Sears, who ran back down the court with his tongue out. Clemson was forced to call timeout, and never got it fully back from there.

Sears was, deservedly, named Most Outstanding Player of the West region. He finished with a team-high 23 points and singlehandedly made almost as many 3s (7) as Clemson’s entire team.

“BIG SHOT MARK IN THE HOUSE”

MARK SEARS IS CLUTCH ❄️#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/AFOkjNoehu

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 31, 2024

Clemson tried keeping pace by getting to the free-throw line — the Tigers entered as the 10th-best free-throw shooting team in America — but uncharacteristically missed half of its 16 attempts. Those eight missed points, in a seven-point loss, will haunt Brad Brownell and his players for a long, long time.

But for Alabama? They were ecstasy.

“Roll Tide!” Oats screamed from the postgame dais, red and white confetti flying around him. And roll Alabama did.

(Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)