Nick Saban's daughter Kristen drops her reaction to Alabama's thumping 72-61 win in second round of 2024 March Madness: "Grand Canyon looks boring"

The Alabama Crimson Tide booked their place in the Sweet 16 on Sunday night with a hard-fought 72-61 win against the Grand Canyon Antelopes in a March Madness second-round clash.

It will be the Crimson Tide's third Sweet 16 appearance in the last four years on the back of a sizzling performance by guard Mark Sears, who registered 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Kristen Saban, former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban's sports-loving daughter, had a cheeky response to the win on X (formerly Twitter).

"The Grand Canyon looks boring," she tweeted.

Alabama's pedigree wins out

The Alabama versus Grand Canyon game was a close run for most of the encounter, with the Tide unable to pull away from the stubborn Antelopes, who held a 58-57 lead with 5:25 remaining on the clock.

Grand Canyon's first-round win against St. Mary's in the NCAA tournament was its first-ever win. The Antelopes' inexperience did not show against their illustrious opponents as they made the game against Bama a physical one.

After holding that lead with 5:25 remaining, they were blitzed 15-3 by Alabama down the stretch to close out the game with a whimper.

TNT analyst Charles Barkley was not convinced that the Tide won the game due to their brilliance. He placed the blame squarely on Grand Canyon's shoulders for how they played in the second half.

“Congratulations to Alabama University, it’s a great school. Nate Oats does a great job. But I’m telling you something. There was some of the worst basketball decisions that you’re ever gonna see a college team make out there,” Barkley said.

The Antelopes struggled with their shooting all game and shot 2-for-20 from beyond the arc and 18-for-56 from the field while still running Bama close.

Meanwhile, Coach Nate Oats' team was not much better, going 8-for-31 from deep and 24-for-65 from the floor.

Barkley was unforgiving in his analysis of both teams' offensive approaches, clearly hinting that with a better strategy, the Tide would have been in trouble.

“Grand Canyon, that was the dumbest game of basketball I think I’ve ever seen,” said Barkley. “Everybody went one-on-one. They missed. How many free throws? I’m not sure what they were doing offensively. I don’t think they ran a play the entire 2nd half.

“That was some of the dumbest college basketball I’ve ever seen [played by] grown college men. [Mark] Sears was the only guy who played with complete composure the entire game."

The Tide will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels next, knowing that they cannot afford to allow the lapses in offense that they showed against the Grand Canyon Antelopes.