NEWARK, N.J. - Late in the first half against Alabama, BYU freshman Egor Demin showed off his footwork for his second bucket of the game.
Off of a hop step, Demin faked the fadeaway before stepping past the defender for an easy layup.
The shot fake sent Alabama's Mouhamed Dioubate into the air.
In the first half, Demin had four points and two assists. He struggled from deep, missing both of his two attempts, but that was a theme for all of the Cougars.
Other than Trevin Knell, who shot 1/3 from deep, no other BYU player was able to find the range.
The Cougars made up for the cold shooting by taking it inside and dominating the points in the paint battle.
However, Alabama made 12 of their 27 attempts from long range before the break. This led to them holding on to a lead down the stretch of the opening half.
BYU Basketball is playing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years, and the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide stands between them and an appearance in the Elite 8.
The Cougars come off of back-to-back close games in the opening rounds at Ball Arena in Denver. They opened their run with an 80-71 victory over the VCU Rams and followed that with a narrow two-point victory over the Wisconsin Badgers to keep the dance alive.
Alabama also won their first-round matchup by just nine points, but they built up their confidence a bit by smacking Saint Mary's, 80-66, in the Round of 32.
The Crimson Tide are favored going into the matchup, but few teams in college basketball have been playing better than BYU in March.
The Cougars received a No. 6 seed in the East Region and will continue their "Big Dance" in Newark on Thursday against the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide.
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