Brandon Miller's college career ended with a forgettable performance on Friday night.
Like the rest of Alabama's offense, Miller couldn't find a rhythm against San Diego State's perplexing defense. The SEC Player of the Year scored nine points and shot just 3 of 19 from the field. Miller was 1 of 10 from 3-point range, including a bad miss when Alabama had a chance to get right back in the game in the closing minute.
Miller racked up 11 rebounds, but only two were on the offensive glass. He also committed six turnovers in the loss.
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Friday's defeat marked one of Miller's least efficient performances in an otherwise stellar freshman season. Only two games in which Miller didn't make a shot came in below Friday's dud.
One of those games came in the first round of this tournament against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Alabama was easily able to survive his struggles in that matchup. At this stage of the tournament, the Tide were doomed.
For quite possibly the final time in an Alabama uniform, Brandon Miller exists the floor.
— Johnny Congdon (@congdonsation) March 25, 2023
Alabama falls to San Diego State 71-64 in the Sweet 16. @abc3340 pic.twitter.com/lhZWvzjOue
Miller is projected to be a top-10 pick in June's NBA Draft, pending teams' evaluation of his character following his alleged connection to a homicide in January, but his NCAA Tournament run won't be remembered well.
Miller shot a combined 8 of 41 (19.5 percent) across three tournament games. Alabama was the No. 1 overall seed due in part to its depth, but Miller was the beating heart of Nate Oats' offense all season. Alabama went 13-1 when Miller scored at least 20 points.
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Miller scored under 10 points in only three games this season: Two in the NCAA Tournament, and one on the road against Houston in December.
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Alabama was hoping to return to Houston next week and play for a national championship. There was little chance of that happening without Miller playing like the premier player he was throughout the regular season.
Now, the Crimson Tide are headed home, while Miller will almost certainly move on from Tuscaloosa and face some uncomfortable questions before finding an NBA home in June.