Alabama basketball needed to look in the mirror over the last week and summon a level of defense, toughness and poise that it hadn't shown either toward the end of the regular season or in its one-and-done exit from the SEC Tournament. But with a full week of preparation to do so in advance of its March Madness date with Charleston in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, it found something else in the mirror, too: an opponent that looked just like itself.

In drawing the Cougars in the first round, the Crimson Tide was fortunate; and conversely, Charleston was quite unfortunate to cross paths with a program that wanted to win an awful lot like UA coach Nate Oats did, with a high-tempo attack and plenty of 3-pointers.

This time, Charleston got the kind of shootout it couldn't handle.

Alabama advanced to Sunday's second-round action with a 109-96 win, racing ahead with a 51-point first half and outlasting a team that couldn't keep pace even at the pace it wanted.

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Oats, for his part, recognized this from the moment the matchup was set.

Within minutes of the Selection Sunday announcement that the Crimson Tide had drawn the Cougars, Oats made mention of the similarities between the two offenses in speaking with reporters. This was not going to be the kind of preparation that would demand that Alabama's scout team change its stripes. It would not be the kind of opponent that could expose UA in the way that bigger, more physical teams had in previous losses.

And because of that, it would not be Charleston's night.

"Charleston likes to play similar to us, two teams that want to run, so it was a heavy possession game, and so that's why you end up with the points you end up with," Oats said after the game.

The Crimson Tide's level of athleticism was more than a notch above its opponent's at pretty much every position on the floor. And when a less athletic team can't neutralize a more athletic one with a different style or some other equalizer, the outcome isn't hard to foresee. UA broke the school record for points in an NCAA Tournament game, and the SEC record for 100-point games in a season with its 10th.

Oats was more than happy to meet the moment with the highest of tempos from the opening tip, choosing to start a four-guard lineup around center Grant Nelson. It was sort of the shooting-fest Alabama can win on any given night against much tougher competition, and might soon have to. Senior Mark Sears blistered the Cougars for 30 points on red-hot shooting, with Latrell Wrightsell adding 17 despite missing a chunk of the first half due to a bloodied nose.

In the end, it was Charleston's nose that was bloodied far worse.

And with a week to look in the mirror, Alabama saw it coming.

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball gave Charleston the March Madness shootout it didn't want