Alabama basketball found out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday. The Crimson Tide will be a No. 4 seed in the Big Dance.
Alabama (21-11, 13-5 SEC) will play in the West region, facing off against 13-seeded Charleston in Spokane, Washington. The Cougars (27-7, 15-3 CAA) won the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament title. The teams will face off at 6:35 p.m. CT, Friday in Spokane. The game can be seen on truTV.
The Crimson Tide is dancing for a fourth straight season under coach Nate Oats, who signed an extension Friday. Last season Alabama was the No. 1 overall seed and lost to San Diego State in the Sweet 16. The Crimson Tide currently has the second-longest streak of making the Big Dance in school history since it made five tournaments from 2002-2006.
Alabama will join its in-state rival Auburn in Spokane. The Tigers got the No. 4 seed in the East region and will take on Yale. While it's not the most favorable draw for the Crimson Tide location-wise, Alabama coach Nate Oats put a positive spin on it.
"We've had good good runs out west, " Oats said. "We've got a long flight out to Spokane. Charleston's got a longer flight."
Alabama will have all hands on deck in preparation for the matchup. Oats said assistant coach Austin Claunch will remain with the Crimson Tide during the tournament. It was announced Saturday that Claunch will depart Alabama to take the head coaching job at UTSA.
Having his full staff available will be a huge boost as Oats and Company quickly look to figure out how to defeat its first opponent in the Big Dance. While Oats said he doesn't yet know too much about Charleston, he did say the Cougars and Crimson Tide share some tendencies.
"Coach [Pat] Kelsey is one of the better up-and-coming young head coaches," Oats said. "They play a pretty modern style of basketball, pretty similar to us to be honest with you. Their offense is top 60 in the country. Their pace of play is top 50. Their 3-point rate is top 20. They're playing fast, spreading it out, taking a lot of threes."
Charleston's offensive tendencies have it riding a 12-game win streak into the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars and Crimson Tide's offense could turn Friday's contest into a 3-point barrage. Charleston and Alabama rank No. 3 and No. 4 respectively in 3-point attempts per game. The Cougars score 80.5 points per game, which ranks No. 35 in the country and grab 39.7 rebounds per contest, the 20th-best mark in Division I.
The Cougars will put pressure on a Crimson Tide defense that has faltered against quality opposition. Its lack of tenacity on defense led to a disappointing end to SEC play, culminating in a loss to Florida in the quarterfinal stage of the SEC Tournament. On Sunday, Oats referenced some of Alabama's stronger moments on defense in nonconference play and said his team needs to decide how long it wants to be playing in the Big Dance.
"When we've been locked in and giving our best effort we've been alright," Oats said. "Maybe not top three, but not where we are. We've got to do it for two straight games, 40 minutes a game. We do it for two straight games at 40 minutes a game we'll be playing in L.A. the following weekend."
While the Crimson Tide was unable to create much positive momentum on the court ahead of the Big Dance, Oats said Alabama's early SEC Tournament except could be a blessing in disguise. The Crimson Tide hasn't been fully healthy since its game against Texas A&M on Feb. 17. Oats said he also liked the fact that Alabama doesn't have to play until Friday.
"We had everybody available last game, but it's almost like you're knocking the rust off a little bit with some of the guys that haven't been in as much," Oats said. "It's a new season. A lot of teams are done. There's not that many teams left playing meaningful games. We're treating it like it's a whole new season and we're playing a really good team."
Should the Crimson Tide put together a solid defensive performance and take down Charleston on Friday, it will face the winner between No. 5 seed Saint Mary's and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon in Spokane. The Gaels won the West Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles, while the Lopes won both honors in the Western Athletic Conference.
