Alabama gets chance at revenge, will face Texas A&M in SEC Tournament final
Alabama didn’t provide any bulletin-board material after advancing to the final of the SEC Tournament on Saturday. Following its 72-61 semifinal win over Missouri, the Crimson Tide claimed it didn’t matter if it played Texas A&M or Vanderbilt in Sunday’s final.
Head coach Nate Oats snuffed out the question before it was even asked, noting that his desire had “zero effect on the game.” His players more or less parroted his response in the locker room, stating they’d be fine matching up against either opponent.
However, when pressed hard enough, freshman guard Rylan Griffen finally cracked, admitting revenge over the Aggies might be a bit sweeter than a third win over the Commodores.
“I mean, it doesn’t matter to me, but I would like to see A&M again because they’re one of our two [SEC] losses, and we lost to them in a close one,” the Dallas native said following Alabama’s win. “So I would like to have the opportunity to play them again and have chance to go out there and beat them since we lost to them the first time.”
It turns out Griffen will get his wish.
Texas A&M stormed past Vanderbilt, 87-75, Saturday afternoon to set up a final matchup against the conference’s top two teams at noon Sunday inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Alabama swept Vanderbilt, beating the Commodores 78-66 on the road on January 17 before recording a whopping 101-44 victory inside Coleman Coliseum two weeks later. The Crimson Tide had a bit less success during its regular-season finale in College Station, Texas earlier this month, shooting just 19.4% (7 of 36) from deep while turning the ball over 18 times in a 67-61 loss to the Aggies.
“I feel like they’re a good team,” Alabama forward Brandon Miller said of Texas A&M. “I feel like they beat us with great energy, and of course they have great players.”
While Alabama had already clinched its regular-season title at that point, it still has a score to settle with a Texas A&M team it hasn’t beaten since 2018. Since taking over Alabama in the 2019-20 season, Oats is 0-3 against the Aggies. Texas A&M recorded a 74-68 victory inside Coleman Coliseum during his first year while the Crimson Tide’s road game the following season was canceled due to weather. Last season, Texas A&M beat Alabama 87-71 in Tuscaloosa.
Following Saturday’s win, Oats made sure to bring up that stat when addressing the Aggies.
“They’re good," Oats said. "They’re tough, they cause problems.
Alabama (28-5) has rebounded nicely since its loss to Texas A&M (25-8), opening play in the SEC Tournament with a 72-49 victory over Mississippi State on Friday before coming alive in the second half to down Missouri. The 28 wins set a new program record and will all but certainly secure the Crimson Tide a No. 1 seed in next season's NCAA Tournament. Still, when it comes to claiming a second conference tournament title in three years Sunday, Oats is calling for all the help he can get.
“These SEC championship games don’t come often,” Oats said. “Last time we were up here was COVID year, limited amount of fans. I just encourage all the Alabama fans, all you Alabama reporters, let’s try to get out, let’s try to pack this place full of Alabama fans. It’s not that far of a drive. It’s tipping off at noon tomorrow, let’s get as many Alabama fans up here to Nashville to support us in the championship tomorrow.
"These aren’t easy. These are not easy to make it to. We had two tough games to get there, and we’re going to have a really tough game tomorrow.”