The Alabama basketball team will make its third straight appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, as the Crimson Tide was one of the 32 teams announced when the tournament's bracket was revealed Sunday night on ESPNU. Alabama will begin its quest to earn a trip to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, as it opens up the tournament as a No. 3 seed against No. 6 seed Richmond.
The Tide (19-14, 10-8 in the SEC) will host the Spiders (20-12, 13-5 in the Atlantic 10) on Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Tickets can be purchased through Rolltide.com and are $10 for adults and $4 for youth.
The tournament will require a quick turnaround for Alabama head coach Avery Johnson and his team, as Alabama wrapped up its third straight game in the SEC Tournament on Saturday with a 79-74 defeat to Kentucky. Despite having just two days to prepare for Richmond, Johnson said he is confident his staff will rise to the occasion and have the team ready to go on Tuesday night.
“We’re not a staff that requires a lot of sleep,” Johnson said during a teleconference Sunday night. “We’ve been averaging probably about two or three hours of sleep during the SEC Tournament. We’re guys that love to work, and our staff is going to be ready.”
Making the NIT is bittersweet for the Tide, which finished two wins away from winning the SEC Tournament and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, Johnson said he doesn’t expect his players to head into the tournament dejected or with any reservations.
“I’ve seen teams that maybe didn’t want to participate in the NIT or some other postseason tournament for whatever reason,” Johnson said. “... For us, we just know that if we can just find five guys who are healthy and ready to go, we’re going to play in a postseason tournament.”
Alabama made it to the NIT last year as a No. 5 seed, losing 72-54 to No. 4 seed Creighton in the first round.
“Creighton was ready to play,” Johnson said. “Creighton was excited about being here. When we went to Creighton, they had an unbelievable crowd.”
Alabama might not be able to replicate the same home-court advantage Tuesday night, as the game falls during the university’s spring break. However, Johnson challenged his players to come out strong regardless and give the fans that do make it to the game a good performance.
“We have to do a better job of embracing Coleman Coliseum and taking pride in protecting our territory,” Johnson said.
In the NIT, lower seeds play host to higher seeds until teams reach the final two rounds, which will be held from March 28-30 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
