March is not the time to be searching for momentum in college basketball. But that’s exactly the position Alabama finds itself in heading into the NCAA Tournament.

After it was revealed that Alabama got a No. 4 seed in the Big Dance and would face No. 13 seed Charleston on Friday in Spokane, Washington, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said it’s a new season when tournament play begins.

Oats’ mindset makes sense. His side has lost four of its last six games. The Tide’s defensive effort continues to be dictated by its scoring ability, which sputtered during that stretch, particularly from beyond the arc.

Against a trendy and fast-paced Charleston side, Alabama will hope to sustain a quick start after it failed to do so in its SEC Tournament quarterfinal loss to Florida on Friday. In the Big Dance Alabama will need superstar guard Mark Sears to get going quicker. Though his scoring hasn’t dropped, in recent games, he’s been held to very few shot attempts early before piling on the points in the second half, often when Alabama was already down by an insurmountable margin.

Should the Crimson Tide engage for 40 minutes on defense and its veterans rediscover their form from deep, no margin should be insurmountable Friday. Charleston ranks 50 spots lower on KenPom than any opponent Alabama has lost to this season. But the Cougars are more than capable of making up that difference should Alabama go cold shooting and let it affect its defense once again.

Here’s everything you need to know about Alabama’s NCAA Tournament clash against Charleston.

Who: No. 4 seed Alabama (21-11, 13-5 SEC) vs. Charleston (27-7, 15-3 CAA)

When: 6:35 p.m. CT, Friday, March, 22

Where: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington

Watch: truTV (Play-By-Play: Lisa Byington, Analysts: Steve Smith & Robbie Hummel, Sideline: Lauren Shehadi)

Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network | SIRIUS/XM 134/201 (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Analyst: Bryan Passink, Engineer: Tom Stipe)

Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, junior

Stats: 21.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.1 apg 50.4% FG, 43.1% 3-pt

Aaron Estrada: 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Graduate Student

Stats: 13.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, 45.9% FG, 31.9% 3-pt

Latrell Wrightsell Jr: 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, senior

Stats: 9.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.5 apg, 43.9% FG 43.3% 3-pt

Rylan Griffen: 6-foot-6, 190 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 11.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 44.6% FG, 37.7% 3-pt

Grant Nelson: 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, senior

Stats: 12.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 49.4% FG, 26.7% 3-pt

Reyne Smith: 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Junior

Stats: 12.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 41.2% FG, 39.5% 3-pt

Kobe Rogers: 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, Junior

Stats: 9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 50.5% FG, 44.4% 3-pt

Ben Burnham: 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, Junior

Stats: 11.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 46.2% FG, 36.9%

Frankie Policelli: 6-foot-9, 225 pounds, Graduate Student

Stats: 9.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.7 apg, 37.5% FG, 34.4% 3-pt

Ante Brzovic: 6-foot-10, 225 pounds, Junior

Stats: 12.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.4 apg, 47.1% FG, 22.7% 3-pt

No matter which team comes out on top, Friday’s contest has the potential to be the most explosive offensive game of the first round.

While Alabama has struggled recently, its proclivity to score in bunches has defined the Tide this season. Despite failing to hit over 30% from 3 in its last three games, Alabama still ranks No. 3 in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency. It remains the only team in the country to average over 90 points per game and continues to play at a frenetic pace, ranking No. 11 in Division I in tempo.

The Cougars could be considered a “lite” version of the Crimson Tide. Charleston ranks No. 58 in offensive efficiency and tied for No. 34 in scoring (80.5 points per game). Friday’s contest will also feature two teams that shoot the third and fourth-most attempts from 3. Charleston makes around 10.5 of its 30.6 tres per contest, while Alabama on average sinks 11.1 of 30.3 shots from beyond the arc.

“I think we play the most modern style basketball in the country. They're pretty similar,” Oats said. “So I think they're playing a brand of basketball that makes the most sense how to play. I think it's the toughest one to guard and we had the number one offense in the country.”

The difference in the game will be how Alabama responds when a few shots don’t fall. Alabama can ill-afford to let its heads drop if it occasionally goes cold Friday, as the Cougars will be quick to take advantage of a Tide team that ranks No. 357 out of 363 teams in opponent scoring. Oats once again said he doesn’t expect it to be perfect, but said his team always has a shot if it can defend for 40 minutes.

While there remain lingering question marks surrounding Alabama’s ability to stop the Cougars — or anyone else for that matter — equal questions could be raised about Charleston’s ability to slow down the Tide. Charleston appears to mimic Alabama on both ends, ranking No. 175 in adjusted defensive efficiency, the fifth-worst mark among tournament teams. In the regular season, the Cougars surrendered 90 points against fellow NCAA Tournament sides Duquesne and Florida Atlantic.

If both teams are hitting shots, a track meet likely favors the Tide. Oats also said that Charelston’s similar offensive tendencies could be an advantage for Alabama’s defense, as it’s practiced against a free-scoring unit all season.

“I think it's a hard system to guard,” Oats said. “I gotta figure out how they get [3s] but I think that we guarded every day in practice so we do get a little bit of help. Now, it's the same going the other way. Charleston guards something similar. Their offense is ranked a lot higher than their defense, similar to ours. I think both of us will have a little bit of an advantage because we guard something similar every day in practice, and we're just going to have to see who does a better job.”

In a game where defensive stops will be at a premium, how Alabama plays its matchups will be key in avoiding an upset.

The Cougars' three leading scorers this season have prior NCAA Tournament experience. They were all a part of Charleston's 2022-23 squad, which won 30 games and nearly defeated eventual national runners-up San Diego State as a No. 12 seed in the first round of last year’s tournament.

Charleston is led in scoring by guard Reyne Smith (12.8 points per game) and forward Ante Brzovic (12.3 ppg). At 6-foot-10, Brzovic shoots 65.9% at the rim and will likely be the matchup for Grant Nelson.

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. could be the one to take Smith, who does most of his work from beyond the arc. Smith shoots a lethal 39.5% on 8.1 attempts from deep this season. Oats has said several times that Wrightsell has been one of if not Alabama’s best perimeter defenders. His work to contest Smith’s 3-point attempts will be vital to Alabama’s success defensively.

Mark Sears’ assignment will likely be junior guard Kobe Rogers. Similarly to Sears, the 6-foot-3 Rogers prefers to drive to the basket, making 66 of 98 shot attempts around the rim this season. When he does take 3s, he tends to make them. He shoots 44.4% from beyond the arc on 1.2 attempts per contest.

In addition to Brzovic, Charleston starts two other forwards Ben Burnham and Frankie Policelli. Rylan Griffen will likely guard Burnham. Griffen’s size versatility on defense will come in handy, as Burnham operates both in the paint and beyond the arc. He shoots 36.9% from 3 and has made 70.5% of his shots at the rim this season.

That leaves the 6-foot-3 Aaron Estrada guarding the 6-foot-9 Policelli. While it’s not an ideal size matchup, Policelli tends to stick around the perimeter. He’s attempted 191 3s compared to just 38 shots at the rim. If Policelli tries to play more in the post with Estrada on him, Nelson or any of Alabama’s reserve forwards will need to be aware as a help defender to contest Policelli at the rim.

Off the bench, Charleston plays a further five players over 10 minutes per game. Bryce Butler and CJ Fulton lead the way, each averaging over 20 minutes a contest as substitutes. Butler averages 8.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, while Fulton leads the Cougars in assists at 4.2 per game and shoots 34.9% from 3.

Oats put a positive spin on Alabama’s early exit from the SEC Tournament. Alabama not playing until Friday gave it a full week of rest ahead of its do-or-die matchup with the Cougars.

Though it had its full rotation available in its quarterfinal loss to Florida, Griffen was on a minutes restriction while nursing a calf injury. Both Griffen and Wrightsell found themselves limited by injuries near the end of SEC play, forcing Sears and Estrada to eat up a large chunk of minutes. Wrightsell, who missed four games with a head injury, returned to his usual workload against Florida. Should Griffen also be fully recovered by tipoff Friday, Oats thinks a fully healthy Alabama can return to its midseason SEC form.

“I do like the fact we don't have to play till Friday,” Oats said. “I think we get our legs up under us a little bit more. Obviously, we were trying to win the SEC tournament but it might have been a blessing in disguise for an NCAA tournament run to get our legs a little more rested, and not playing till Friday gets us there even more because we haven't had our whole allotment of guys on no minute restrictions since that Texas A&M game [Feb. 17] when we were playing pretty good basketball.”

Alabama’s injury woes cannot excuse its failure to step up on defense. Though being healthy will provide a boost, now that Alabama has its full rotation back, it will need to show more fight against a Charleston team that will be hungry to add to the Crimson Tide’s recent misery and keep its season alive. If Alabama wishes to live another day in the 2023-24 season, it has to treat Friday like the start of a new campaign and play with much more grit than it showed at the end of SEC play.

The Crimson Tide has made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2003-06

Alabama is a No. 4 seed or higher in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history

Head coach Nate Oats is 10-5 (.667) in his 15 postseason games at the helm of the Crimson Tide

Oats has a record of 4-3 in NCAA Tournament games as the head coach at Alabama, which include a pair of Sweet 16 appearances and owns a 4-6 (.400) record across his six previous tournament appearances as a head coach (8-9 overall)

Mark Sears was named to the Sporting News All-America Second Team, becoming the third UA player under Oats to earn Sporting News All-America honors, joining Brandon Miller (Second Team, 2023) and Herbert Jones (Third Team, 2021)

Sears, a 2024 Coaches and Associated Press First Team All-SEC selection, was named 1 of 5 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which annually recognizes the top point guard in Division I

Sears has scored 676 points this season, which ranks No. 3 in UA history for most points scored in a single season and 72 points from the program record set by Reggie King (747 points) in 1979

Sears is one of two Division I players and the only Power 5 player that has 675 points, 130 assists, 125 rebounds and 75 three-pointers this season

Sears has now scored 20-or-more points in 22 games this season, the most by an Alabama player since Reggie King’s school record 23 games in 1978-79

Per OptaSTATS, Sears and Aaron Estrada are the first Division I duo since 1996-97 to both have at least 410 points, 125 assists, 120 rebounds, 50 three-pointers made and four