This is March, but it’s nothing new for Alabama.

The No. 2 seeded Crimson Tide plowed through the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in snowy Cleveland, outlasting No. 15 seed Robert Morris before outmuscling No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s. I’d call that a solid start to the Big Dance, but it feels like the Tide has been two-stepping for the past two months.

Alabama’s 80-66 win over Saint Mary’s on Sunday marked its 15th straight game against an opponent who qualified for this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Tide’s stepped on its feet a few times over that span, posting a 10-5 record. However, that’s forgivable considering four of those five defeats came at the hands of teams still alive in the Sweet 16.

And now that Alabama finds itself back in college basketball’s elite company, its list of potential dance partners looks pretty familiar.

The Tide has played eight of the 16 teams remaining in the tournament. It’s beaten four of them and posted a combined 6-6 record in the matchups. For perspective, No. 1 seed Duke has faced just three Sweet 16 opponents. All three occurred during non-conference play, with the latest coming in an 84-78 win over Auburn on Dec. 4.

Will that give battle-tested Alabama the leg up if the Tide and Blue Devils end up facing off this weekend for a trip to the Final Four? I know which bunch I’d be betting on if things get close late.

Alabama certainly won’t be intimidated by Duke superstar forward Cooper Flagg. The five-star freshman is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, but the Tide has already faced 17 of the 59 projected picks in ESPN’s latest mock draft.

Along with talent, Alabama is well-versed in dealing with different styles.

Despite operating at the nation’s fastest tempo, the Tide proved it can win rock fights against slower physical teams such as Saint Mary’s, Houston and Texas A&M. It’s also capable of outracing similarly fast opponents, as evidenced by its three wins over Kentucky as well as victories over Illinois and North Carolina.

Even Alabama’s stars are flexible in how they can attack other teams.

Take Mark Sears, who has shot a combined 10 of 27 from the floor, including 1 of 9 from deep while still averaging 17.0 points, 7.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds over the first two games of the tournament. Chances are, it won’t be long until Sears, a 37.4% career 3-point shooter, rediscovers his strong shooting from beyond the arc. And when he does, the Tide will look even deadlier than it did this weekend.

Even if teams find a way to keep Alabama’s star guard in a rut, good luck stopping the rest of its loaded roster.

The Tide saw six players score in double figures against Saint Mary’s. While Sears was sputtering from deep, fellow graduate guard Chris Youngblood stepped up in his place, knocking down all three of his 3-point attempts while scoring a team-high 13 points.

“It's tough to guard us when you've got six guys capable of getting double digits, and that's not even counting multiple guys that have scored it well for us that didn't get to double digits," Oats said following Sunday’s win. “I thought we had great leadership tonight, showed a lot of toughness. We said the tougher team is going to win this one, and that's one of the tougher teams in the country. Our guys really stepped up and met the challenge there tonight.”

Alabama’s deep unit includes several of the key pieces from last year’s Final Four run. Sears and Grant Nelson are the headliners, but Mo Dioubate has morphed from a seldom-used player to the Tide’s glue guy off the bench. Meanwhile, Jarin Stevenson has shown a knack for getting hot in big games and could have another one up his sleeve before this season is done.

After battling through the nation’s toughest schedule, Alabama now sits two games away from a return trip to the Final Four. Don’t be surprised if the Tide dances its way to San Antonio this weekend.

After all, this might be March, but it’s nothing new for this bunch.

Alabama’s trip to the Sweet 16 is a little sweeter for me because it means I get to add a new state to the list of places I’ve covered the Tide. Outside of driving through New Jersey during a road trip in high school, this will be my first visit to the Garden State. To honor the occasion, I’m using New Jerseys’ unofficial state cocktail, the Jack Rose, as our drink of the week.

The cocktail’s base spirit is Laird’s Applejack, an apple brandy made in New Jersey at the oldest licensed distillery in the U.S. Mix 1.5 ounces of that, 0.75 ounces of lemon juice and 0.5 ounces of grenadine into a shaker and shake over ice. From there, strain the mixture into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Cheers!

(Commercial break: My drink of the week section is now sponsored by my friends at Session Cocktails in Tuscaloosa. Session has been a mainstay in Tuscaloosa’s cocktail scene since 2019 and offers some of the tastiest drinks in town. Stop by and tell them I said hi!)

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