The Alabama men’s basketball team is back at the big dance.
During the NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show, the Crimson Tide (24-6, 16-2 SEC) was revealed as the # 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region. Alabama, the runner-up in the overall standings, will face Iona (12-5) in the first round on Saturday, March 20. Iona Gaels, led by coach Rick Pitino, won the MAAC Championship Game on Saturday.
Shutdown times and television channels will be announced later.
This will be the 21st overall appearance of the NCAA tournament for Alabamain men’s basketball program, and this time, Crimson Tide was selected as seed number 2 for the first time since 2002. It will be Nate Oats’ fourth spot in the NCAA Tournament as head coach. He posted a 2-3 postseason record for four seasons as the head coach of the Buffalo Bulls.
“I think it’s the best sporting event on the planet,” said Oats before the SEC tournament. “I have been fortunate to have participated in four of them so far – one as an assistant, three as a head coach. I adore them. I think they are the best. Obviously, it will look a little different this year, but it is still the NCAA Tournament and I think our guys want to be in it.
“Petty, Herb and Reese participated as freshmen. Bruner at Yale. But they want to go back, the rest of our people want to be there and we need to play the best basketball we can when we get there. ”
The number 1 seed in the Eastern Region was Michigan. The other main seeds in the NCAA Tournament were Gonzaga, Baylor and Illinois. Alabama was one of six SEC teams to participate in the tournament.
Sixth-placed Crimson Tide was about to win a spot in the NCAA tournament, but his 80-79 victory over LSU in Sunday’s SEC Tournament championship game automatically hit his ticket to participate in the March Madness for the first time since the season. 2017-18.
“To be honest with you, I’m happy that we don’t have to worry about watching the selection program,” said veteran Herbert Jones. “In my three years here, we had to watch the selection program, and now that we’ve won the SEC championship, we don’t even have to watch it. I don’t really care about the seed we have. I’m happy that we can play the tournament. “
Did you know that BOL has a podcast? The Built By BamaOnLine Podcast features the latest Alabama news and insights from Travis Reier, Charlie Potter, Hank South and Tim Watts. Get the last episode right here or subscribe on iTunes today!
Contact Charlie Potter by personal message or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter)