🏀 Alabama falls to No. 1 seed Villanova as 2017-'18 season draws to a close

[TerryP]

PITTSBURGH – The No. 9-seeded Alabama men's basketball team will square off against No. 1 seed Villanova on Saturday at 11:10 a.m. CT (12:10 a.m. ET) at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The third-round contest will be broadcasted live on CBS.

The Crimson Tide is looking to advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2004. Alabama has reached seven Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight (2004) in program history.

Saturday's matchup will mark the fourth meeting between Alabama and Villanova, with the Crimson Tide leading the all-time series 2-1. The last time the two teams met on the hardwood came in the 2012 2K Sports Classic championship game, when Alabama ran away with a 77-55 victory on November 16 in Madison Square Garden.

Alabama's last bout with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament came in 2004 where the Tide downed Stanford, 70-67, on March 20 to advance to the Elite Eight. Current assistant coach Antoine Pettway was a member on the Crimson Tide's team that season.

UA is coming off a magnificence performance, after taking down the No. 8-seed Virginia Tech Hokies in the second round in Pittsburgh. As a whole, Alabama shot a scorching hot 60 percent from the field (30-of-50) and knocked down eight three-pointers to pick up its first NCAA tournament win since 2006.

Freshmen Collin Sexton and John Petty led the charge, combining for 45 points. Sexton dropped 25 points to become the eighth player in program history to score 600 points in a single season (currently has 615), while Petty registered his third 20-point game after draining 6-of-8 threes.

Alabama Men’s Basketball Set to Face No. 1 Seed Villanova in NCAA Tournament Round of 32 - Alabama Athletics

 

[BAMANEWSBOT]

'Weird things happen:' What Alabama thinks of being double-digit underdog to Villanova

The hierarchy of college basketball tends to break the norms more than its football cousin.

How else would Villanova be the alpha in Saturday's NCAA second-round game with Alabama?

This is a school with an undergraduate enrollment just north of 6,400 (compared to Alabama's 32,000). According to the US Department of Education, Wildcat athletics generated $42.2 million of revenue in 2016. Alabama brought in $174.4 million that year.

Yet here Villanova is, the biggest favorite to beat Alabama at any point this season. The 11-point spread in the 11:10 a.m. CT Saturday game beats the previous high spread (nine at Arizona) the Crimson Tide faced all year.

"Oh, I know we're underdogs," said Alabama freshman John Petty. "But that's cool because from the SEC tournament until now, nobody knew we'd make it that far. Nobody knew we'd win yesterday. So, it's always good to be an underdog because it puts a monkey on our back and makes us work even harder."

Alabama (20-15) hasn't been favored in eight games.

Villanova (31-4) hasn't been the underdog all season.

That's cool, practically everyone in Alabama's locker room said Friday afternoon.

"Weird things happen in the NCAA Tournament," coach Avery Johnson said. "We've already seen it."

And the Wildcats have lived it.

A No. 1 seed last year, Villanova was stunned by 8-seed Wisconsin in the second round. The same thing happened in 2015 when the top-seeded Wildcats lost to NC State in the opening weekend in the very same Pittsburgh arena where it'll face Alabama on Saturday.

Coach Jay Wright said there's a different vibe from this team and those that lost shocking second rounders.

It's also worth noting this program broke through for its second national title in 2016. Coincidently, Villanova won its first championship in 1985 after surviving the 8-9 game in the opening round.

Alabama sophomore Braxton Key isn't overwhelmed by the moment approaching Saturday morning.

"I think we match up really well," he said. "They're not as deep as I thought they were. They only play seven or eight guys. So, it's like playing Auburn. They can shoot the ball but everyone can shoot the ball. Defensively they are very strong and very talented."
Johnson cited a few reasons why the Tide shouldn't be counted out against Villanova.

"We got some big guys on the wing that can put teams in the bind," the coach said. "And with the way our big guys playing inside, you never know what could happen."

The biggest spread overcame to win outright was the +7.5 at Florida on Feb. 3. It was also a 6.5-point underdog against Auburn in the SEC tournament game the Tide won 81-63.

"We've been the underdog all season," Key said. "We came into the season and everyone was talking about us and SEC play started. We'd win a game, lose a game, win a game, lose a game. So, I feel like people counted us out. At this point, we're used to that."

Freshman Herbert Jones said Alabama tries "not to take the backseat to anyone."

Top seed? That's fine.

"I'll speak on behalf of the team, I feel like we don't really care about the numbers," Jones said. "They have to come on the court and play just like us. The numbers really don't matter once the ball tips up."

'Weird things happen:' What Alabama thinks of being double-digit underdog to Villanova

 

[Decatur Daily - sports/alabama]

No. 9 seed Alabama vs. No. 1 seed Villanova
WHEN: Today, 11:10 a.m.
WHERE: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. (17.323)
RECORDS: Alabama (20-15, 8-10 SEC), Villanova (31-4, 14-4 Big East)
TV: CBS
RADIO: FM-93.9; AM-1400
ALABAMA LINEUP: G Collin Sexton (6-3, Fr.) 19.2 ppg; G Dazon Ingram (6-5, R-Soph.) 9.9 ppg; G/F Herbert Jones (6-7, Fr.) 4.3 ppg; F Braxton Key (6-8, Soph.) 7.0 ppg; F Donta Hall (6-9, Jr.) 10.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg.
VILLANOVA LINEUP: G Jalen Brunson (6-2 ½, Jr.) 19.3 ppg; G Phil Booth (6-3, R-Jr.) 10.9 ppg; G Mikal Bridges (6-7, R-Jr.) 17.9 ppg; F Eric Paschall (6-9, Jr.) 10.3 ppg; F Omari Spellman. (6-9 ½, R-Fr.) 10.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg.
NOTES: With its 86-83 win over Virginia Tech on Thursday night, Alabama improved to 19-19 all-time in NCAA Tournament games. The Crimson Tide’s last NCAA Tournament game against a No. 1 seed ended with a 70-67 win over Stanford on March 20, 2004 during Alabama’s first-ever run to the Elite Eight. The Tide’s last Sweet 16 appearance also came that season. …Today’s game will be the fourth all-time meeting between Alabama and Villanova, with the Tide owning a 2-1 series advantage, including a 77-55 win for Alabama on Nov. 16, 2012 in the 2K Sports Classic championship game in Madison Square Garden. … Villanova made 14-of-27 3-pointers in its second-round win over Radford on Thursday, marking the 20th time in 35 games this season that the Wildcats made a dozen or more 3-pointers. The 87-61 victory Thursday was also the 18th game that Villanova has won (18-0) while holding the opposition under the 70-point scoring threshold. Alabama has scored at least 70 points in 23 of its 35 games this season.
Alabama-Villanova preview

 

[#80]

We need to rebound play smart no turnovers and we need B. Key to get off the bus.

 

[#80]

LET'S GO !!!!

 

[bama alum]

Getting Nova in foul trouble early helps. Keep feeding Hall; Nova can't defend him down low.

 

[bama alum]

Jones looked like a Looney Tunes cartoon character after getting knocked in the head.

Bama's gotta defend the three. That's all Nova wants to shoot.

 

[#80]

Turnovers are killing us.

 

[bama alum]

That was a charge.

 

[#80]

That white boy is kill'n us.

 

[rick4bama]

That white boy is kill'n us.

That what I was about to post. I'm yelling at the TV keep the ball away from that white boy!!

 

[TerryP]

That white boy is kill'n us.

The narrative here at the the half is how good 'Nova is from three and how Bama is in the same. That goes to show something ...

"Nova from three in the first half, 35%. Bama, 33.3%. It's one guy.

 

[#80]

The narrative here at the the half is how good 'Nova is from three and how Bama is in the same. That goes to show something ...

"Nova from three in the first half, 35%. Bama, 33.3%. It's one guy.

That's just our luck in a big game like this one guy en fuego.

 

[TerryP]

That's just our luck in a big game like this one guy en fuego.

Let's see what happens when Brunson comes back in.

 

[#80]

STUPID .... you can't foul 3 pt shooters

 

[PhillyGirl]

I'm probably the most anti Nova person in my area. But today I am really hating them. RTR

 

[footballer]

CAJ needs to chew on some asses

 

[#80]

It will be hard for us to overcome this no energy and just standing around on offense.

 

[bama alum]

Getting gashed badly... Still haven't scored this in this half.

 

[bama alum]

A point! Whoo!