🏀 Alabama Men’s Basketball Picks Up First NCAA Tournament Win Since 2006 After Defeating Virginia Tech, 86-83

[UA Press Release]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama men's basketball team is returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012, and first time under head coach Avery Johnson, and will face Virginia Tech on Thursday, March 15 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Crimson Tide (19-15) earned the No. 9 seed in the East Region as an at-large selection, while the Hokies (21-11), who were also chosen at-large, earned the No. 8 seed. The two teams will tip off at 8:20 p.m. CT on TNT.

"Our last two wins against Auburn and Texas A&M, though those wins were very, very, very important, we think our entire resume is what did it for us," said Johnson. "When you lose 15 times, obviously we won 19 games, it says something about your strength of schedule in the non-conference. We scheduled tough on purpose, knowing that we could lose a few games. It also speaks of how tough the SEC is. We challenged ourselves in the non-conference, won our share of games, had seven quad 1 wins, had six wins over top-25 teams. I know a lot of times people want to focus on the bad news, which was our five game losing streak, but we had a lot of quality wins, and we beat some good teams this year."

The tournament appearance is the Tide's 20th in program history, while Virginia Tech is making its 10th appearance overall and second in as many seasons.

"For us, in year three, this is where we wanted to be, back in the tournament, and hopefully have a chance to play some of our best basketball because the team that I saw play against some tough teams, our Alabama Crimson Tide team, when we were playing at a high level, we feel we can beat anybody," added Johnson.

The winner of the Alabama vs. Virginia Tech game will advance to face the winner of the matchup between No. 1 Villanova and No. 16 LIU-Brooklyn/Radford on Saturday, March 17.

Alabama Men’s Basketball to Face Virginia Tech in First Round of 2018 NCAA Tournament - Alabama Athletics

 

[By Alex Byington Sports Writer]

Alabama basketball draws Virginia Tech in first NCAA tournament appearance since 2012

TUSCALOOSA — Sitting in the club level watching TBS’s Selection Show on the jumbotron inside an empty Coleman Coliseum, Avery Johnson’s mind drifted back to his first meeting with then-Alabama athletic director Bill Battle.

“I remember that first interview three years ago back in Dallas, and now we’re here,” Johnson said Sunday evening. “This is something Coach Battle and I talked about, where we wanted to be in Year 3, making the ournament, and if we play well have a chance to advance.”

Within minutes, as Alabama’s logo flashed on the screen as one of the 36 at-large bids in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Johnson’s youthful Crimson Tide squad erupted in jubilation with news they were going dancing.

“From the beginning of the season, this is what we’ve worked for, we’ve worked hard, and I feel like we deserved to be in (the NCAA Tournament),” freshman wing John Petty said Sunday night. “We proved why in the SEC Tournament, and we can only continue from here and keep pushing to go further.”

For the first time since 2012, Alabama (19-15) is headed to the Big Dance and earned a spot as the No. 9 seed in the East region bracket, where it will play eighth-seeded Virginia Tech (21-11) at approximately 8:20 p.m. Thursday in Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena.

“Oh man, it’s an unbelievable feeling knowing that this year’s team, with all the work that we’ve put in, it’s finally paid off,” sophomore guard Dazon Ingram said. “It’s just a great feeling knowing that we’re there.”

Alabama’s last tournament appearance was a 58-57 loss to Creighton in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

Returning for the first time in six years was especially encouraging for a program that has battled through the highs and lows of elevated expectations the coaches and players embraced before the season.

“It’s big time, something I’ve been working for ever since I got on campus my freshman year,” sophomore wing Braxton Key said Sunday. “We came up short last year, but we had the right pieces (this year), … and we’re going in the right direction.”

The last time the Crimson Tide won a game in the NCAA Tournament was in 2004 when Mark Gottfried’s No. 8-seeded Tide advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to second-seeded Connecticut 87-71 in Phoenix Regional final out in Arizona.

This year’s young-but-talented Alabama team had a much rockier road to secure its NCAA bid, including a five-game losing streak to end the regular season that put its tournament chances on life support.

But Alabama notched a pair of emotionally-charged victories in this weekend’s SEC Tournament in St. Louis, including a 71-70 win over Texas A&M on a buzzer-beating layup from star freshman point guard Collin Sexton.

Sexton also came up huge with 31 points in a convincing 81-63 win over rival Auburn, the SEC Tournament’s top seed and the league's regular season co-champion, on Friday before falling to eventual tournament champion Kentucky 86-63 in Saturday's semifinals.

“I think guys are excited,” Johnson said. “I told them this is a new opportunity before we went to St. Louis, a new opportunity, new season, and now we’ve embarked on a new opportunity and a new season.

“And I think it’s actually kind of good for our team because when they feel like their backs are against the wall (they respond), and now they understand it’s win or go home. I hope that’ll make them even more focused and energized to do all the little things it takes to win a game.”

By Alex Byington Sports Writer
Alabama basketball draws Virginia Tech in first NCAA tournament appearance since 2012

 

[TerryP]

You guys remember the "Meat Pole" we used to see quite often with the football team? Well, if you do...here's which teams are on VT's this season and their BPI rankings as of this morning..

2- Virginia
3- Duke
7- UNC
18- Clemson...
...with wins over Ole Miss and NC State.

The Hokies have a good ball club, no doubt.

How does this affect Bama? Tough first round game and then they would be looking at 'Nova which also happens to be the #1 ranked team in the BPI. FWIW, the top three according to BPI with the best chances to win the NCAA Tournament?

1- UVA
2- Nova
3- Duke.

**Just as a side note, if you look over their roster (VT's) you'll see they are eerily similar to Auburn in the way their team is built.**

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[Destiny's Child]

I agree with the line. Vt has been a good ball club with some solid wins. We have been just ok on the road or neutral sites. This game is in Pennsylvania pretty close to home for the Hokies.
This is a very tough draw for us and probably my means little chance of a deep run but we should be proud of this team non the less.

 

[TerryP]

This is a very tough draw for us and probably my means little chance of a deep run but we should be proud of this team non the less.

From an article published by SI:

THE TEAM THAT COULD BUST YOUR BRACKET: ALABAMA
This might seem like a stretch. The Crimson Tide finished 19-15 and had to play their way off the bubble this past week with wins over Texas A&M and Auburn to snap the five-game losing streak that closed their regular season. More people are griping about them being seeded too highly at No. 9 than their potential for a Sweet 16 run. But in a region where there’s no markedly under-seeded team, an underdog that defends well (13th nationally in efficiency and the SEC’s best in league play) and has a consensus top-10 NBA draft pick at point guard is a reasonable guess for who might make a mess of things. That draft pick is Collin Sexton, who is averaging 25.5 points over his last four games and has the kind of talent that can take over a game—the kind that scored 42 points against Minnesota in that November game Alabama nearly won while playing three-on-five. The Tide’s offense isn’t always pretty, ranking 115th nationally and 12th during SEC play, and it’s prone to youthful turnovers and lacks three-point shooting. But... if Alabama is getting stops and Sexton is on, it’s a team capable of disruption.

 

[TerryP]

the five-game losing streak that closed their regular season.

And, building on that comment just a tad (while setting aside an OU slide that deserves even more mention,)

The last eight games on the Tide's regular season schedule included:
#4 seed Auburn (2X),
#5 seed Kentucky (2X),
#6 seed Florida,
#7 seed Arkansas,
#7 seed A&M (2X).

 

[alagator]

KenPom projection VT wins 72-70 with a 57% chance to win.

 

[alagator]

And, building on that comment just a tad (while setting aside an OU slide that deserves even more mention,)

The last eight games on the Tide's regular season schedule included:
#4 seed Auburn (2X),
#5 seed Kentucky (2X),
#6 seed Florida,
#7 seed Arkansas,
#7 seed A&M (2X).

Has anyone counted how many games Bama played against tournament teams?

 

[TerryP]

Has anyone counted how many games Bama played against tournament teams?

I've not double-checked my count...last night, before the brackets were announced, I counted 18 of 34 (18 includes teams played twice+.)

 

[UAgrad93]

I've not double-checked my count...last night, before the brackets were announced, I counted 18 of 34 (18 includes teams played twice+.)

I don't think our bunch will be intimidated! We've played half of our schedule against tournament teams and held our own. I think we beat VT but getting Nova in the 2nd round is going to be a tall task. I'm proud of the guys none the less.

 

[TUSKtimes]

So I'll go ahead and say it early, which Alabama do we get? Matchups, head coach, strategy, seem important, but do we really believe that? Good Bama can hit key shots from outside, carve and slice the defense on the inside, hustle on D and create numerous turnovers and free throw opportunities. Bad Bama can clank them, shank them and jank them at an alarming rate. Not only can good/bad Bama run the gambit from game to game but has the extraordinary ability to shift gears and demonstrate these two extremes from one half to the next.

I know we are going to spend some time this week analyzing VaTech and what they bring to the dance, but deep down you gotta believe, it's really about how much of good/bad Bama do we get?

 

[UAgrad93]

VT starting 5 all average double figures, 10-13 points apiece. They have 3 guys listed at 6'10" on their roster, but only Blackshear plays any significant minutes. All of the others are listed 6'6" or shorter. Like @TerryP said, the team resembles the Barn. We need to pick and choose when we run, but focus on making VT play defense 20-25 seconds every time we have possession.

 

[Destiny's Child]

Like every year I have done some brackets on espn, cbs, and yahoo. I won't change them from today barring a major injury update. I also this year did my Alabama bracket which is what it would look like for Bama to go all the way. In that bracket.. Bama gets Texas A&M again for the championship and obviously the bracket call for crazy upsets and such, but all in all, they are all possible. It made me feel better to at least do one where my team won it..

 

[BamaFan334]

Thought I would post this video. Nice little video showing our guys getting excited about making the tournament and getting to play Virginia Tech. I am very happy to see how well spoken our players were in the little mini interviews. They spoke very well.

Alabama Men’s Basketball to Face Virginia Tech in First Round of 2018 NCAA Tournament - Alabama Athletics

 

[Destiny's Child]

Also, after doing a breakdown of what I can see out of VT, there is good news and bad news..bad news first. They can get after you on defense, their starting 5 are all about 40% three point shooters for the season and they all shot about 70 % from the free throw line. The things we may be able to take advantage of is that they aren't very deep.. their starting 5 play a bunch and they have a 6th man who gets about 15 minutes a game and a 7th who looks to be an emergency sub. They can get turnover happy at times and aren't a very good rebounding team. Also, their offense has been trending down for the last 10-15 games and their scoring has dropped off big time.. I think the book is out on them and people are figuring them out some.

That said they are a tough team who beat Virginia at Virginia as well as a win over Duke.. so they are Jeckyle and Hyde too.

 

[#80]

VT shots the 3 well. ESPN BPI Match up Predictor gives VT a 64.7% chance to win this game.

 

[ElephantStomp]

I’m not sure we beat VTech, but to get Nova in the second round? Sheesh that’s a tough one, I think Nova runs over us and VTech. A lot for our guys to be proud of no matter what happens

 

[TheChief]

Tennessee led Nova by 11 at the half and lost by 9. We led UT by 10 at the half and won by 28. I say if we beat VT, get Nova, and lead by 21 at the half we've got a decent chance.

Just sayin'...

 

[#80]

Tennessee led Nova by 11 at the half and lost by 9. We led UT by 10 at the half and won by 28. I say if we beat VT, get Nova, and lead by 21 at the half we've got a decent chance.

Just sayin'...

LMFAO!!