After an early quarterfinal exit from the SEC Tournament, the Alabama Crimson Tide will need to regroup as the NCAA Tournament tips off this weekend. The No. 4 seeded Crimson Tide will open up Tournament play against Charleston on Friday at 6:35 p.m. C.T. in Spokane, WA. Alabama enters the contest against the Coastal Athletic Association champions as 9.5-point favorites with an absurd over/under of 172.5 points.
With the March Madness field already selected, it doesn’t mean a ton, but the Crimson Tide remains ranked No. 19 in the Week 20 AP Poll. Unfortunately, both Auburn and Tennessee crack the top ten at No. 6 and 7 in the country, but both have tougher paths ahead in the Tournament than Alabama.
Despite the unfortunate ending to SEC play, it was another successful season in Tuscaloosa as they tied for second in the conference. Which is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of when you have to replace ten players as well as all three assistant coaches from a season ago. The biggest win of the entire season came on Friday as Nate Oats inked an extension with the Tide that will keep him in Alabama for quite some time as his buyout has reportedly increased to $18 million.
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