Category: SEC Basketball

The top player from each program Alabama MBB faces in the ’23-’24 season

With College Basketball less than three weeks away, Roll Tide Wire breaks down the top players from each program that Alabama men’s basketball will face heading into the ’23-’24 season.

Alabama will kick off the 2023-24 season on November 6 against Morehead State. The Crimson Tide have replenished its roster and are prepared to have yet another good season under head coach Nate Oats.

The thing that Oats prioritizes is having a strong non-conference schedule so that his squad is prepared for conference play. Much like recent years, the Crimson Tide will meet some of the top teams in the country on the road, at neutral sites, and several games at home.

Needless to say, Alabama’s opponents are stacked with talent. It goes without saying that Alabama does as well.

Roll Tide Wire takes a look at the top players from each program that Alabama men’s basketball will meet during the 2023-’24 season.

Tennessee sits atop 2023-24 preseason SEC men’s basketball media poll

Members of the media think the Volunteers are the men’s basketball team to beat in the SEC this upcoming season.

The 2023-24 preseason SEC media poll was released on Tuesday, and the members of the press think Tennessee is the team to beat in the conference before the season begins.

The Volunteers, under head coach Rick Barnes, have won at least 25 games in each of the past two seasons. They made it to the Sweet 16 in last season’s tournament before falling victim to Florida Atlantic’s Cinderella run.

The voters also think Alabama, who won the conference tournament in two of the past three seasons under head coach Nate Oats, will slide down to fifth in the conference standings.

South Carolina and LSU may have two of the best women’s basketball programs in the country, but the preseason voters think they’ll slot in as the worst two men’s teams in the SEC on the court.

Here’s how the full poll turned out.

Rank Team
1 Tennessee
2 Texas A&M
3 Arkansas
4 Kentucky
5 Alabama
6 Auburn
7 Mississippi State
8 Florida
9 Missouri
10 Ole Miss
11 Vanderbilt
12 Georgia
13 LSU
14 South Carolina

Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, and Iowa athletes nominated for ESPY awards

LSU and Iowa will battle it out again, but this time they won’t be wearing basketball shoes or playing on the hardwood.

2023 ESPY award nominations have been announced and Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, and Iowa all have athletes nominated for awards. The 2023 ESPYs will air live on Wednesday, July 12, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC from Los Angeles.

LSU and Iowa will battle it out again, but this time they won’t be wearing basketball shoes or playing on the hardwood. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese of LSU will vie for position against Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers, and Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners for the Best Breakthrough Athlete award.

Gymnast Trinity Thomas of Florida is nominated for Best Play for her perfect 10 which tied the All-Time NCAA record. She is the only Florida athlete represented in the nominations. She competes for the award against UCLA soccer player Ally Lemos with the perfect corner to tie the National Championship game and two other professional athletes.

Oklahoma Sooners softball and LSU women’s basketball are nominated for Best Team. The Sooners will also be represented as softball player Jordy Bahl is nominated for Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports along with  Caitlin Clark, Izzy Scane of Northwestern Lacrosse, and Trinity Thomas.

Recipients of the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and the Pat Tillman Award for Service will be announced next week.

2023 NBA draft recap: Every SEC player selected in this year’s draft

Every former SEC basketball player selected in the 2023 NBA draft!

The 2023 NBA draft took place on Thursday night from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and a total of ten former SEC players were celebrated as draft picks, six of which went in the first round.

Alabama’s Brandon Miller was not only the first SEC player picked in the draft, but he was also the first collegiate player selected as the No. 2 overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets just behind the French unicorn, Victor Wembanyama who went No. 1 overall. Miller’s Alabama teammate Noah Clowney joined him as a first-round selection when he was taken by the Brooklyn Nets at No. 21 overall.

Arkansas joined the Crimson Tide in producing a pair of first-round picks with Anthony Black going No. 6 overall to the Orlando Magic and Nick Smith Jr. going No. 27 overall and will be joining Miller in Charlotte.

Let’s take a quick look at each former SEC player that was taken in the 2023 NBA draft.

Sights and sounds from the women’s Final Four open practices

A look at the women’s Final Four open practices from Alex Sinatra.

Tickets for the women’s Final Four are more expensive than the men’s Final Four. It’s almost like when you give more television time and devotes more resources to something, it grows. Who would have thought?

The women’s Final Four is taking place in Dallas, Texas, at the American Airlines Center. The venue held open practices for each of the four teams competing this year and it was free to the public on March 30.

Gates Open 10:00 a.m.
Virginia Tech Open Practice 11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
LSU Open Practice Noon – 12:50 p.m.
South Carolina Open Practice 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
Iowa Open Practice 2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.

The Final Four takes place on March 31st, Division II and Division III national championships take place on Apr. 1, and the Division I national championship game takes place on Apr. 2.

For open practices, DJ Shawna was mixing the music and each team had a different musical vibe.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqUBEfnrsRi/

Virginia Tech was the first to practice and this is the first time they are on the big Final Four stage. They went into March Madness as a No. 1 seed and are the 2023 ACC Women’s Champions. They matchup against LSU on March 31 at 6:00 p.m. CT.

Next up was “Bayou Barbie”, Angel Reese, and the rest of the LSU Tigers. The fans went wild during the entirety of LSU’s practices. ISDs in and around Dallas-Fort Worth bused in students to watch the festivities and experience the overall atmosphere of a Final Four.

LSU is seeded No. 3 in the tournament, but are playing like a No. 1 seed. Their last win to cement their place in the Final Four was against Miami and Mulkey indicated they didn’t shoot well in that game but rebounding and defense helped them advance.

The next team was South Carolina and the immaculately dressed Dawn Staley.

Staley indicated during an on-court interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe that it takes a team of unselfish players to build this Gamecocks dynasty. She indicated for their team it takes “8-10 players to truly get those National Championships.”

Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes rounded out the open practices. Hawkeye fans were out in full force and made their presence known. Iowa takes on South Carolina on March 31 at 8:00 p.m. CT.

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Women’s Sweet 16: game predictions, who advances to the Elite Eight?

Only two No. 1 seeds remain in the women’s tournament and this is the first time since 1998 that the Sweet 16 will be without two of its No. 1 seeds.

Only two No. 1 seeds remain in the women’s tournament and this is the first time since 1998 that the Sweet 16 will be without two of its No. 1 seeds. We have a No. 8 seed in Ole Miss and a No. 9 seed in Miami matched up against No. 5 and No. 4 seeds respectively. This tournament is about to heat up and it feels like upsets are on the brink.

Sweet 16 games begin Friday, March 24 with four matchups on Friday and four matchups on Saturday. The frontrunners in the tournament are still the top-seeded teams, but lower-seeded teams are peaking at just the right time and anything can happen in March.

Here’s everything you need ahead of this weekend’s Sweet 16.

2023 NCAA women’s Sweet 16: Latest bracket, schedule, and how to watch

There are few surprises with Miami, Colorado, and Ole Miss in the mix of teams, but stalwarts are also accounted for in South Carolina, Iowa, and UConn.

The Sweet 16 is upon us and games begin Friday, March 24. There are four matchups on Friday and four matchups on Saturday. There are few surprises with Miami, Colorado, and Ole Miss in the mix of teams, but stalwarts are also accounted for in South Carolina, Iowa, and UConn.

Sweet 16 Schedule: (All game times are eastern)

Friday, March 24 — Sweet 16

  • No. 4 Villanova vs. No. 9 Miami | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 2 Utah vs. No. 3 LSU | 5 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 6 Colorado | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 5 Louisville vs. No. 8 Ole Miss | 10 p.m. | ESPN

Saturday, March 25 — Sweet 16

  • No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN
  • No.1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 UCLA | 2:00 p.m. | ESPN
  • No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Ohio State | 4 p.m. | ABC
  • No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 4 Tennessee | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Only two No. 1 seeds remain in the tournament and this is the first time since 1998 that the Sweet 16 will be without two of its No. 1 seeds.

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Power ranking the 16 remaining teams in the women’s tournament

The frontrunners in the tournament are still the top-seeded teams, but lower-seeded teams are peaking at just the right time and anything can happen in March.

The tournament’s second round has come and gone with upsets galore busting everyone’s brackets. Ole Miss’s upset of No. 1 seeded Stanford shattered the last bracket.

The team field is a bit diverse with only two No. 1 seeds remaining in the tournament, South Carolina and Virginia Tech, respectively. Ole Miss, Miami, and Colorado shocked viewers when they took down their opponents and made it into the Sweet 16.

The frontrunners in the tournament are still the top-seeded teams, but lower-seeded teams are peaking at just the right time and anything can happen in March.

With that said College Sports Wire tried to rank the remaining teams in the Sweet 16.

Dawn Staley pays tribute to history-making HBCU with outfit

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley never misses an opportunity to respect the culture and educate on the history of Black women in basketball.

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley never misses an opportunity to respect the culture and educate on the history of Black women in basketball.

In her second-round game against South Florida in the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA Division I tournament, Staley wore Louis Vuitton pants and a Cheyney State jersey.

Cheyney State is an HBCU that played in the first Division 1 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship tournament which took place in 1982. Not only did they play, but they also made it to the championship game. Cheyney State was and remains, the only HBCU to make it to the championship game and to the Final Four.

Cheyney State made it back to the tournament and won one game in 1983 and three games to advance to the Final Four in 1984.

Staley honored Cheyney State and her former coach, Yolanda Laney, by wearing Laney’s number and replica jersey. Laney led Cheyney State to the championship game back in 1982.

Staley’s outfit always turn heads because her style is impeccable, but this outfit has more behind it than a fancy label. The history it elicits is strong and important. Staley’s team played HBCU Norfolk State in the first round and beat them decisively. But, Staley took the time to go to the locker room and speak to the players and motivate them to keep pushing forward.

While Norfolk State lost to the Gamecocks, the ripple effect of playing in a game like this against the No. 1 seed was not lost on their coach or the media.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp6XakaPKDr/

Staley is constantly pushing the game forward and making sure she lifts others up along the way.

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Alabama knocks off Texas A&M to win program’s eighth SEC Tournament Title

The No. 1 seed Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the No. 2 seed Texas A&M Aggies in Sunday’s SEC Championship Game by a final score of 82-63.

The Alabama men’s basketball team secured its eighth conference title with a 82-63 win over Texas A&M in Sunday’s SEC Championship. The Tide have solidified themselves as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Alabama was led by the trio of Charles Bediako, Brandon Miller, and Jahvon Quinerly.

Bediako played one of the best games of his college career on Sunday. The Canadian scored 12 points while grabbing 13 rebounds. He also added five blocks.

Quinerly provided a huge boost to the Tide’s scoring efforts in the first half. The senior added 22 points having shot 8-14 from the field and 4-8 from the three-point line.

As for Miller, he was the spark that Alabama needed to pull away in the second half. Miller finished the game with 23 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and three steals. He was also awarded as the MVP of the SEC Tournament.

The Tide will wait to see how their side of the bracket stacks up. The NCAA selection committee is set to reveal the bracket at 5 CST on CBS. As mentioned, Alabama is sure to receive a No. 1 seed. They also have a strong chance of receiving the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama basketball program as postseason play continues.

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