Alabama coach Nate Oats dubbed it “the basketball Rose Bowl.”
No word yet on whether Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney will be there to witness it.
Nevertheless, it’s on to the Elite Eight for No. 6 seed Clemson, which will take on No. 4 seed Alabama in the West Region final of the NCAA Tournament Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
It will be the second time the Crimson Tide and Tigers have met this season. Clemson defeated Alabama, 85-77, back on November 28 in Tuscaloosa as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge.
With a trip to the Final Four on the line, it’s hard to bet against the Tigers in a rematch.
They survived No. 3 seed Baylor before knocking out No. 2 seed Arizona, 77-72, in Thursday’s Sweet 16 contest. Chase Hunter has been phenomenal throughout the tournament, and he scored another 18 points in the win against Arizona.
Clemson’s defense has held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting in its first three games of the tournament.
Alabama got to the Elite 8 by taking down No. 1 seed North Carolina, 89-87, in a thrilling comeback on Thursday. Grant Nelson scored 24 points to keep the Tide rolling in the Dance after a late-season slump in SEC play threatened to derail Alabama’s season.
The Crimson Tide is the led by senior Mark Sears, who averages 21.4 points per night. Sears totaled 18 points against North Carolina on 7-of-14 shots. ‘Bama’s biggest strength — and subsequently its achilles heel — is its 3-point shooting. When the Tide gets rolling, they have any number of deadly assassins from behind the arc, including Sears and Rylan Griffen (11.2 points per game).
Neither Clemson nor Alabama have ever reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Series Notes and History
Clemson leads the all time head to head series, 8-4. The two schools first met in basketball in 1929. The Tigers have won the last three meetings in the series, including its November win in Tuscaloosa. In that game, Hall had 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Hunter and Joe Girard combined for 31 points. Saturday’s game will mark the fifth meeting between the Tigers and Crimson Tide since 2015.
Where To Watch
Here’s where Clemson fans can watch, stream and listen to Saturday’s NCAA Tournament game against Alabama.
Date: Saturday, March 30
Time: 8:49 p.m. EST
Where: Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center)
TV: TBS/truTV
Live Stream: B/R Sports add-on via Max app
Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | Westwood One Sports (national broadcast) | TuneIn App | Varsity App | SiriusXM (Channel 202)
Broadcast Teams
TBS: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (analyst), Allie LaForce (sideline)
Clemson Radio: Don Munson, JD Powell
Westwood One Sports: Spero Dedes, Austin Croshere