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Alabama men’s basketball’s road to redemption in the NCAA Tournament begins against College of Charleston on March 22nd at 7:35 p.m. The Crimson Tide are coming off a Sweet 16 exit in the 2023 tournament to San Diego State. Alabama was the number one overall seed in the tournament, and they lost 71-64.
Headed to Spokane!#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/rYKqODjHSY
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 17, 2024
The Crimson Tide’s Road to the Tournament
The Crimson Tide (21-11, 13-5) this year come in as a number four seed in the West Region. While Alabama holds a high seed in the region, they have lost four of their last six games to close out pre-tournament play. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament to Florida 102-88.
Their most notable wins in conference play were wins against South Carolina, Auburn and Florida. However, all of these wins were at home.
Alabama is led by senior guard Mark Sears, and he averages 21.1 points per game. He shoots 50.4 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from three-point range.
https://twitter.com/AlabamaMBB/status/1766544568478994562
How the Cougars Got to the NCAA Tournament
The College of Charleston Cougars (27-7, 15-3) are the number 13 seed in the West Region. They won the Colonial Athletic Conference in the regular season, and they won their conference tournament by defeating Stony Brook 82-79.
While they have a strong record, they have not beaten a team that is in the NCAA Tournament. They are 0-3 against teams that made the NCAA Tournament with losses to Duquesne, Vermont and Florida Atlantic.
Junior guard Reyne Smith is the leading scorer for the Cougars. He averages 12.8 points per game, and he had 23 points in their 82-79 win over Stony Brook to secure the conference championship.
https://twitter.com/CofCBasketball/status/1767724213404619139
The Matchup
Alabama is favored to win by 9,5 points, according to ESPNBET. The two teams have not played each other since 1993.
This game could be decided at the three-point line. College of Charleston is third in the nation in three-point attempts, and Alabama is fourth. Each team shoots around 30 three-pointers per game. However, Alabama is the better three-point shooting team. They hit 36.5 percent of their attempts.
Tip-off is at 7:35 p.m. on Friday March 22nd and the game will be televised on truTV.
