Roll Tide: Alabama books first March Madness trip to Final Four with defeat of Clemson
LOS ANGELES — The Tide are rolling to Arizona.
Alabama is headed to the Final Four for the first time in school history after defeating Clemson 89-82 in West Region championship game to book a trip to State Farm Stadium next weekend.
It was a slow start for the Crimson Tide against Clemson, starting the contest 1-for-13 from 3-point land while it fell by as much as 13 points. But the nation's top scoring offense eventually woke up. It went on a hot 20-2 run toward the end of the first half to take the lead, and the offense continued its rhythm into the second half. Clemson would quickly take the lead out of halftime, but the 3-pointers were going in for Alabama and each clutch shot held the Tigers at bay.
"Good kids. The chemistry came together," Alabama coach Nate Oats said about his team that had three new assistant coaches and nine new players. "We fought some adversity. Next has been our word for the tournament. We just kept saying 'next play, next play.' We had some adversity here. We got down early and guys just hung in and stuck with the plan."
Mark Sears made seven of the team's 16 3-pointers for the game and led all scorers with 23 points. Jarin Stevenson added five makes from beyond the arc as part of a career-high 19 points. Nick Pringle contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Crimson Tide.
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Saturday was only the second Elite Eight appearance for Alabama, with the last trip in 2004. This tournament, Alabama put up triple-digits in its opening round win over No. 13 seed Charleston, won a scrappy game over No. 12 seed Grand Canyon in the second round and had a clutch performance from Grant Nelson in the Sweet 16 to stun No. 1 seed North Carolina and be the first team to knockout a top seed this tournament.
The trip to the Final Four also marks an incredible turnaround for Oats. Last season, Alabama was the No. 1 overall seed last season and was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by eventual runner-up San Diego State. In the offseason, the Crimson Tide lost Brandon Miller and Noah Clownley to the NBA draft and has several departures. Alabama returned only three players that made significant contributions last season, but Oats brought in transfers and freshmen that were key in this season's Final Four run aligning with the returning players.
Now, Oats has eight tournament wins since his arrival at Alabama in 2019, a significant achievement considering it only had seven tournament wins in 26 seasons before Oats.
Prior to Saturday, Oats said he wanted to make the basketball program a championship-caliber team similar to the school's football team, and an Elite Eight win would be "the biggest win in the history of Alabama basketball."
Now he and his team have a chance to make even more history in the Final Four.