Winners out West: Alabama Basketball Advances to First Final Four in Program History

The Crimson Tide beat Clemson 89-82 in Los Angeles to accomplish a major milestone in Alabama basketball lore.

Mar 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) reacts in the second / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — The curse is lifted. Decades of frustration have been crushed in one night. For the first time in program history, Alabama basketball is going to the Final Four. 

No. 4 Alabama beat No. 6 Clemson 89-82 Saturday night in Los Angeles to win the West Regional and advance to the Final Four. Nate Oats has led the Crimson Tide to a new level in his fifth year as head coach. 

"I mean, it's surreal," Oats said. "You go back 11 years ago, and I won a state championship at Romulus back in the Detroit area. It hasn't been that long."

Mark Sears, Alabama’s scoring leader all season, struggled from the floor in the first half, but could not be contained by the Tigers in the second half. He once again led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 23 points and was  6-for-7 from beyond the arc in the second half.

"Just feeling a lot of emotions," Sears said after the game. "Being from Alabama, the state of Alabama, and to do it with this group of guys, it's amazing."

 Even while battling through a heel injury, Nick Pringle was another hero with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. More than half of his rebounds came on the offensive glass, and it seemed like he was able to counter any Clemson momentum by grabbing an offense board and finishing at the rim.

Each round of the NCAA Tournament, Alabama has had a different player step up. Saturday night against the Tigers, it was Jarin Stevenson. In the first meeting with Clemson back in December, Stevenson had zero points and played just eight minutes. In the Elite Eight matchup, Stevenson had 19 points on 5 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Tigers briefly held a one-point lead a few minutes into the second half, but from that point on, it was all Crimson Tide. Every time Clemson tried to get back into it with a 3-pointer or and-1, Alabama had an answer of its own.

Clemson was starting to build a comfortable lead, up 26-13 with less than eight minutes to go in the first half. But as the team has shown time and time again this season, no lead is safe against the Crimson Tide. Alabama closed the half on a 22-6 run to hold a three-point lead at halftime, 35-33.

The Crimson Tide will take on top-seeded and reigning national champion UConn next Saturday, April 3.