Full-Court Press: Takeaways from Alabama Basketball in the Sweet 16

Blake Byler's thoughts and takeaways from Alabama's season-ending loss to San Diego State.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A historic season for Alabama basketball came to a swift end on Friday night, as the top-seeded Crimson Tide fell in the Sweet 16 to San Diego State by a final score of 71-64.

I'll write my thoughts on the season as a whole at a later date, but here are some of my thoughts and takeaways from the game itself:

1. San Diego State seemed designed to beat Alabama.

I wrote about this in more detail after the game, but it was one of the biggest reasons Alabama lost so I have to mention it here.

Physical defenses full over older, veteran players have given Alabama trouble all season, whether it was UConn in the Phil Knight Invitational, Oklahoma in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, or Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena.

San Diego State was no different, coming in with a reputation for being strong and physical and it showed from the very beginning.

Even though the Aztecs weren't the biggest, their guards defended tight and got up into Alabama's guards, while their bigs forcefully moved Alabama's around on the glass.

The physicality of San Diego State threw Alabama off its offensive game for the whole first half, leading to a 5-point deficit at the break. Even though Alabama came back and took a 9-point lead, the veterans on the other side kept their composure and were able to keep their intensity.

When the Crimson Tide took that lead after Jahvon Quinerly hit a three, it felt like there was a collective exhale from the arena, both fans and players alike. The players lost their intensity, and that's where Alabama's youth showed. When Alabama's intensity faded, it wasn't able to match the Aztecs physically, leading to sloppy turnovers and giving up easy inside baskets. 

It was Alabama's biggest weakness all year, and after last night's game it feels like the Crimson Tide ran into the one team that was specifically designed to beat it. 

2. Brandon Miller capped off a disappointing tournament.

Brandon Miller, the SEC Player of the Year, a first team All-American by multiple publications, was not very good in the NCAA Tournament.

It's an unfortunate reality to accept, especially after Miller had been nothing but extraordinary for the entirety of the season, averaging just under 19 points and eight rebounds per game.

In the first round, Miller didn't score a point against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, but coming off a groin injury in the SEC Tournament and playing limited minutes in a blowout, that was quickly excused. 

If you just look at point totals, he seemed to return to form against Maryland, scoring his season average of 19. The downside, though, it took him shooting 17 shots to get there — and only making five.

Then comes Friday night's game. A game where offense was difficult to come by, and Alabama needed its star to step up and be able to create and hit shots when things got tough. 

Miller, to put it plainly, was bad. He scored just nine points in the game, and did so on a brutal 3-for-19 shooting from the field and 1-for-10 shooting from three.

Miller shot a total of 8-for-41 for the field in the tournament. That 19 percent clip marked the lowest field goal percentage of any player in the NCAA Tournament with at least 35 attempts since 1985.

The tournament doesn't change the fact that Miller's likely one and only season at Alabama was incredible. He will still be remembered as one of, if not the best player in school history, and his legacy will live on in Coleman Coliseum along with this 2023 team for a long time.

But unfortunately for Alabama fans, his final few games left a bad taste in their mouths.

3. Sweet 16 curse?

It's undeniable that Alabama has one of the most successful basketball programs in the SEC. The Crimson Tide program ranks second in the SEC in conference win percentage, total conference wins, regular season conference titles and conference tournament championships.

Even now under Nate Oats, the team had won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles in two out of three years, and Oats has more combined SEC titles than every active SEC coach outside of John Calipari. 

Despite this success, Alabama has never been able to find a way to get to the Final Four, and only made the Elite Eight once in 2004. And that Elite Eight run wasn't made by a top-seeded team, either. The Crimson Tide was an 8-seed that season.

Alabama basketball has made 10 Sweet 16 appearances as a program, and holds a 1-9 record in such games. That's the worst record of any power conference program with at least six appearances.

Of those nine losses, two were as a 4-seed, two were as a 2-seed, and now one has been as a 1-seed.

The regular season success has been there, but sooner or later, it's time for Alabama to break through that wall and finally make a deep March run.

Alabama fans may be discouraged by the result of Friday's game, but with the way his first four years in Tuscaloosa have gone, if any Alabama coach was going to make a Final Four, Oats built a very strong foundation to built towards it.

See also:

No. 1 Alabama Basketball Falls to No. 5 SDSU, Eliminated from NCAA Tournament

The Run That Changed Momentum, Turning Alabama's Sweet 16 Sour

Veteran Physicality Becomes Alabama Basketball's Ultimate Undoing