March Madness May Give Alabama a Chance to Vanquish Its Biggest Ghost: All Things CW

Longtime Crimson Tide basketball fans are looking at how things are lining up for the upcoming NCAA Tournament and thinking "I've seen this before"

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh appears in five parts each week, with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is ...

Take 1

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tournament time is here and regardless of how Alabama basketball is able to maneuver through the upcoming Southeastern Conference's brackets in Nashville as the league's top-seeded team, the Crimson Tide appears poised to be a No. 1 team in an NCAA regional for the first time in program history. 

Even with Alabama taking a loss to close the regular season at Texas A&M on Saturday, it along with Houston and Kansas are all in the running to be the top-overall seed of March Madness, depending on what happens this week. 

So history is a popular subject this week in Tuscaloosa, where some of the older fans are hoping that one of the ghosts that's been hanging around over the program might get vanquished. 

Twice Alabama has been a No. 2 seed, only to get bounced before reaching its projected potential in the NCAA Tournament. 

In 2002, of course, Alabama was in the South Regional, hoping to get to Lexington, Ky. for the Sweet 16, only to be upset by 10th seeded-Kent State, Nick Saban's alma mater. It not only advanced from Greenville, S.C., but made it all the way to the region finals before bowing out to No. 5 Indiana (which lost in the title game). 

The other time, though, was 1987, which had a stronger "This is the year" vibe to it with Crimson Tide fans. 

Wimp Sanderson's team. led by Derrick McKay (18.6 points per game) and Jim Farmer (16.5), had five players who averaged double digits in scoring, including future coach Mark Gottfried. McKey, considered one of the best players in the nation, was named the SEC Player of the Year.  

It closed the regular season with six straight wins to enter the postseason 24-3, and won the SEC regular-season title with a 16-2 mark (setting a school record). Ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25, it rolled through Tennessee, Auburn and LSU to win the conference tournament at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta. 

Everything look primed for a serious run. Alabama got to play its first two games in Birmingham, where it promptly dispatched North Carolina A&T and New Orleans, to make its third-straight Sweet 16 appearance.  

It then played in Louisville, which is where everything promptly ended like the proverbial needle being ripped off a record. Two names in particular would begin to haunt the Crimson Tide that day during a nightmarish 103-82 loss:

Some guard named Billy Donovan. who only put up seven shots but scored 26 points as Providence was 14-for-22 (63.6 percent) from 3-point range and 33 of 48 from the floor (68 percent, a regional record). 

Some coach name Rick Pitino.

Later on, Alabama's participation in the tournament was vacated by the NCAA for the Crimson Tide using two ineligible players, as McKey and Terry Coner were both linked to sports agents. They remain the only three vacated games in program history. 

Now fast-froward to this year's team and note  the similarities: A program-best seeding. A star player surrounded by a lot of depth. SEC title. Controversy surrounding the program. The head coach, Nate Oats, even wears plaid sports coats, like what  Sanderson often wore. 

And where is Alabama projected by most to be slotted in the NCAA Tournament? The South Regional, where it could open in Birmingham and try to advance to Louisville for the Sweet 16.  

It sounds like a the basketball equivalent of a horror movie in the works, and why some Crimson Tide fans a little spooked heading into the postseason. But they also know that this team is more than good enough to avoid a sequel, and write its own ending. 

See Also: 

Ready or Not Alabama Basketball, March is Here

Has Alabama Basketball Already Locked Up a No. 1 Seeding in March Madness?

5 Things You May Not Have Noticed from Alabama Basketball's Title-Clinching Win