No. 3 Alabama Hopeful for Farthest NCAA Tournament Run of Oats’ Tenure

The Crimson Tide made the Sweet 16 in 2021 — it believes it can go deeper in 2023.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Historically, the Alabama Crimson Tide is a storied basketball program.

The Crimson Tide is second in the SEC in total wins and tournament championships and has been ranked in the final AP poll 16 times — also second-best in the conference.

Alabama is arguably the second most successful basketball program in the conference — behind just Kentucky.

And yet, it hasn’t always felt like it.

The Crimson Tide was a mainstay in the NCAA tournament from 2002-2006, making the field each year during that span. Alabama also made the Elite Eight in 2004 — its deepest run in school history.

But from 2007-2021, the Crimson Tide made the tournament just twice, never making it past the Round of 32.

That was until 2021, when second-year head coach Nate Oats led Alabama to an SEC regular season championship, tournament championship and the Sweet 16. The Crimson Tide suffered a heartbreaking overtime defeat to 11-seed UCLA to end a fantastic run.

A year ago, expectations were high. Alabama took down five ranked teams, including Gonzaga, Houston and Baylor — three of the four Final Four teams in 2021. But lack of depth and defensive effort sealed the deal for the 2021-22 Crimson Tide team. Alabama was upset by another 11-seed, Notre Dame, in the first round.

So, how did Oats and his staff respond? The Crimson Tide brought in the No. 3 recruiting class and two transfers — looking to return to similar success from two seasons ago.

The program has responded in a big way, putting together potentially its best team ever. Alabama is ranked third in the country and has a two-game lead on everyone else in the SEC. The Crimson Tide is led by perhaps the most spectacular basketball player to reside in Tuscaloosa, ever — true freshman guard Brandon Miller.

Playing as many as 11 players a game, Alabama is as deep as ever. Additionally, the Crimson Tide ranks in the top-20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom. Needless to say, Alabama will be a handful in March for any opponent it faces.

“We’ve got multiple options,” Oats said. “If somebody wasn’t playing well [last year] — we just didn't have many options. This year, if somebody isn't playing well, we’ve got plenty of options to go to. […] I think we’re deeper.”

The Crimson Tide has never made a national semifinal in program history. However, this year may be the best chance its ever had.

So, is it Final Four or bust for Alabama?

“In college basketball, teams get judged a lot on how they finish in the NCAA tournament,” Oats said. “It’s a one game deal. As you see over the course of the college basketball season — anybody is susceptible to losing, anybody can get a win. To purely judge a program just on how they do in the NCAA tournament I think is a little short sighted. I don't want our guys thinking Final Four or bust or anything like that. We just need to play our best basketball in March. We don't need to put all the extra pressure on us. I do think we have a chance to make a run.”

So, what are the keys to making a deep run in the 68-team field?

“I think you've got to be smart with how hard you push your guys in practice,” Oats said. “Some luck goes into it too. […] There's some breaks you need to get to make [a deep run] in the tournament.”

With March steadily approaching, there is plenty of reason to believe that this Crimson Tide team can be the first in school history to reach the Final Four — and possibly more.

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