BY | Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. — Imagine taking Alabama fans — whose first words in the crib were naturally “Roll Tide!” — from, let’s say 1973, and stick them inside a sports time machine where they got dropped off in February 2025 in Tuscaloosa.
Not just at any game, of course: No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 2 Alabama.
The Iron Bowl, needless to say. The Game of the Century, perhaps.
In 2025, that matchup must mean a college basketball game.
Then fast forward another month or so, where that same Crimson Tide basketball team is on the cusp of reaching the Final Four, with the possibility of meeting Auburn.
On Friday night, Auburn freshman Tahaad Pettiford and senior Denver Jones turned in dazzling performances when it mattered most, rallying top-seeded Auburn to a 78-65 victory over Michigan in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers (31-5) wiped out a nine-point deficit in the second half, outscoring No. 5 seed Michigan 39-17 over the final 12 1/2 minutes to advance to the Elite Eight for only the third time in school history. They also became the fourth Southeastern Conference team to reach a regional final, with the SEC joining the Atlantic Coast Conference (2016) and Big East (2009) as the only leagues to do that.
Auburn will face Michigan State in the South Region final on Sunday, with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The Spartans held off Mississippi 73-70 in the first game of the night in Atlanta.
So with both Alabama and Auburn on cusp of the Final Four could they meet for the national title? Yes. With Alabama in the East Regional and Auburn in the South Regional, a winner-take-all for the season series is on the table. The question is when the teams would meet up if both keep winning.
The answer is the national championship game. On Saturday, Alabama takes on No. 1 Duke in the Elite Eight at 7:49 p.m. If the Crimson Tide were to win, it would advance to the Final Four for the second straight year and the second time in program history. The Crimson Tide would play the winner of Houston-Tennessee in the national semifinal and a win would clinch a spot in the championship game.
On the other hand, Auburn would play the winner of No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Texas Tech in the Final Four if it wins over Michigan State on Sunday. From there, the Tigers would need to beat the Gators or Red Raiders to advance to the championship game.
For the Tide, primarily known for football, iron more than blue runs in Bama’s blood, and the Crimson Tide will never be confused with a Duke or Kentucky or Kansas. And here’s a guarantee Joe Namath could endorse: Several sweet March runs under Nate Oats aren’t about to overtake a century of tradition down at Bryant-Denny Stadium and make hoops the official sport of Alabama.
Yet, with each meaningful March, Alabama basketball has squeezed its way into the sports culture, thanks in large part to Oats, a former math teacher who has found that deep pockets, committed resources and national recruiting equals a program that stands tall among the elite in college basketball — and no longer looks so far up at its big brother football team.
“I’d say we’re a championship school,” All-American guard Mark Sears said. “Football, they’ve got 18 national championships, and we’re still trying to reach our first one.”
The Crimson Tide did, finally, reach their first Final Four in program history last season.
One Final Four is nice enough, but two in two years? Get past top-seeded Duke on Saturday night and it’s fair to wonder, could a mini-SEC dynasty be brewing in Tuscaloosa?
“When you get the players that we’ve got and you’ve won at the level we’ve won, that’s the expectation level, and I think that the players understand what they’re coming here for. They’re coming here to win championships,” Oats said. “They’re coming here to compete against the best. We’ve had the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country the last two years in a row. We’ve led the country in scoring the last two years in a row, but we’ve also won at a pretty high level.”
Alabama has caught fire at a time when the football team hasn’t won a national championship in four seasons.
Nick Saban is out pitching vacation rentals and insurance in retirement after the college football Hall of Fame coach brought six national championships to Tuscaloosa over 17 seasons. Under coach Kalen DeBoer, Alabama was left out last season of the expanded 12-team CFP field and lost in something called the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Oh sure, the hoops team has enjoyed blips of success through the decades, a Sweet 16 here and there, an Elite Eight trip in 2004, but the reversal of fortune didn’t truly come until athletic director Greg Byrne hired away Oats from Buffalo in 2019.
Oats has since won SEC titles in 2021 and 2023 and two more conference tourney titles, led Alabama to the No. 1 seed in the tournament, boasts an active streak of three straight Sweet 16s and hit No. 1 in the AP poll. All those achievements were topped last season by the program’s first Final Four, where it was knocked out by eventual national champion UConn.
Oats is quick to credit the resources available to the program as it tries to become the first SEC team to win a national championship since John Calipari’s 2012 Kentucky team.
The Crimson Tide pack Coleman Coliseum these days and the school has committed to a $60 million, 48,000-square foot new training facility adjacent to the arena that is expected to open next year.
“They’re going to make sure the athletes are supported, that the coaches have the resources they need to win, and they’ve done that,” Oats said. “We’re in the middle of building a new practice facility. It’s going to be as good as any in the country, in my opinion. New offices, training rooms, strength, all that stuff. They’re supporting us with financial resources.”
The arms race has never cost more in college hoops and blue chippers need plenty of green to sign these days. Consider, the program took a swing-and-miss at AJ Dybantsa, the nation’s top recruit who made a splash this season when he signed an NIL deal with BYU reportedly worth between $5 million and $7 million.
The riches extend to Oats, who is signed through 2030, and topped $5 million in salary this season. Oats announced on Friday that prized recruiter and assistant coach Preston Murphy agreed to an extension through 2027 at $675,000 per year.
“We want to be in the discussion for a team that can make a Final Four every year.,” Oats said. “We’ve been that for the last few years running now. The recruiting has got to stay at a high level. That’s why it’s a good thing we got Preston on a three-year contract that came out today because he’s, in my opinion, one of the best if not the best recruiter in the country and we’ll have the talent. We play a system that guys want to come to.”
Second-seeded Alabama set March Madness records that would have made Stephen Curry and James Harden blush by attempting 51 3-pointers and making 25 in a 113-88 win over BYU.
“I think it’s helped us, putting an NBA system in and recruiting NBA talent has helped us kind of sustain the success over the five years now, I guess is what it’s been,” Oats said.
Is it good enough to finally burst through the bluebloods and cut down the nets in San Antonio?
“Coming into the year, I knew we were going to be just as good, if not better, and I feel like we’ve proven ourselves to be better than last year’s team,” forward Grant Nelson said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in us in this tournament going in and making another deep run, and hopefully, winning it all.”
Just like Bryant and Saban and the best of those great football teams did.
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