March Madness

Alabama is the favorite to win the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball championship, led by preseason player of the year Mark Sears. The Crimson Tide, ranked second in the AP’s preseason Top 25, are coming off the program’s first Final Four run.

Touting Huntsville as a championship city with a long list of wins during his tenure, Mayor Tommy Battle delivered his 16th State of the City address on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the Von Braun Center’s Saturn Ballroom.

Alabama got the kind of game it wanted in its first Final Four appearance. It still wasn’t enough to beat UConn. The Tide fell 86-72 against the top-seeded Huskies, unable to contain a team down the stretch that’s steamrolled through this NCAA Tournament and is trying to become the first back-to-back champion since 2007.

Alabama guard Aaron Estrada is ending his five-year, four-school college basketball odyssey with a trip to the Final Four. The 6-foot-4 guard started his career at Saint Peter's before transferring to Oregon, Hofstra and finally Alabama.

Alabama coach Nate Oats has deep connections to the man he will be coaching against in the Final Four. Oats and UConn's Dan Hurley have known each other for more than a decade, going back to the days when Oats was a high school coach in the Detroit area.

Nate Oats has Nick Saban on speed dial. Yet the Alabama men's basketball coach knew he needed as much input as possible as his team was reeling heading into the NCAA Tournament. The result? The Crimson Tide are making their first appearance in the Final Four.

It's happened only one other time in the history of Crimson Tide men's basketball, and it happened last night against North Carolina.

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. will be a gametime decision for Alabama’s NCAA Tournament game against North Carolina on Thursday night. The senior guard continues to be evaluated for a head injury that he suffered during the first half of last Sunday’s 72-61 victory over Grand Canyon.

The Crimson Tide’s Mark Sears carried Alabama long enough for the Crimson Tide to get an unexpected contribution and reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Darrion Trammell and San Diego State used a dominant defensive performance to knock top overall seed Alabama out of the NCAA Tournament, bottling up All-America freshman Brandon Miller in a 71-64 victory in the Sweet 16.