Alabama

Alabama

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NCAAB 667 NIT 11
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Alabama - Femmes
NCAAB 03/29 01:54 136 Alabama v North Carolina W 89-87
NCAAB 03/24 23:10 124 Grand Canyon v Alabama W 61-72
NCAAB 03/23 00:00 122 Coll Of Charleston v Alabama W 96-109
NCAAB 03/16 01:30 3 [61] Florida v Alabama [69] L 102-88
NCAAB 03/09 17:00 - [201] Arkansas v Alabama [71] W 88-92
NCAAB 03/06 00:00 - [65] Alabama v Florida [71] L 87-105
NCAAB 03/03 01:00 - [24] Tennessee v Alabama [59] L 81-74
NCAAB 02/29 02:00 - [5] Alabama v Mississippi [7] W 103-88
NCAAB 02/24 21:00 - [4] Alabama v Kentucky [7] L 95-117
NCAAB 02/22 00:00 - [6] Florida v Alabama [5] W 93-98
NCAAB 02/17 17:00 - [133] Texas A&M v Alabama [55] W 75-100
NCAAB 02/10 17:00 - [55] Alabama v LSU [167] W 109-92
NCAAB 02/08 00:00 - [55] Alabama v Auburn [14] L 81-99
NCAAB 02/04 01:30 - [8] Mississippi State v Alabama [6] W 67-99
NCAAB 01/31 23:30 - [6] Alabama v Georgia [7] W 85-76
NCAAB 01/28 01:00 - [11] LSU v Alabama [9] W 88-109
NCAAB 01/25 00:30 - [1] Auburn v Alabama [8] W 75-79
NCAAB 01/20 19:00 - [7] Alabama v Tennessee [5] L 71-91
NCAAB 01/17 00:00 - [13] Missouri v Alabama [8] W 75-93
NCAAB 01/14 01:30 - [9] Alabama v Mississippi State [5] W 82-74
NCAAB 01/10 00:00 - [1] Caroline du Sud v Alabama [10] W 47-74
NCAAB 01/06 20:30 - [13] Alabama v Vanderbilt [14] W 78-75
NCAAB 12/30 19:00 - Liberty v Alabama W 56-101
NCAAB 12/23 21:00 - Eastern Kentucky v Alabama W 67-111
NCAAB 12/21 04:00 - Alabama v Arizona L 74-87
NCAAB 12/17 01:00 - Alabama v Creighton L 82-85
NCAAB 12/09 18:30 - [2] Purdue v Alabama [1] L 92-86
NCAAB 12/05 01:00 - Arkansas State v Alabama W 65-89
NCAAB 11/29 02:30 - Clemson v Alabama L 85-77
NCAAB 11/25 21:00 - Alabama v Oregon W 99-91

The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama in NCAA Division I men's basketball. The program plays in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In the conference it trails only long-time basketball powerhouse Kentucky in SEC tournament titles, is third behind Kentucky and Arkansas in total wins, and is second behind Kentucky in SEC regular-season conference titles. Alabama was retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion for the 1929–30 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. The team has appeared in the NCAA tournament 23 times, most recently in 2023. Alabama's current head coach is Nate Oats.

The men's basketball program has spent most of its history in the shadow of Alabama's football team, but has risen in stature over the past several decades. Under former coach Mark Gottfried, the team achieved a No. 1 national ranking briefly in 2003, and competed for an NCAA Regional Tournament championship in 2004. The program was notable as a regular conference basketball contender in the 1980s and early 1990s under the direction of coach Wimp Sanderson and in the 1970s under coach C. M. Newton. As of 2023, Alabama has nine NCAA tournament Sweet 16 appearances.

In the 2003–04 season, the team defeated #1-seeded Stanford in the NCAA tournament, and reached the Elite Eight round where they lost to the eventual national champion, Connecticut. Under Oats, the team has continued to craft its own distinct tradition, with SEC titles in 2021 and 2023, and their best-ever season in the latter as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

History

Former coaches with at least five years with the Crimson Tide include the following: Hank Crisp (1923–1942, 1945–1946), Hayden Riley (1960–1968), C. M. Newton (1968–1980), Wimp Sanderson (1980–1992) – Alabama's winningest coach (.692), David Hobbs (1992–1998), Mark Gottfried (1998–2009), and Anthony Grant (2009–2015).

Other coaches include John Dee, D.V. Graves, Floyd Burdette, and Charles A. Bernier.

C. M. Newton

In 1968, legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who was also Alabama's athletic director, called Kentucky men's basketball coach Adolph Rupp looking for someone to turn around Alabama's basketball program. Rupp recommended C. M. Newton, a former backup player at Kentucky who had been at Transylvania University for 12 years. In 12 seasons at Alabama, Newton led the Tide to a record of 211–123. The Crimson Tide won three straight SEC titles under Newton (1974, 1975, and 1976), the only program besides Kentucky to accomplish this feat. Newton also guided Alabama to four NIT and two NCAA Men's Division I Championship tournament berths, prompting the school to name a recruiting suite in his honor in 2006.

Just as he did at Transylvania, Newton recruited Alabama's first black player, Wendell Hudson, in 1969, integrating his second team in as many coaching stops.

Wimp Sanderson

Newton resigned as head coach after the 1980–81 season to become assistant commissioner of the SEC. He was succeeded by his top assistant, Wimp Sanderson. He had been at Alabama since 1960 as a graduate assistant to Newton's predecessor, Hayden Riley; he was named a full-fledged assistant in 1961. In 12 years as head coach his teams averaged 21.8 wins a year, with a 267–119 record, and they won 4 SEC tournaments. They played in one NIT and eight NCAA tournaments making the "Sweet 16" five times. Sanderson is the only coach in Alabama history to win 200 or more games in his first 10 years. He was the SEC Coach of the Year in 1987, 1989 and 1990, and was the National Coach of the Year in 1987.

Sanderson was best known for wearing garish plaid sports jackets on the sidelines. At one point, Coleman Coliseum was known as the "Plaid Palace", and the mid-court logo was painted in a crimson-and-white plaid pattern.

David Hobbs

Hobbs was hired at Alabama as an assistant coach for Wimp Sanderson in 1985 and spent seven years as an assistant in Tuscaloosa helping the Crimson Tide win one SEC Championship and four SEC Tournament crowns while the Tide made four appearances in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16. As an assistant, he had the opportunity to coach such All-SEC performers as Robert Horry, James "Hollywood" Robinson and Latrell Sprewell.

When Sanderson left Alabama following the 1992 season, Hobbs was named head coach. In his first season, the Tide finished 16–13 and advanced to the NIT. In 1994 and 1995, Alabama recorded 20-win seasons and advanced to the NCAA tournament behind the play of future NBA All-Star Antonio McDyess. In 1996, Hobbs led UA to a 19–13 mark and a berth in the NIT Final Four. He resigned his post following the 1998 season after compiling a 110–76 (.594) career record and producing nine All-SEC players.

Mark Gottfried

Mark Gottfried (1998–2009)
Season Overall record SEC record Postseason
1998–99 17–15 7–11 NIT 1st Round
1999–2000 13–16 6–10 None
2000–01 25–11 8–8 NIT Championship Game
2001–02 27–8 12–4 NCAA 2nd round
2002–03 17–12 7–9 NCAA 1st Round
2003–04 20–13 8–8 NCAA Elite Eight
2004–05 24–8 12–4 NCAA 1st Round
2005–06 18–13 10–6 NCAA 2nd round
2006–07 20–12 7–9 NIT 1st Round
2007–08 17–16 5–11 Declined invitation to CBI
2008–09 12–7 2–3 Resigned mid-season.
Overall record: 210–130 (.618)

Mark Gottfried served as the Crimson Tide's head coach from the 1998–99 season until midway through the 2008–09 season. Gottfried played 3 seasons of basketball at Alabama under Wimp Sanderson, and the Crimson Tide advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in each of those seasons. He was hired by Alabama in March 1998 after coaching at Murray State for three seasons.

The Crimson Tide achieved the highest pinnacle ever for the school in both the NCAA Championship tournament and the Associated Press Poll reaching the Elite Eight in the tournament in 2004 and reaching the No. 1 spot in the nation in the AP poll in 2002, both under Mark Gottfried's command.

Gottfried led the Tide to its only SEC Championship under his watch during the 2001–02 season, although the team never won a conference tournament championship during his tenure. For his efforts in 2002, Gottfried was named SEC Coach of the Year by both the Associated Press and his fellow Southeastern Conference coaches. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment as coach at Alabama was leading the Crimson Tide to five consecutive NCAA tournaments from 2002 to 2006, another first for the school that occurred under his watch.

Gottfried resigned on January 26, 2009, with 11 regular season games still remaining on the team's schedule. Then Athletic Director Mal Moore named long-time Alabama assistant and former player, Philip Pearson as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

Anthony Grant

On March 27, 2009 Anthony Grant agreed in principle to become the 20th Crimson Tide head men's basketball coach. Grant came to Alabama after serving as the head coach at VCU from 2006 to 2009.

After a mediocre first season, Grant led the veteran 2010–11 team to a SEC West title and a 2nd-place finish in the 2011 NIT. The 2011–12 team endured the suspensions of several star players to finish with a 21–12 record and a berth in the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, where they lost in the round of 64 to Creighton. This was the Crimson Tide's first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2006. In March 2015, Grant was fired by Alabama after six seasons. Assistant coach John Brannen served as interim head coach for the 2015 NIT tournament.

Avery Johnson

On April 5, 2015, Avery Johnson agreed to become Alabama's next head coach. The former NBA coach said he was attracted to the position because he perceived it as "a big challenge" in that Alabama is not a "perennial favorite" and has never won a championship before. Johnson's 2017–18 team finished with a 20–16 (8–10) record and was invited to the NCAA tournament. The next season, the Tide finished 18–16 (8–10) and Johnson was let go at the end of the campaign.

Nate Oats

On March 27, 2019, Nate Oats was named Alabama's next head coach. Oats was previously the coach for the Buffalo Bulls, and had led them to three NCAA tournament appearances in the past four years. After a 16–15 record in his first season in 2019–20, Oats' second season brought Alabama the first SEC regular-season title since 2002 and the first SEC tournament title since 1991. The Tide were a No. 2 seed in the 2021 tournament, where they fell to UCLA in overtime in the Sweet Sixteen. Then in 2023, Oats coached Alabama to their second SEC regular season and tournament championship in three years. Alabama returned as the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the second time under Oats tenure before falling to San Diego State who advanced to the National Championship game.

Oats also holds the best record against AP top 10 teams in Alabama history.