Alabama basketball to play Notre Dame in first round of NCAA Tournament

The Alabama men’s basketball team now has its first-round opponent set for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. On Wednesday night, Notre Dame defeated Rutgers 89-87 in an exciting double-overtime game that featured several ties and lead changes. It was also the second of the final two First Four games after the first two were played on Tuesday.

That means the Fighting Irish will move on and face off against the Crimson Tide in San Diego (Calif.) on Friday afternoon. Alabama is coming in as a 6-seed while Notre Dame will be the 11-seed.

The Crimson Tide (19-13, 9-9 SEC) are currently on a three-game losing skid and have also dropped four of their last six. Just last week, Nate Oats and company blew a 15-point lead against Vanderbilt in the second round of the SEC Tournament and lost 82-76. Still, there’s optimism that this group can get things turned around, but it has to start on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish went 22-10 (15-5 ACC) and have been impressive since the start of the new year. They started 4-5 before going 18-5 over their last 23 games. Yes, they did lose by 7 to a hot Virginia Tech squad in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, but they’re back on track as of Wednesday night.

Now, they’ll try to pull off an upset in the first round against Alabama. Of course, the Crimson Tide can’t let that happen. Lose and you’re done, which Oats pointed out to his squad before they left for San Diego.

“We knew we had an NCAA Tournament bid, so if you lose in the SEC Tournament, you’ve still got another game,” Oats told reporters on Tuesday. “If you lose now, it’s done. There’s no other game. So if you can’t get locked in at this point, I don’t know what it would take to get them locked in.

“But I do sense a little bit more sense of urgency than maybe what we’ve had. Some guys realize the end is here if we don’t clean up some of these little things that we need to clean up.”

Let’s hope Oats is correct. This Alabama team has the talent to make a run. But with the way they’ve played as of late, a first-round exit is also possible, if they’re not careful. We’ll find out one way or another on Friday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3:15 p.m. CT on TNT.

Entire NCAA Tournament Schedule

Thursday, March 17

No. 6 Colorado State vs. No. 11 Michigan, 11:15 a.m. CT (CBS)

No. 4 Providence vs. No. 13 South Dakota State, 11:40 a.m. (truTV)

No. 8 Boise State vs. No. 9 Memphis, 12:45 p.m. (TNT)

No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 16 Norfolk State, 1 p.m. (TBS)

No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 14 Longwood, 1:45 p.m. (CBS)

No. 5 Iowa vs. No. 12 Richmond, 2:10 p.m. (truTV)

No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 Georgia State, 3:15 p.m. (TNT)

No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Marquette, 3:30 p.m. (TBS)

No. 5 UConn vs. No. 12 New Mexico State, 5:50 p.m. (TNT)

No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s, 6:10 p.m. (CBS)

No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 12 Indiana, 6:20 p.m. (TBS)

No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 9 Creighton, 6:27 p.m. (truTV)

No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Vermont, 8:20 p.m. (TNT)

No. 7 Murray State vs. No. 10 San Francisco, 8:40 p.m. (CBS)

No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 13 Akron, 8:50 p.m. (TBS)

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Texas Southern, 8:57 p.m. (truTV)

Friday, March 18

No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Loyola-Chicago, 11:15 a.m. (CBS)

No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 15 Jacksonville State, 11:40 a.m. (truTV)

No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 Montana State, 12:45 p.m. (TNT)

No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 Yale, 1 p.m. (TBS)

No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 15 Delaware, 1:45 p.m. (CBS)

No. 7 USC vs. No. 10 Miami, 2:10 p.m. (truTV)

No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 11 Notre Dame, 3:15 p.m. (TNT)

No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m. (TBS)

No. 4 Illinois vs. No. 13 Chattanooga, 5:50 p.m. (TNT)

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Cal State Fullerton, 6:10 p.m. (CBS)

No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Iowa State, 6:20 p.m. (TBS)

No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 Bryant/Wright State, 6:27 p.m. (truTV)

No. 5 Houston vs. No. 12 UAB, 8:20 p.m. (TNT)

No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 Davidson, 8:40 p.m. (CBS)

No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Colgate, 8:50 p.m. (TBS)

No. 8 Seton Hall vs. No. 9 TCU, 8:57 p.m. (truTV)

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