WATCH: Alabama HC Nate Oats celebrates team’s first-ever Final Four berth after Clemson takedown
The Alabama Crimson Tide has secured its first-ever Final Four in the history of the program. This is a significant milestone for the team coming after their win against the Clemson Tigers in the Elite Eight of the 2024 March Madness. No. 4 seed Alabama has beaten the No. 6 seeded Tigers by a score of 89-82.
Alabama's head coach Nate Oats led the celebration as they are now just two steps away from title glory. Oats was filled with pride after the game and celebrated the historical moment by cutting down the nets.
Before this season, Alabama had made 23 appearances in the NCAA Tournament where they made it to nine Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight. However, they never made it to the Final Four. The closest they came to the Final Four was in 2004, when they were beaten by then No. 2 seed, UConn by 87-71.
Their path to the Final Four started with a high-scoring game against Charleston, where they won 109-96 in the first round. In the second round, they faced a close match against Grand Canyon but emerged victorious with a score of 72-61.
However, the biggest upset win was against No. 1 seed North Carolina in the West Region, where they won a nail-biting match with a score of 89-87 in the Sweet Sixteen of the tournament.
In the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Alabama concluded the 2024 season in fifth place. They had a conference record of 13-5 and an overall record of 25-11.
Alamaba have defied odds, as they entered the NCAA tournament with +2100 odds of winning it. The odds came as low as +800 before the Elite Eight match against the Clemson Tigers. Moving forward, the odds will further decrease as they are very close to the title but will face the toughest battle against the overall No. 1 seed, UConn Huskies.
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Who were the star performers for Alabama in the Elite Eight victory against Clemson Tigers?
Alabama was led by the collective efforts of Mark Sears, Jarin Stevenson, Nick Pringle, Rylan Griffen, and Aaron Estrada. All of them secured double-digit points for their team.
Mark Sears was the top scorer with 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Nick Pringle scored 16 points, 16 rebounds and 3 assists. Jarin Steven scored 19 points and 3 rebounds for his team. Followed by Rylan Griffen and Aaron Estrada scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the win.