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No. 11 UCLA beats 'Bama 88-78 in OT to reach Elite Eight
11 seed UCLA held on after Alabama's Alex Reese drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation to beat the second-seeded Crimson Tide 88-78 in a Sweet 16 showdown Sunday night. AdSingleton was fouled and made two free throws for UCLA, pushing the lead to 65-62 with 4 seconds to go. But that still gave the Crimson Tide enough time to find Reese, whose tying 3-pointer splashed just before the buzzer. Jahvon Quinerly scored 20 points and John Petty Jr. had 16 for the Crimson Tide (26-7), who have lost eight of their nine games in the Sweet 16. UCLA has beaten Michigan in three of their four NCAA Tournament games, including the 1965 national championship in Portland, Oregon.
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Dressed down: Alabama rolls over Pitino, Iona 68-55
This time, Pitino had his worst seed ever and second-seeded Alabama (25-6) was too much. AdโI thought their kids came ready to play,โ Alabama coach Nate Oats said. Iona forced 14 turnovers, and Alabama had trouble getting an open look for most of the first 30 minutes. Unfortunately, we didnโt have enough weapons to beat Alabama.โIona also got dominated 42-26 in rebounds, a stat Pitino said surprised him. Alabama is in the tournament with its best seeding in history, on the strength of its first SEC Tournament title in 30 years.
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Gonzaga, Baylor dominate AP All-America teams
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)Gonzaga and Baylor spent almost the entire season holding down the top two spots in the Top 25. Makes sense they'd hold down a bunch of spots on The Associated Press All-America teams. The Bulldogs' Corey Kispert and the Bears' Jared Butler led the way with first-team nods Tuesday from the national panel of 63 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. Just like the first- and second-team All-Americans, their teams also will be playing in the NCAA Tournament this week. ___AP Basketball Writer John Marshall and AP Sports Writers Michael Marot and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.
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Pick Six: Veterans to watch as NCAA Tournament begins
(AP Photo/Chase Stevens)INDIANAPOLIS โ There has never been a better time to have senior leadership in the NCAA Tournament than this season. AdVirginia intends to play after withdrawing from the ACC Tournament because of COVID-19 protocols, which means fans will get to say Sam Hauser running the show. Dru Smith is their leading scorer and Jeremiah Tilmon finally reached his potential this season, and both aim to help Missouri snap a four-game NCAA Tournament skid. Herb Jones is an All-American candidate and Jaden Shackelford is Alabama's leading scorer, but John Petty Jr. makes the SEC Tournament champs go. Then there's Tennessee forward John Fulkerson, who sustained facial fractures in an SEC Tournament win over Florida and underwent surgery Sunday.
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No. 6 Alabama adds another SEC title, edges LSU at tourney
Alabama players celebrate after beating LSU in the championship game of the NCAA college basketball Southeastern Conference Tournament Sunday, March 14, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 80-79. 6 Alabama won the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1991, holding off a late flurry to edge LSU 80-79 Sunday. Alabama, the reigning national champions in football, won its seventh tournament title overall, second in the SEC only to Kentucky's 31. Alabama did it by adding two more SEC titles in basketball after Nick Saban's squad won both the SEC and national championships a couple months ago. About 20 minutes before tip-off, Alabama and LSU players had to be separated at midcourt.
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Down 15, No. 6 Alabama rallies past Tennessee in SEC semis
6 Alabama rallied from a big deficit in the final 17 minutes to beat Tennessee 73-68 Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Volunteers trailed 69-68 when Davonte Gaines missed two foul shots with 25 seconds left. Yves Ponsโ 3-pointer got Tennessee within 69-68 with 41.4 seconds left, but Quinerly added two free throws and Ellis two more with 3.7 seconds left to seal a tense game. Alabama: The Crimson Tide have thrived from long distance all season and werenโt about to change, even without Primo. It didnโt start well but ended better as Ellis hit a big 3 to help the Tide finish 7 of 28.
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Alabama blows out Mississippi State 85-48 in SEC quarters
6 Alabama blew out Mississippi State 85-48 on Friday in an SEC quarterfinal. Alabama followed a couple of small early runs with a 17-0 surge over nearly five minutes for an eventual 43-13 cushion just before halftime. The Tide also swarmed the Bulldogs defensively, scoring 24 points off 14 first-half turnovers and holding them to 30% shooting overall. โTo get beat this badly was really, really a bitter pill,โ he said. Alabama drained 3s in bunches to put this game away early and protected the ball.
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No. 6 Alabama holds off Mississippi State 64-59 to win SEC
โ Jaden Shackleford scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, and No. 6 Alabama beat Mississippi State 64-59 on Saturday night to clinch its first Southeastern Conference regular-season championship since 2002. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs had plenty of good looks in the first half that just didnโt fall. The second half began much better and they were able to get close, but couldnโt get that one key basket or stop Alabama on the glass. Mississippi State visits Texas A&M on Wednesday night.
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Shackelford's 27 helps No. 8 Alabama hold off Vandy, 82-78
8 Alabama came from behind to beat Vanderbilt 82-78 Saturday and move a step closer to a Southeastern Conference championship. Maxwell Evans made a layup with four seconds left to pull to within 81-78 after rebounding a missed 3. After a quick Vandy foul, Quinerly missed one free throw and made another to clinch it. Quinerly scored 15 points for the Tide, which made just 10 of 39 3-point attempts (25.6%). Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 24 points and made 12 of 14 free throws for Vanderbilt.
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No. 18 Missouri holds off frantic rally, tops No. 10 Alabama
Dru Smith and Missouri built a 22-point lead in the second half, then held off a frantic rally by the Crimson Tide for a 68-65 victory on Saturday. AdThe Crimson Tide had one last chance to tie it, but Jaden Shackelfordโs contested 3-pointer at the buzzer missed. Shackelford scored 15 to lead Alabama (15-5, 10-1 SEC), whose first conference loss was almost an incredible comeback victory. Alabama is a volume 3-point shooting team, and when the Crimson Tide missed, Missouri started fast breaks with long rebounds. AdUP NEXTAlabama: The Crimson Tide travel to South Carolina on Tuesday.
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Alabama stuns No. 7 Tennessee 71-63 in physical battle
The Crimson Tide (7-3, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) turned a one-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage midway through the second behind Pettyโs trio of 3s and two more long-range makes by Joshua Primo. Primo and Herbert Jones finished with 11 points, and Jahvon Quinerly scored 10. Tennessee (7-1, 1-1) struggled from the field the entire game, hitting 21 of 66 shots (32%). Alabama's 31-29 lead at the break happened with the Crimson Tide shooting 39% (12 of 31), while Tennessee struggled shooting 33% (11 of 33). UP NEXTAlabama: The Crimson Tide will be home Tuesday to face Florida, which beat LSU on Saturday.