The 2018 NCAA Tournament will officially get started on Tuesday with First Four games in Dayton.
And with the SEC landing a record-breaking eight teams in this year’s field, we’re breaking down the road ahead for all of those teams.
Next up is Alabama, who faces a very challenging path to San Antonio.
Where Alabama stands
The Crimson Tide played their way into the tournament with a buzzer-beating win over Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament, and then followed it up with an impressive second half rally to take down No. 1 seed Auburn.
Now, Avery Johnson’s team will have the pressure off their shoulders as they try to overcome difficult odds to make a lengthy run through the East.
Despite losing five straight games to end the regular season, the Tide found plenty of momentum in St. Louis, and they’ll look to keep that going in what appears to be a tough draw.
Meet the opponent
Virginia Tech enters the tournament having lost three of four, but just like Alabama, Buzz Williams’ team has proven its ability to rise to the occasion against top-tier teams.
The Hokies own wins over Virginia, Duke, and North Carolina, so they understand what it takes to win games in pressure-packed situations. Virginia Tech also beat two other tournament teams in Clemson and North Carolina State.
The most intimidating thing about this team is its efficient scoring ability. The Hokies shoot 49.8 percent from the floor (10th nationally), 38.5 percent from beyond the arc (37th nationally), and average 79.7 points per game (47th nationally).
Perhaps even more importantly, Virginia Tech is eighth in the country in two-point field goal percentage, so the Tide will need to guard effectively at all five positions.
Williams plays seven players over 16 minutes per game, with five of those players averaging between 10.5 and 13.8 points per contest.
This is an extremely balanced team that features several high-quality shooters, and those types of teams aren’t easy to defend.
Potential next round matchup
Barring a No. 16 seed beating a No. 1 seed for the first time, should Alabama beat Virginia Tech, it’s second round opponent would be Big East champion Villanova.
The Wildcats are built for success in March, as they’ve lost only four games all season and field the most efficiency offense in America.
Jalen Brunson (19.4 ppg, 4.7 apg) is arguably the best player in the country, but what makes Villanova such a dangerous team is that it has five other double-digit scorers around him and a head coach in Jay Wright that’s recently led the school to a national title.
The Wildcats are fourth nationally in 3-point field goals per game (11.4), and the best way to beat them is to try your hardest to guard the perimeter and hope that they’re having an off night.
Region favorites
Villanova is obviously the team to beat in the East, but the top seeds in this region are all intriguing.
Purdue combines size with experience, plus an excellent offense. Texas Tech has a star in Keenan Evans and one of the most efficient defenses in the nation. Wichita State has tons of experience, while West Virginia has the style to wreak havoc on anyone.
And even Florida could make things interesting if it plays to its potential.
The Wildcats are the heavy favorite, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see one of these teams spoil the party.
Region sleepers
Beyond a few of the top teams, this does feel like a region with plenty of upset potential.
Although Texas Tech has exceeded expectations in a strong Big 12, Kyle Keller’s squad at Stephen F. Austin is worth watching. The Lumberjacks are the nation’s best at forcing turnovers (20 per game) and have a strong nine-man rotation.
And then there’s OVC champion Murray State, who features a prolific scorer in Jonathan Stark (21.8 ppg) and a do-it-all big man in Terrell Miller (14.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg). Matching up against a team like West Virginia is never easy, but the Racers should put up a strong fight.
As for an under-the-radar team that feels capable of winning multiple games? It might be Arkansas. The Hogs are getting excellent production from Daniel Gafford, and with Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford leading the way, this is a difficult team to prepare for.
How far can Alabama advance?
It’s been hard to figure out the Tide this season, but it feels pretty easy to predict what’ll determine this team’s success in the tournament.
For starters, Collin Sexton has to have help on the offensive side of the court. Having a player of Sexton’s caliber is always a positive in a tournament setting, and he’s good enough to completely take over a game at a moment’s notice.
But considering that Alabama’s draw features matchups against two stellar offensive squads in Virginia Tech and Villanova, it’ll need production beyond Sexton. That means that a player like John Petty, who finally found his shooting rhythm by going 5 of 9 from 3-point range against Kentucky, must knock down open shots. The same goes for Dazon Ingram and Braxton Key.
Another key to success? Perimeter defense. Alabama is top 25 nationally in defending the 3-pointer, and it absolutely must make that a priority this week. The length of players like Ingram and Herbert Jones will be an asset against Virginia Tech’s crop of guards, and it’ll take a total team effort to prevent open shots both inside the outside of the perimeter.
And then there’s the availability of Donta Hall. Johnson mentioned on Monday’s SEC coaches teleconference that the big man would likely be a game-time decision against the Hokies, which is less than ideal given the junior’s overall production this season.
Hall’s athleticism and ability to affect shots in the lane will be needed to make a deep run in the East, so hopefully he’ll be back on the court sooner rather than later.
I said this before the bracket was even announced, and I’ll say it again: Simply having Sexton on the court gives Alabama a chance against pretty much anyone. We’ve seen him and his teammates thrive against upper-tier competition this season, so it’s hard to count the Tide out in this type of setting.
But the biggest problem is the draw itself, as the reward for beating the Hokies would be a meeting with college basketball’s second-most consistent team.
With Sexton in the lineup, anything is possible.
However, everyone else around him will decide whether Alabama can surprise everyone by advancing to Boston.
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