Alabama’s tournament run is over: UAB is making deep NIT run
On Friday, the University of Alabama men’s basketball team’s magical NCAA tournament run ended when the San Diego Aztecs defeated Alabama 71 to 64. The University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) men’s basketball team has made a deep run in the NIT tournament. UAB defeated Vanderbilt 67 to 59 in the NIT quarterfinals. The 2022/2023 Alabama basketball team won the SEC tournament, the SEC regular season title, and their first two games in the NCAA tournament. Nate Oats is the head basketball Coach for the University of Alabama. “It’s not easy to win the regular season, the SEC tournament in the same year and make a Sweet 16 run,” Oats said. “It’s a great group that really loves each other. I mean, they’re going to be close for life, most of them. You know, I love the group, they love each other, and it’s just really disappointing that it’s ending early. But I think it’s one of the most memorable seasons in Alabama history, and they can walk out of here with their heads up.” In many ways, however, the season’s success was overshadowed by the January 15 slaying of 23-year-old Tamea Harris. According to the Tuscaloosa district attorney’s office, Harris was murdered by Tide player Darius Miles and associate Michael Davis in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa police detective Branden Culpepper testified that standout Tide freshman Brandon Miller was responsible for bringing the murder weapon to the crime scene after Miles instructed him to do so. Miles was kicked off the team, but Miller was never charged in the murder and was not disciplined by the team. The story has drawn national headlines. Miller scored 9 points on Friday but was 3 of 19 from the field shooting. Despite a poor NCAA tournament performance, Miller is still expected to be among the top four players in the upcoming NBA draft. The University of Alabama, in its program history, has never gone to the final four of an NCAA tournament. San Diego State defeated Creighton 57 to 56 on Sunday to advance to the NCAA final four. UAB’s win over Vanderbilt was led by Trey Jemison, who scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds, and Jordan Walker, who had nineteen points and five assists. UAB is 3 and 0 versus Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponents this season. UAB Coach Andy Kennedy said, “That was just about desire and wanting to continue to play. That’s all it was for us. Certainly not our best game offensively, and Vanderbilt had a lot to do with that. I was really proud of our guys for finding ways on the defensive end. We’ve got Trey Jemison, who I thought was a huge difference maker with his presence in the paint.” UAB has a 28 and 9 record. They finished third in Conference USA behind Florida Atlantic and North Texas. UAB has gone to the NCAA tournament 15 times and the NIT 12 times. While this year’s UAB team did not make the NCAA field of 64, the 28 wins set a new program record for wins in a season. Walker’s 698 points for the season also set a new single-season record for the program. North Texas, Wisconsin, and Utah Valley State joined UAB in the NIT final four. UAB will play Utah Valley Tuesday night in Los Vegas. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
