The Alabama Crimson Tide gave UConn everything they had but still came up short in their Final Four matchup on Saturday night, 86-72.
It was one of the best seasons for Alabama, all things considered, ending with the program’s first appearance in the Final Four. The team made it to the Sweet 16 last season and didn’t get out of the first round in 2022.
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Nate Oats of the Alabama Crimson Tide speaks during a press conference in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at State Farm Stadium on April 6, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona. (Alysa Rubin/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats lamented one aspect in their loss to the defending national champions – they couldn’t take as many 3-point shots as they would have liked. Alabama shot 23 3-pointers but only made 11 of their attempts. They took 26 3-pointers in a win over North Carolina earlier in the tournament.
“We knew they were going to try to run us off, be physical,” Oats said of the Huskies, via ESPN. “Yeah, 23 is not ideal. We’d rather be pushing more like mid-30s on 3s. But they were obviously going to try to take us off the line.
“When they took us off the line, we drove it in. They did a better job forcing us to take more non-rim 2s than we probably have all year…. Almost a third of our shots ended up being non-rim 2s. That’s not how we typically play.”
Nate Oats of the Alabama Crimson Tide talks to his team during the first NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four game against the Connecticut Huskies at State Farm Stadium on April 6, 2024, in Glendale. (Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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Alabama was only down four points at halftime but couldn’t get back into the game as they saw their deficit increase toward the end of the matchup.
Mark Sears led the team with 24 points.
UConn shot a ridiculous 50% from the field. Each player in their starting lineup was in double figures in scoring.
Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley and head coach Nate Oats of Alabama meet after the Huskies beat the Crimson Tide 86-72 in their Final Four game on April 6, 2024. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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UConn will now play Purdue in the national title game on Monday.
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