Regardless of what happens today, im pulling for the Tide BIG. I really think they have a chance here against Stanford or maybe this alum is just talking nonsense. Will look at this game hard today....
GAME: No. 8 Alabama (18-12) vs. No. 1 Stanford (30-1).
REGIONAL: Phoenix, Second Round.
TIME: Saturday, 5:40 p.m. EST.
SITE: KeyArena; Seattle.
Alabama might be as well prepared as any eighth seed could be to face a No. 1.
Stanford doesn't appear to be so ready.
The Crimson Tide hope their big-game experience and the momentum of a last-second win can carry them to a second-round upset of the Cardinal.
Alabama ended the season No. 1 among all Division I teams in strength of schedule, having played a grueling Southeastern Conference slate as well as non-conference games against tournament teams Pittsburgh, Providence, Wisconsin, Xavier and Charlotte.
Stanford finished the season with only one loss and was atop the polls, but did not get the top overall seed - that went to Kentucky - in part because it did not face much high-caliber competition.
Playing in what was considered a down year for the Pac-10 - which got just three teams in the field of 65 - the Cardinal's strength of schedule barely cracked the top 100. If going by the RPI, the Tide will be their toughest opponent since a Dec. 20 win over Gonzaga, which joins Kansas as the only teams on Stanford's schedule to have finished in the RPI's top 40.
While Alabama was thrilled just to escape the first round, Stanford was unhappy with its uninspired performance over a significantly inferior opponent.
Antoine Pettway's 6-foot runner with 5 seconds left gave the Tide a 65-64 victory over ninth-seeded Southern Illinois on Thursday.
"When you look at it, the only reason people expected us to win the game is because we play in the SEC and they play in the Missouri Valley," coach Mark Gottfried said.
"It's a great win for our program."
Stanford coach Mike Montgomery was not as pleased by his team's opening-round victory, 71-45 over 16th-seeded Texas-San Antonio.
The Cardinal committed 20 turnovers and had a slim 40-39 rebounding edge against a much smaller team. The Roadrunners were within six points with 12 minutes to play despite hitting just 23 percent from the field for the game.
"Their shooting percentage, obviously, wasn't very good but the thing that hurt us was our inability to rebound the ball. We gave up 22 offensive rebounds," Montgomery said.
"Our energy level was bad. We're getting in little lulls, and I don't think we're going to have that luxury anymore."
Unlike Texas-San Antonio, Alabama has a front line with size that might be able to put up a fight against Stanford's talented frontcourt.
The featured matchup may involve Tide leading scorer Kennedy Winston taking on Pac-10 player of the year Josh Childress, who helped bail out the Cardinal on Wednesday with six of his 26 points during a key 12-0 second-half run.
"From what Coach has told me, they're very big size-wise and pretty athletic," Childress said of Alabama.
"It's not something we haven't faced before, but we're going to have to do some things that we did well (Thursday) and get back to playing aggressive Stanford basketball."
The Cardinal are looking to avoid being ousted in the second round for the fifth time in six years. However, the last time they were a No. 1 seed was in 2001 and they lost to Maryland in a regional final.
Alabama, in the tournament for the third straight year, is looking to advance past the second round for the first time since 1991.
The Tide won the only meeting between these teams, in 1992.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Alabama - F Winston (16.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg), F Jermareo Davidson (5.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg), F Chuck Davis (10.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg), G Earnest Shelton (15.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg), G Pettway (9.3 ppg, 3.3 apg). Stanford - F Childress (15.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg), F Justin Davis (10.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg), C Rob Little (9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), G Chris Hernandez (10.0 ppg, 4.4 apg), G Matt Lottich (12.3 ppg, 3.5 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Alabama - At-large berth; beat Southern Illinois 65-64, first round. Stanford - Automatic bid, Pac-10 Conference champion; beat Texas-San Antonio 71-45, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Alabama - 15-15, 16 years. Stanford - 19-11, 13 years.
:bigun:
