The Alabama men's basketball team has been on a bit of a downward spiral since Feb. 24, as it logged a 2-4 record in the final six games of the regular season. Additionally, even after receiving the No. 3 seed and a double bye in the SEC Tournament, the Crimson Tide fell to Florida in the quarterfinals 102-88.
Alabama has moved down the weekly AP Top 25 Poll after each loss as it ended the regular season at No. 19. But even after falling to Florida due to another sluggish defensive performance, Alabama stayed put at the No. 19 spot in Monday's poll ahead of the annual NCAA Tournament.
Nevertheless, this number won't be the one associated with Alabama for the rest of the college basketball season as the Tide received the No. 4 seed in the West Region of the bracket on Sunday night.
In its first round matchup, Alabama will take on 13-seed Charleston on Friday at 6:35 p.m. CT on truTV. If it wins, it will take on the winner of 5-seed Saint Mary's and 12-seed Grand Canyon in the Round of 32. The Crimson Tide's first weekend games will take place at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena/Delta Center in Spokane, Washington.
Charleston is riding a 12-game winning streak into the tournament, capped by the CAA conference tournament championship game win. Oats didn't yet know much about the Cougars, but planned to immediately begin working on scouting Charleston after he left Sunday night's press conference.
This story will be updated with the AP Top 25.
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