NATE OATS

San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher wants players to think defense before offense, and the approach is working.

Players and coaches in the NCAA Tournament may be breathing life into a new controversy: Inflategate.

Alabama was expected to be in the Sweet 16 as the overall top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Alabama and star freshman Brandon Miller faced a new round of questions about connections between Crimson Tide players and a fatal shooting after Thursday's victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Alabama has the No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed, one of the best players in college basketball and likely a couple of games in its own backyard.

Alabama star Brandon Miller is being accompanied at the NCAA Tournament by an armed security guard.

Alabama rolls in as the top overall seed in an NCAA Tournament that feels both familiar and foreign this season.

Alabama is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and headlining the South Region bracket.

Freshman Brandon Miller scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as fourth-ranked Alabama advanced to the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship by beating No. 25 Missouri 72-61.

Alabama coach Nate Oats apologized and took responsibility for allowing freshman forward Brandon Miller to continue going through a pat-down during pregame introductions.

The top five spots in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll remained the same.

Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made 7 of 8 free throws over the final 1:04 to help No. 2 Alabama secure an 86-83 victory over Arkansas.

Alabama is the No. 2 men's team in the country and a favorite to win the national championship.

Police say Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller brought a teammate the gun that was used in a fatal shooting near campus.

Alabama is the new No. 1, rising to the top spot in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the first time in 20 years.

Purdue is back at No. 1 in the AP Top 25.

Freshman Brandon Miller scored 30 points as the fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide beat Vanderbilt 78-66 Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory two days after a teammate was charged with capital murder.

Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats says the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide is going through “kind of a grieving process” after player Darius Miles and another man were charged with capital murder following a fatal shooting near campus.

Defending national champion Baylor has maintained its top spot in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, though not without ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona, while the six remaining unbeatens continued their rise.

Jaden Shackelford scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, Jahvon Quinerly and JD Davison both hit key 3-pointers later, and No. 16 Alabama held off Gonzaga’s big second-half rally for a 91-82 win over the third-ranked Bulldogs.

This time, Pitino had his worst seed ever and second-seeded Alabama (25-6) was too much. Ad“I thought their kids came ready to play,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. Iona forced 14 turnovers, and Alabama had trouble getting an open look for most of the first 30 minutes. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough weapons to beat Alabama.”Iona also got dominated 42-26 in rebounds, a stat Pitino said surprised him. Alabama is in the tournament with its best seeding in history, on the strength of its first SEC Tournament title in 30 years.

Alabama players celebrate after beating LSU in the championship game of the NCAA college basketball Southeastern Conference Tournament Sunday, March 14, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 80-79. 6 Alabama won the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1991, holding off a late flurry to edge LSU 80-79 Sunday. Alabama, the reigning national champions in football, won its seventh tournament title overall, second in the SEC only to Kentucky's 31. Alabama did it by adding two more SEC titles in basketball after Nick Saban's squad won both the SEC and national championships a couple months ago. About 20 minutes before tip-off, Alabama and LSU players had to be separated at midcourt.

6 Alabama blew out Mississippi State 85-48 on Friday in an SEC quarterfinal. Alabama followed a couple of small early runs with a 17-0 surge over nearly five minutes for an eventual 43-13 cushion just before halftime. The Tide also swarmed the Bulldogs defensively, scoring 24 points off 14 first-half turnovers and holding them to 30% shooting overall. “To get beat this badly was really, really a bitter pill,” he said. Alabama drained 3s in bunches to put this game away early and protected the ball.

The result was familiar, if not the methodology: another Crimson Tide win. 8 Alabama came from behind to beat Vanderbilt 82-78 Saturday and move a step closer to a Southeastern Conference championship. Quinerly scored 15 points for the Tide, who made just 10 of 39 3-point attempts (25.6%). Alex Reese scored 10 points while Keon Ellis had eight points and nine rebounds, including a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left. Alabama overcame low scoring from Petty (six points) and Herb Jones (eight before fouling out).

De'Vion Harmon scored 18 points to help No. I thought these guys (Oklahoma), they play hard to begin with, and then when they’re down two starters, they really bought in. “Anytime you can win a game like that is big from a resume standpoint, big from a confidence standpoint, momentum. A pair of free throws by Keon Ellis gave Alabama a 60-59 lead with just under four minutes to play. Alabama could take a significant hit with this loss, especially given the players Oklahoma was missing.

Gonzaga forward Drew Timme celebrates after scoring a basket during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Pacific in Spokane, Wash., Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)Gonzaga, Baylor and Villanova remained atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll Monday, while ninth-ranked Alabama climbed to its highest ranking in 14 years. Villanova remained third followed by Michigan, with the Wolverines cracking the top five for a second straight season under Juwan Howard after being unranked earlier in the year. 18 Tennessee took the week's biggest tumble, falling 12 spots after losses to Florida and Missouri. ___More AP college basketball: http://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25___Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)Gonzaga and Baylor maintained their grip on the top two spots in The Associated Press men's basketball poll Monday. “Everyone has dealt with this,” said Wright, whose team finally gets back on the court Tuesday night against Seton Hall. The Golden Gophers were followed by Auburn, one of this week's poll newcomers, Missouri and Clemson. “We’re still finding out about our team,” said coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team nearly rallied from an 18-point deficit against Virginia Tech. IN AND OUTThe Bruins were the other newcomer to this week's poll after improving to 11-2 and 7-0 in the Pac-12 with consecutive wins over Washington State and Washington.