Alabama To Play 8/9 Seed In Nashville
After a comeback win vs Georgia Saturday, Alabama will now set their focus towards a SEC quarterfinal matchup. The Tide will either face the No. 8 seed Kentucky Wildcats or the No. 9 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs this Friday in Nashville.
Alabama has swept both the Wildcats and Bulldogs in the regular season. Back in early January it started when Alabama went to Lexington and took down Kentucky in a 20 point blow out. That game Alabama also saw its big man Jordan Bruner go down with a knee injury that kept him out for over a month. Yet Alabama used that blowout as momentum for their SEC regular season run.
Alabama faced Mississippi State for the first time in late January at home and won a battle 81-73. That game was a struggle for the Tide as they lost the rebound battle with the Bulldogs especially offensive rebounds.
Then Alabama later took on both opponents for a second time. First was in Tuscaloosa vs Kentucky where Alabama won a closer than the score looks kind of game 70-59. The Tide pulled away late to win another game in its 10 game SEC winning streak.
Finally Alabama met Mississippi State for a second time in Starkville. The Tide managed to win an ugly game 64-59 after shooting only 32% from the field.
Alabama has swept both of these teams obviously, but to beat a team three times in one season in any college sport is very hard to accomplish. The 8/9 matchup will be no easy first round game for a team who has clearly controlled the regular season.