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 basketball player Brandon Miller is nursing a groin injury. Here's where his NCAA Tournament status stands before playing Maryland.

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's freshman All-American fielded few questions about his worst game in crimson and white, not with all the off-the-court matters that have shadowed him and a team mounting a bid for the program's first national championship. Miller, who politely but succinctly responded to questions about anything not related to the game, has been accompanied by a security guard provided by the university after facing threats since his presence at the scene of a fatal shooting was disclosed in court testimony. “It doesn’t bother me,” Miller said of the threats, which he forwards to university officials.

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.

Brandon Miller was accompanied by armed security ahead of Alabama's March Madness tournament practice on Wednesday. They face Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the first round.

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.

Brandon Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds and No. 4 Alabama never trailed in posting a 72-49 victory over Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday.

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.

The top five spots in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll remained the same. The rest of the AP Top 25 was a big jumble. Houston was No. 1 for the second straight week in the poll released Monday, receiving 49 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel.

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.

Just a few days after receiving "Lock him up" chants on the road, Alabama's Brandon Miller got a standing ovation from his home Alabama crowd.

Police have said they will not be charging Brandon Miller with any crime based on evidence they have. So he continues to play for the University of Alabama basketball team.

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

Police say Miller brought a teammate the gun that was used in a Jan. 15 deadly shooting near campus.

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.

Alabama is the new No. 1, rising to the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the first time in 20 years. Purdue's loss to Northwestern last week caused a jumble at the top of the AP Top 25 and that helped the Crimson Tide. Alabama received 38 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel Monday, moving up two spots to leapfrog No. 2 Houston.

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

Purdue is back at No. 1 in the AP Top 25. Alabama is right behind the Boilermakers. Purdue returned to the top spot in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll on Monday, moving up two spots after Temple knocked off No. 1 Houston over the weekend.

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.

Investigators said an Alabama basketball player charged with capital murder provided the gun used in the fatal shooting, but another man fired the weapon.

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.

Purdue has picked up a series of high-profile victories to move into the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 for the second straight season.

Purdue picked up wins over West Virginia, No. 15 Gonzaga and No. 12 Duke in consecutive weeks to win the Phil Knight Legacy tournament earlier in the season. Wins over Hofstra and Nebraska last week, combined with a loss by Houston, were enough to move the Boilermakers to No. 1 the AP Top 25 for the second straight season. Purdue moved up three spots in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll released on Monday, receiving 27 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel.

Michigan State wants Bama. From, there, it’ll be on to two more as-yet undetermined opponents on Friday and Sunday in one of the toughest scheduling stretches of Michigan State’s season. Watch the Michigan State Spartans on FuboTV (7-day free trial)GAME INFORMATIONWho: No. 12 Michigan State (3-1) vs. No. HOW TO LISTENRadio Network: Spartan Media NetworkGAME NOTES• Michigan State and Alabama have played only twice before: in 1998, a 75-58 Michigan State win, and in 1983, a 81-69 Alabama win.

EAST LANSING – The coach at Alabama is a familiar one to Michigan State. “He knows a lot about our program,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said this week. “I don’t know how to look at Alabama,” Izzo said. The Alabama game will kick off three games in four days for Michigan State; the Spartans will play either No. Michigan State heads to the tournament off back-to-back wins against Kentucky and Villanova that that vaulted them into the national rankings at No.

One will come Thursday night when Alabama opens play of the Phil Knight Invitational tournament in Portland, Oregon against Michigan State. “No, I never thought I’d coach against Coach Izzo. “First time I met Saban, we talked about Izzo,” Oats said Tuesday. And those two are still pretty well-connected and stay in touch, going all the way back to those Michigan State days. “The good thing is, I don’t have to play Coach Izzo,” Oats said.

Michigan State men’s basketball will face Alabama, led by head coach Nate Oats, a former Michigan high school coach, in the first round of the Phil Knight Invitational on Nov. 25 in Portland, Oregon. Michigan State and Alabama have met twice previously, most recently in 1998. Oats enters his fourth season as head coach after spending the previous six seasons at Buffalo, including four as head coach. This will mark his first time facing Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. Michigan State will also compete in the women’s event, starting the same day, facing Iowa State at 7:30 p.m.

Alabama basketball held voluntary shootarounds before NCAA Tournament loss to Notre Dame, and most did not show up.

Jaden Shackelford scored 19 points and had nine rebounds as Alabama toppled No. 4 Baylor 87-78 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

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.

Oats and Pitino will walk the same sideline Saturday in the college basketball shrine of Hinkle Fieldhouse as Oats coaches in his fourth NCAA tournament. Ahead of the 2005 NCAA tournament, Oats mentioned brackets and Selection Sunday to his students and was met with blank stares. Sixteen years later, Oats’ math class curriculum has become real life. It was one of six losses on the season for Oats during his third year as a high school coach. (Jared Purcell | japurcell@mlive.com)Oats might have upgraded his suits since Romulus, but Bonam still uses the tournament bracket as a math lesson as Oats once did.

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.

Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly (13) dribbles past Mississippi State guard Iverson Molinar (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. 6 Alabama beat Mississippi State 64-59 on Saturday night to clinch its first SEC regular-season championship since 2002. AdKEY STATSQuinerly's effort keyed a huge bench advantage for Alabama, which dominated Mississippi State 36-5. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs had plenty of good looks in the first half that just didn’t fall. They also committed 16 turnovers for just 12 Alabama points, but those loomed large in a tight game.

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.