NCAA TOURNEY: Alabama State punches ticket to the 'Dance;' Tide, Tigers, Troy learn first-round opponents
Alabama State players learn of their opening-round game during a watch party on Sunday at the Acadome. The Hornets will play Tuesday at 5:40 p.m. against St. Francis. (Courtesy Alabama State Media Relations)
By GRAHAM DUNN
For the first time in 14 years, Alabama State will go dancin’.
The Hornets earned the NCAA Tournament automatic bid with a SWAC Tournament championship win over Jackson State on Saturday in Atlanta, winning 60-56.
ASU (19-15) will play in the First Four round in Dayton on Tuesday against St. Francis, champions of the Northeast Conference. Tip off has been announced for 5:40 p.m. CDT. The game will be broadcast on TruTV.
With a win over St. Francis, the Hornets would face top-overall seed Auburn in Lexington on Thursday at approximately 1:50 p.m. (CBS - locally on WAKA Ch. 8). The Tigers won the Southeastern Conference regular season championship and have spent much of the year as the top-rated team in the major polls, entering the field with a 28-5 record.
ASU got 20 points from. CJ Hines in the finals on Saturday. ASU hit nine 3-pointers in the win.
“These guys have been doing what we expected them to do all season,” stated ASU coach Tony Madlock.
“We are ready, whoever we had to play first, but we knew we would be ready (Saturday),” stated Hines. “This has been crazy. My phone has been blowing up. But it’s a quick turn (around).”
The Hornets saved their best for last this season, winning their last six games including three in the SWAC Tournament. They won seven of their last eight games in the regular season, including a road win at top-seed and regular season champ Southern on March 6.
“We got hot at the right time and we started playing our best basketball in February. We got into March and tournament time and it was one game at a time. When we got that first one, we thought we had a good chance,” Madlock said.
ASU’s last appearance in the Dance came in 2011 following a win over Grambling State in the SWAC tournament championship game. The Hornets were in the NCAA play-in game that year, losing to Texas-San Antonio.
This will be the fifth trip to the tournament dating back to 2001, the program’s first-ever appearance. That year, the Hornets faced defending champ Michigan State in the first round of the South Regional in Memphis. The Hornets briefly led the game before falling 69-35 with current assistant coach Tyrone Levett leading the team in scoring with 17 points.
ASU made the NCAAs again in 2004 but was eliminated by Duke.
In 2009, the Hornets were SWAC champions and played Morehead State in the “First Four” round, losing 58-43.
On Monday, ASU will make the trek to Dayton, which is about a 600-mile drive directly up I-65.
“We have the best fans in the world and they will be with us when we play in the tournament. They made the trip from Montgomery (to Atlanta) and we expect it (later this) week,” Madlock said.
Troy will also be in the tournament after earning the Sun Belt championship over Arkansas State last Monday in Pensacola. The Trojans (23-10) earned a 14 seed in the Midwest Regional and will face Kentucky in Milwaukee on Friday at 6:10 p.m. on CBS. The Trojans last made the NCAA Tourney in 2017, losing to Duke. The Trojans have not won a game in the tournament in two tries.
Kentucky and Troy have met once in their history with the Wildcats winning in 2018.
As expected, Auburn received the top overall seed in the tournament (No. 1 seed in the South Regional) and will play in Lexington on Thursday. Should the Tigers meet ASU, it will be the first time since 2023. Auburn has a 6-0 record against the Hornets but have never faced St. Francis.
Auburn is 19-13 all time in NCAA Tournament games. The Tigers lost in the first round last year to Yale as a No. 4 seed.
Alabama (25-8) earned the No. 2 seed in the East Regional and will face Robert Morris on Friday in Cleveland. Game time is set for 11:40 a.m. Central at the Rocket Arena and will be televised on truTV or listen online on WTLS 106.9/94.7 FM - click to listen) The Tide is coming off the program’s first-ever appearance in the Final Four a season ago.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams with the other coming in 2014, a 64-56 win for the Tide in a regular-season matchup.