The 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament begins Tuesday with Alabama seeded No.2. Alabama has appeared in the tournament 25 times, and has seen varying success over the years.
1990 and 1991: Back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances
Under head coach Wimp Sanderson, the winningest coach in program history, the Crimson Tide won back-to-back SEC Tournaments and made consecutive trips to the Sweet Sixteen in 1990 and 1991. The program had future NBA players Robert Horry, David Benoit, Keith Askins, James Robinson and Latrell Sprewell play in this period.
Alabama entered the 1990 tournament as a No. 7 seed, defeating No. 10 seed Colorado State 71-54 in the opening round. It then stunned No. 2 seed Arizona with a blowout 77-55 win to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
The Crimson Tide was then given a taste of its own medicine by No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount, who pulled off a 62-60 upset win.
Alabama came into the 1991 tourney as a No. 4 seed. It downed No. 13 Murray State and No. 5 Wake Forest to move to a second-straight Sweet Sixteen, where No. 1 seed Arkansas blew out the Crimson Tide, 93-70. The team would not make another Sweet Sixteen appearance for 13 years.
2004: From bubble team to the Elite Eight
Alabama entered the 2004 NCAA Tournament with an 8-8 record in the SEC and a 17-12 record overall. Coach Mark Gottfried coached the team, which made its third-straight NCAA Tournament.
The Crimson Tide was one of the final teams to make the tournament field and was a No. 8 seed. It escaped its first-round matchup with No. 9 seed Southern Illinois, winning 65-64.
Alabama would then stun No. 1 seed Stanford to make its first Sweet Sixteen in 13 years. It then pulled off another upset, this time of the defending national champions, No. 5 seed Syracuse, to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
“We always felt we could beat anybody. Now we really know it,” Alabama guard Chuck Davis said after beating Stanford. “They were the No. 1 team in the country, and it gives us a lot of confidence.”
Alabama’s Cinderella run ended with a loss to the eventual national champion, No. 2 seed UConn, in the Phoenix Regional Final, 87-71. The team finished with a record of 20-13 and was ranked No. 17 in the final AP Top 25.
2021: First trip to Sweet Sixteen since 2004
Alabama’s 2020-21 season saw the team win the SEC regular-season championship for the first time since 2002 and win the SEC Tournament for the first time since 1991. The team was a No. 2 seed in its first trip to the Big Dance under head coach Nate Oats, which was also its first appearance in the tourney since 2018.
Led by senior forward and SEC Player of the Year Herbert Jones, the team won its first two games over No. 15 seed Iona and No. 9 seed Maryland to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the 2004 team’s unlikely run.
In the Sweet Sixteen, Alabama and No. 11 seed UCLA played back-and-forth. Forward Alex Reese hit a game-tying 3-point attempt for the Crimson Tide from well behind the arc to send the game to overtime, tied at 65 apiece. The Bruins overpowered Alabama in overtime, outscoring the Crimson Tide 23-13, to advance to the Elite Eight.
“I’ll remember it as the team that changed the entire culture of Alabama basketball,” Oats said about the team after the loss. “Expectation levels are drastically different. Recruiting is different. People want to come here and play for Alabama.”
2023: First-time No. 1 overall seed and program’s 10th trip to Sweet 16
The Crimson Tide entered the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history, led by forward and SEC Player of the Year Brandon Miller.
The team was a contender for the national championship coming into the tournament and won its first two contests over No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 96-75, and No. 8 seed Maryland, 73-51.
Alabama went cold in its Sweet Sixteen matchup with No. 5 seed San Diego State, losing 71-64. The team shot a poor 32.4% from the field and 11.1% from 3, with Miller held to just 9 points.
“I mean, we had an unbelievable year,” Oats said after the loss. “Everybody is really disappointed in the loss. It ended too soon.”
2024: Program’s first-ever trip to the Final Four
After tough losses down the stretch in the regular season and SEC Tournament, the Crimson Tide entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed. The team lacked defense and momentum, having gone 5-5 in its last 10 games and overall posting the 111th-best defensive efficiency per KenPom in 2023-24.
The team’s No. 2-ranked KenPom offense led the way for an impressive March run, with the Crimson Tide averaging 86.2 points per game in the tournament and being led by All-American guard Mark Sears, who scored 24.2 points per game.
Alabama defeated No. 13 seed Charleston, No. 12 seed Grand Canyon, No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 6 seed Clemson, advancing to the program’s second Elite Eight appearance and first ever NCAA Final Four appearance.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys,” Oats said after defeating Clemson. “They’ve just been all about winning.”
The team would see its history-making run end at the hands of eventual national champions, UConn, in an 86-72 loss.
Alabama begins NCAA Tournament play on March 21 against No. 15 seed Robert Morris in Cleveland, Ohio. The time of tipoff has yet to be set.
