How to Watch Alabama Women's Basketball vs. UNC in NCAA Tournament
NCAA Tournament play begins Monday for seventh-seeded Alabama women’s basketball where it will face 10th-seeded North Carolina in the first round.
Like with the men in the Indianapolis area, the entire tournament will be played in San Antonio, Texas.
Alabama is making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1999.
It's the Crimson Tide 11th-overall appearance. Alabama is 16-10 in the NCAA tournament, with its deepest run coming in 1994 when it advanced to the Final Four.
The Tide made eight consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 1992-99 and 10 overall (1984, 88).
Head coach Kristy Curry is taking her third team to the NCAA tournament, the others at Purdue (2000-06) and Texas Tech (2011, 13).
Alabama vs. North Carolina
When: 11 a.m. CT Monday
Where: Alamodome, San Antonio
TV: ESPN (Jenn Hildreth, Kelly Gramlich and Holly Rowe)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (WTBC-AM 1230 in Tuscaloosa), Roger Hoover providing play-by-play
Series history: Alabama and North Carolina are meeting for the 11th time in the series and second time in as many years. The Crimson Tide won the last matchup, 83-77, in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 15, 2019. Ironically, the two teams met the last time the Alabama played in the NCAA tournament, 1999, with the then-11th ranked Tar Heels winning, 70-56, in Chapel Hill in the second round.
Scouting the Crimson Tide: Alabama heads into NCAA tournament play at 16-9 overall and 8-8 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide recorded back-to-back eight win seasons in conference play for the first time since 1996-97, 1997-98. Alabama ranks 33rd in the NET with eight of its nine losses coming to teams ranked 18 or better in the NET in No. 4 South Carolina (three times), No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 13 Georgia, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 18 Kentucky. Alabama’s 74.8 point-per-game average is the highest average it has had in nearly two decades.
Alabama is led by its big three of Ariyah Copeland, Jordan Lewis and Jasmine Walker. Walker leads the way, averaging just shy of a double-double with 19.2 points and 9.6 rebounds, while Lewis adds 16.8 points, 4.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game and Copeland 15.0 points and 8.5 boards per outing. Walker and Lewis both earned All-SEC honors with Walker on the first team and Lewis on the second team. This marked the first time since 1998 that the Tide has placed two on the All-SEC first and/or second Teams in the same season.
Alabama has one of the top three-point shooters in the SEC and in the nation in Walker, who is top three in the league, and ranks top 20 nationally, in three-pointers per game (2.88), makes (72) and attempts (180) and is No. 3 in the SEC in percentage (40.0).
Scouting the Tar Heels: North Carolina is 13-10 overall and finished the ACC season with an 8-9 record. It has won five of its last seven games. The Tar Heels have five players averaging double figures, led by Janelle Bailey, who averages a team-best 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. As a team, North Carolina is averaging 74.8 points per game and 43.7 rebounds per contest. The Tar Heels are coached by Courtney Banghart, who is in her second season in Chapel Hill. Prior to UNC, she was the head coach at Princeton for 12 years, where her teams won seven Ivy League crowns and made eight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Last time out, Alabama: Alabama outscored No. 7 South Carolina in three of the four quarters but couldn’t overcome an early deficit, falling 75-63 in the quarterfinals of the 2021 SEC Tournament. Lewis led all scorers with 25 points, including a 9-for-10 effort from the free throw line, and added six rebounds and four assists. She was joined in double figures by Copeland, who had 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks. For the game, the Tide shot 41.5 percent from the floor and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line. Alabama was out-rebounded by the Gamecocks, 36-29.
Last time out, North Carolina: UNC was knocked out of the ACC Tournament by Wake Forest 82-71 in a second-round game in Greensboro. North Carolina freshman Alyssa Ustby scored a career-high 23 points in the loss, shooting 11-for-17 from the field, and also had nine rebounds. Classmate Deja Kelly had 19 points, matching her average over the last five games. Grad student Stephanie Watts scored 15 points and handed out a team-best four assists. Senior Janelle Bailey had 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for her 44th career double-double.
