No. 5 Alabama Basketball Gears Up for First-Round NCAA Tournament Matchup Against Iona

INDIANAPOLIS — On Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University, Alabama basketball's NCAA tournament run officially gets underway.

At this point, there isn't much left to say about the No. 2-seed Crimson Tide's matchup against the No. 15-seed Iona Gaels. After a 24-6 start to the season, an SEC regular-season title and an SEC tournament championship, all roads have led head coach Nate Oats and his team to this point.

While on paper Alabama should win Saturday's game (3 p.m. CT, TBS), this is different. This isn't some regular-season non-conference cupcake game. This is the NCAA tournament. Anything can happen, and anyone can lose at any given time.

Just ask 2-seed Ohio State how its matchup against 15-seed Oral Roberts went on Friday.

While no game in the Big Dance comes easy, Alabama has prepared for this moment. Since Tuesday, the Crimson Tide has held daily practices inside the NCAA-sanctioned bubble. After its quarantine period through Monday night, all Alabama players tested negative for COVID-19 and were cleared to proceed with normal operations inside said bubble.

The bubble has provided its challenges, sure, but in a year and a tournament unlike any other for not just the Crimson Tide but basketball in general, who's to say that this Alabama team can't continue to make history in March Madness?

Since falling on the road to Arkansas back on Feb. 24, Alabama has won six-straight games. In the days after the 81-66 loss in Fayetteville, Oats discussed that his team needed a new mentality. In short, a 1-0 mentality.

For those unfamiliar with the 1-0 mentality, it's the mindset that after every victory the team briefly acknowledges the win and then moves on to the next opponent with its sole focus on that next game. No acknowledgement of the past, no looking ahead at the future.

That mentality seems to have paid off, as with every win this Crimson Tide team marches closer and closer to history.

On Wednesday, Alabama guard Jaden Shackelford reiterated his team's 1-0 approach to every game played.

“Not too long ago we started a standard where we’re just going to go 1-0,” Shackelford said. “Since that standard we haven’t lost so I feel like if our guys just lock in and not focused on any of the statistics or anything like that we should be fine. We’re not underestimating anybody. We’re going in, respecting our opponent and we’re just going to go out there and try to be our best on both sides of the ball and hopefully come out victorious.

“We’re not going in underestimating anybody and we’re just taking that pressure off our backs — we're just going in and playing our game.”

Despite being one of the lower-seeded teams at the Big Dance this season, Iona is hardly a team that should be overlooked.

With only 17 games under its belt this season due to several COVID-19 pauses for the program, the Gaels and its head coach, Rick Pitino, finished with a 12-5 record and won itself a MAAC tournament championship.

Gaels guard Isaiah Ross led the MAAC is scoring with 18.4 points per game. Forward Nelly Junior Joseph was second in the conference in rebounds with 7.6 per game and field-goal shooting (.595). Iona certainly poses a Cinderella-like threat, and it is not to be underestimated.

As Shackelford noted, this Alabama team is hardly entering this game underestimating his opponent.

For the Crimson Tide to win this game, there will be several keys. First and foremost, Alabama will need to crash the boards and avoid costly turnovers. The Gaels have the ability to take command in games where they rebound early and often, and that is something that the Crimson Tide can't afford to let happen.

Another key factor is the three-ball for Alabama. Since January when the Crimson Tide was at its hottest point, the team hasn't performed its best from beyond the arc. However, Alabama's three-point game showed some life in the SEC tournament. While it might not have an impact on who wins and who loses on Saturday, a first-round game against Iona is a perfect opportunity for the Crimson Tide to regain some confidence in its three-point shooting and could heavily impact its tournament run.

In short, Alabama needs to do what it's comfortable with. While the Gaels should not be underestimated, Oats noted that if his team does what it did to get to this point then everything should work out just fine.

“I think we’re playing well for a reason," Oats said on Wednesday. "Let’s do what got us here. Let’s pump a bunch of confidence into them, let’s stay sharp, let’s have good practices and let’s not change a whole lot.”

If Alabama can do all of those things, this could turn into a tournament where Alabama basketball continues to make history.