By Chris Garvin

GAME NOTES

https://cofcsports.com/documents/2024/3/20/23-24_CofC_MBB_Game_Notes_Alabama.pdf

SPOKANE, Wash. – The No. 13 College of Charleston men’s basketball team will face off against No. 4 Alabama in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Friday, March 22 at 7:35 p.m. EST in Spokane, Washington. The contest will air on truTV with Lisa Byington, Steve Smith, Robbie Hummel and Lauren Shehadi on the call.

STORYLINES

• The College of Charleston men’s basketball team earned the program’s second straight and seventh overall March Madness appearance with an 82-79 overtime win over Stony Brook in the 2024 Jersey Mike’s CAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
• The Cougars are the first team to win back-to-back league titles since UNCW in 2016/17 and are the first team to win the regular season league title by two games since George Mason in 2011. The program has won 12 straight entering the match-up with the Tide.
• Charleston enters Friday’s matchup with No. 4 Alabama ranking 11th in the nation in bench points per game (30.03), 20th in total rebounds per game (39.71), third in three-point attempts per game (30.6) and eighth in threes made per game (10.5).
• Individually, CJ Fulton has led the nation for the last month in assist/turnover ratio. The Irishman committed just five turnovers total in February. Reyne Smith ranks 13th in threes per game (3.21) and sixth in total threes made (109). Overall, the Cougars 358 threes so far this season are the most made in a single season in school history and their 520 assists are the third most in a single season in school history.
• Six Cougars earned a spot on the All-CAA teams, led by Coach of the Year Pat Kelsey and Sixth Man of the Year Bryce Butler. Ante Brzovic was named to the first team with Smith on the second team and Ben Burnham on the third team.
• A win would be Kelsey’s first NCAA tournament victory as a head coach in three appearances (two at Winthrop, one at Charleston).

MAKING IT REYNE

• Junior guard Reyne Smith has been putting on a show from behind arc, starting by going Smith 16-for-26 in wins over Campbell and Hofstra to enter the CAA Championship on a hot streak. He hit 10 three-pointers in a 32-point night to beat Campbell on Thursday and added six threes in a 21-point showing to beat Hofstra on Saturday.
• Smith’s 10 three-pointers against the Camels were a Charleston record, one shy of the CAA record, and made Smith the first player in CAA history with multiple career games of 9+ three-pointers.
• The Aussie broke his own record in nine in a single game set earlier this season vs. St. Joseph’s on December 21. He ranks second all-time in career threes made at Charleston with 291. Charleston legend Andrew Goudelock holds the record with 396.
• He currently ranks 13th in the nation in three pointers per game (3.21) and sixth in total threes made this season (109).
• Smith was named the CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He dropped 23 points with six threes in the title game vs. Stony Brook.

ROAD WARRIORS

• TD Arena and Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena are 2,660 miles apart, which makes the Cougars the furthest team from home for the first round of March Madness. Five of the top ten teams furthest from home are also in Spokane (Yale, UAB, Auburn, Alabama).

SCOUTING THE TIDE

• The Alabama Crimson Tide have made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2003-06. Head coach Nate Oats is 10-5 (.667) in his 15 postseason games at the helm of the Crimson Tide with 4-3 in NCAA Tournament games as the head coach at Alabama, which include a pair of Sweet 16 appearances and owns a 4-6 (.400) record across his six previous tournament appearances as a head coach (8-9 overall)
• Mark Sears was named to the Sporting News All-America Second Team, becoming the third UA player under Oats to earn Sporting News All-America honors. Sears, a 2024 Coaches and Associated Press First Team All-SEC selection, was named 1 of 5 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which annually recognizes the top point guard in Division I.
• Charleston will face off against former Hofstra guard Aaron Estrada who is using his final year of eligibility playing for the Tide. Estrada was the back-to-back CAA Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023.

HOW TO WATCH

• The contest will air on truTV with Lisa Byington, Steve Smith, Robbie Hummel and Lauren Shehadi on the call.
• As always, Cougar fans can listen to the Voice of Cougars Everett German on the call with Danny Johnson on the Varsity App.
• The winners of Friday’s contest will advance to play the winner of No. 5 St. Mary’s and No. 12 Grand Canyon on Sunday in Spokane.

COURTESY COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama men’s basketball team earned a No. 4 seed in the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and will face No. 13-seeded Charleston in the West Region on Friday, March 22. The time and television will be announced at a later time.

The winner of Friday’s opening round game will face the winner of No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon.

It marks the 24th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, with Alabama owning a record of 23-23 (.500). The Crimson Tide’s 2004 team is the only squad in program history to reach the Elite 8 while UA has appeared in the Sweet 16 nine times including in 2023 and 2021.

NCAA Tournament Notes

• This marks the fourth tournament appearance in Nate Oats‘ five seasons as the Crimson Tide head coach
• It is the first time in program history the Crimson Tide has earned back-to-back seasons when earned a No. 4 seed or better in the NCAA Tournament (No. 1 seed in 2023)
• Alabama is appearing in its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002-06
• Oats has guided his teams to NCAA Tournament appearances in seven of the eight years the event was held during his coaching career, including each year as the Tide’s head coach (tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the worldwide pandemic)

For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.

COURTESY ALABAMA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS