With the Sweet Sixteen underway in earnest on Thursday afternoon, only Power Five schools remain. While BYU is probably seen as the biggest underdog, as well as Arkansas being the lowest seeded team left, they compete in the Big 12 and SEC, respectively. All across the board, you can find one major program after another, including a pair of bitter rivals from down in The Yellowhammer State.
Yes, Alabama and Auburn are among the handful of teams who could realistically win the whole thing. Auburn is the No. 1 seed in the South, while Alabama is the No. 2 seed in the East. If the Crimson Tide and Tigers keep on winning they will meet in the national championship game in San Antonio in a few weeks.
That brings to question: Has Alabama ever won March Madness before?
Has Alabama ever won March Madness before?
No, the Alabama Crimson Tide have never the NCAA Tournament before.
And no, neither has Auburn.
It was not until recently that Alabama and Auburn even made it to the Final Four. Auburn got there before Alabama did back in 2019. Alabama reached the Final Four for the first time last season. While this is Alabama's 12th trip to the Sweet Sixteen all time and Auburn's sixth, one of these programs will win a national title at some point.
Alabama and Auburn could win their first March Madness in 2025
Will either Nate Oats or Bruce Pearl take them to the promised land? Right now, I would say Auburn is among the four most likely to do it with Duke, Houston and Florida.
As a fan of a team who competes in the same league as Alabama and Auburn, I think we need to give their respective athletic departments for upping the ante in the college basketball realm. I know that Alabama has had a decent history prior to Oats coming over from Buffalo, but Auburn basketball was mostly about Charles Barkley and Chuck Person prior to Pearl taking over the reins of their program.
Throughout much of my lifetime, Kentucky was SEC basketball, with the occasionally goods teams coming out of programs like Arkansas, Florida and Tennessee mostly. In the years since, seemingly everyone in the conference has hired a head coach who knows how to win and can make a difference. It is why every SEC Team but LSU and South Carolina qualified for the NCAA Tournament this season.
As far as if Alabama or Auburn can win March Madness this year, I would probably say Auburn is my third favorite to do so behind Houston and Duke. When it comes to Alabama, I may have the Crimson Tide in and around eighth. That is usually the number of teams who can realistically win the tournament in a given season. I like Tennessee more than them now, but I could still be convinced.
For now, I think we need to step back and appreciate the run Alabama and Auburn are on of late.