“We Want Bama” has been a trending slogan for any college football fanbase that wants its team to take a shot at the nation’s premier powerhouse on the gridiron – with certain members of The Den being no exception.
If the internet and ESPN’s College GameDay had been around in the 1970s, a similar catchphrase may have caught on for UCLA’s prospective opponents on the hardwood as well.
But with the Crimson Tide having their best season in 35 years and the Bruins still in the midst of an uncharacteristic 26-year title drought, the tables have seemingly turned for the two programs.
No. 11 seed UCLA men’s basketball (20-9, 13-6 Pac-12) will be the heavy underdog in its Sweet 16 matchup with No. 2 seed Alabama (26-6, 16-2 SEC) on Sunday despite the massive chasm between the teams’ histories of success. The Bruins lead all programs with 11 NCAA titles, while the Crimson Tide are looking to make their second-ever Elite Eight with a win.
Coach Mick Cronin, however, said he remembers admiring the Alabama men’s basketball teams of the 1980s and ’90s, even if they didn’t have a fraction of the championships UCLA had.
“You’re talking to a guy who grew up watching (former Alabama coach) Wimp Sanderson in the checkered sports coats – they had great teams,” Cronin said. “Obviously, nobody has 11 banners as far as tradition, but it has nothing to do with this game, I mean, nothing at all.”
Even with Cronin’s dismissal of historical context, this year’s Crimson Tide have a chance to do what those Sanderson teams never did – make an Elite Eight.
Across Sanderson’s 12-year tenure in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Crimson Tide made 10 NCAA tournaments and six Sweet 16s, only to get sent home packing each and every time.
UCLA has experienced a similar roadblock in recent years, advancing to and losing in the Sweet 16 each of the last three times it made it into the main bracket.
But after a win in the First Four over fellow No. 11 seed Michigan State, a victory in the Round of 64 against No. 6 seed BYU and a triumph over No. 14 seed Abilene Christian in the Round of 32, the Bruins are back in a position to break through that barrier against the Crimson Tide.
To do so, they’ll have to keep pace with Alabama’s prolific 3-point shooting. The Crimson Tide lead the nation in 3-pointers made this season, boasting five players who shoot better than 37% from deep.
What makes that even more threatening, Cronin said, is the fact they took more 3s than anyone else in the country this year and are also a top-30 team on the offensive boards.
“It spreads your defense out,” Cronin said. “I think the biggest thing for them is how many they’ve shot, and the reason for that is because they offensive rebound. Very rarely do you see a 3-point shooting team also be a great offensive rebounding team, and they’re a very good offensive rebounding team. And where they really kill you is when they do miss, they get it and turn and throw it back out and make it.”
Cronin said he looks at the Crimson Tide as a team with seven starters, even comparing their deep guard rotation to the “Bad Boys” – the Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s and early 1990s. That’s because Alabama’s second-leading scorer and team leader in assist percentage, guard Jahvon Quinerly, comes off the bench, as does wing Alex Reese and his quick trigger from long range.
Even with a seemingly guard-oriented rotation like the one Alabama utilized in its win over No. 10 seed Maryland on Monday, it’s forward Herbert Jones who leads the Crimson Tide in total rebounds, assists, steals and blocks on the season. Jones reeled in the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year awards at the end of the regular season and is averaging 14.8 points and nine rebounds in his last four games.
The Bruins boast a player of their own with a similar stat line, sophomore guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who leads UCLA in all the same categories minus assists. Jaquez said he expects to have to get rough with the scrappy Crimson Tide, again relating it back to limiting them from 3.
“(We) definitely, definitely have to get physical,” Jaquez said. “We know they shoot a lot of 3s, so when to shoot a lot of 3s, that means that there’s going to be a lot of rebounds to go get. So just holding our block outs, making sure we hit the guy that we need to block out and just get the rebound, limit them to one shot.”
UCLA was 2-6 in the regular season when it lost the rebounding battle, but did pick up wins against both Michigan State and BYU last week despite being negative on the boards.
With the kind of attack awaiting them Sunday at Hinkle Fieldhouse, however, the Bruins won’t want the Crimson Tide to get rolling anywhere on the box score.
Their chances at making the Elite Eight depend on it.
