The Crimson Tide pulled off a tremendous 68-62 victory over South Carolina last night at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia. It was a huge victory for the Tide as they moved to 17-11 overall and 8-7 in the SEC. That backed up a 68-61 home victory for Avery Johnson’s squad over Vanderbilt last Saturday..

The great 17 year old freshman guard Kyra Lewis poured in 17 and was 3-for-6 from trifecta against the Gamecocks. Awesome big man Donta Hall had another double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Tevin Mack added 11. And the best player on the floor last night, not the most talented, but the best and most efficient player, was 5th year senior Riley Norris, who had 11 points and a critical steal and score at the end of the game to seal it for the Tide.

Alabama is projected by the great Joey “Brackets” Lunardi as an 11 seed and playing No.6 seed Kansas State at the Midwest Regional in Tulsa. I trust everything Joe says, he’s phenomenal. The committee should just listen to him and use his bracket to make their selections. Joe works tirelessly on his brackets every 3 to 4 days and his predictions make so much sense. He likes the Crimson Tide as a last 4 team to get a bye. I think the Tide matches up favorably with Kansas State. With their defense, and with better shooting , they could knock off K State or any team they play in the first round as long as it’s not a number 1 or 2 seed. K State struggles with their shooting as well at times, so if Bama can keep their excellent defense going and get the ball through the net more, they’re a dangerous squad. I really like what Riley Norris does for this team. He’s the most underrated player in the conference and really one of the most underrated players in the country. Just a terrific basketball player.

The Crimson Tide has a huge game Saturday at home versus LSU which will be televised by ESPN at 11 AM CT. If the Tide can pull that off, they will have a major quadrant 1 victory and will really help their tournament hopes.Quadrant 1 victories are critical for teams and their tournament hopes Those are victories against top 50 teams. Very important to win some of those. That victory Could almost secure their bid. Then they host the Auburn Tigers next Tuesday, 3-5, at 8 PM at Coleman. ESPN will also televise that contest. A week from Saturday, March 9th, the Tide will travel to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks at 5 PM CT on the SEC Network. So a lot of work for the Tide to secure their tournament bid along with a strong showing at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, March 13-17th.

Auburn lost a tough one to UK last Saturday at Rupp, 80-53. I didn’t even recognize that Auburn team. This team is a lot better than that. They are presently 7-7 in the SEC and 18-9 overall and Joe has them as an 8 seed and playing Texas in the South Regional in Columbus, Ohio. AU is still a very good team, and just needs to regain their momentum. The Tigers are @Georgia tonight at 8 CT on ESPNU. Saturday, the Tigers host Mississippi State at 3 PM CT on ESPNu. Next Tuesday, it’s the Crimson Tide at 8 PM CT on ESPN and the Tigers close out the regular season versus Tennessee at home at 11 AM CT, Saturday, March 9th, at Auburn Arena. ESPN or the Deuce will televise. So Auburn could get some quality victories down the stretch and secure an even higher seed in the NCAA Tournament if they can get these quality victories and play well in the SEC Tourney.

Final Four

With Zion Williamson out for Duke with a sprained knee, the tournament could be much more open. My Final Four is Duke, with Williamson, without him they’re not in, Virginia, Gonzaga and Kentucky. Michigan State, UNC, LSU and Tennessee are knocking on the door. Duke with Williamson is the favorite to win it all. Without Williamson, I don’t see them making the Final Four. I really like Virginia. The great Jay Bilas calls superstar guards Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy, as players, “who look like Boy Scouts, but play like Navy Seals.” DeAndre Hunter is a superstar for the Cavaliers. Gonzaga is a high quality team that defeated Duke with Williamson. They look Final Four worthy, though interestingly, Tennessee defeated them at a neutral site in December. Kentucky is playing very well though they just got by Arkansas at Rupp last night, 70-66. P.J. Washington may be playing the best basketball of any player in the country. Tyler Herro and Ashton Hagans are superb players. The Cats are for real. Michigan State is another defensive juggernaut under Tom Izzo. Point guard Cassius Winston is a phenomenal player. You never count out the Spartans. Excellent team. North Carolina is hitting their stride led by superstar fourth year senior Luke Maye. I said this to my wife last week when UNC defeated Duke last Wednesday, 88-72 at Cameron Indoor, that Maye was not the most talented player on the court by any means, but he was the BEST player on the court. So savvy, huge heart and great skills. LSU is playing well though I’m still trying to figure out how they defeated Tennessee at home last Saturday. Tennessee was the better team that day, but somehow the Bengal Tigers won the game. Tennessee is definitely a factor. I like Texas Tech having a shot. Nevada can maybe get there, but they look like an Elite Eight team to me, which is very good. Maybe not enough to get to Indy though.

And that leads me to this year’s Cinderella.

Wofford

You might call them a Cinderella but the Terriers are 16-0 in a loaded Southern Conference this season that has potential tournament teams Furman, UNC Greensboro, and East Tennessee State. Wofford 24-4 overall, haven’t lost since December 19th, and are 6-0 against those 3 teams. My man Bama Golf, a Wofford alum, sent me an awesome article by CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, who compared Wofford to the 2007-2008 Elite Eight Davidson team with a player by the name of Steph Curry. I’d also include last year’s Final Four Loyola-Chicago team, which was an unreal story. As my wife calls’em “That Nun Team.” Looks like Wofford could be the Sister Jean story this season. They are the 3rd best 3 point shooting team in the country and that can win you several NCAA Tournament games if you’re hot from beyond the arc.

Winner at the Honda Classic

I’m going to go back to the well one more time and go with the 3rd time is a charm theory and pick the 25 year old who lost a heartbreaker 2 weeks ago at the Genesis to J.B. Holmes after having a 4 shot lead going into the final round, then shooting a 62 last Sunday to finish 9th at the WGC Mexico. I’m going to try this young gun one more time. He’s the defending champion at PGA National Resort and Spa, Champion Course. The Bear Trap, 15, 16 and 17 is one of the toughest stretches in golf, with 2 highly difficult par 3’s in 15 and 17 and a highly challenging par 4, 17th. A Jack Nicklaus design, and Jack put some serious teeth into this course and particularly that stretch of holes.

Justin Thomas

Darkhorses

Luke List

Billy Horschel

TV: Thursday-=Friday, Golf Channel, 1-5 PM CT; Saturday-Sunday, GC, 12-2 PM CT, NBC 2-5 PM CT.

Weather, looks good for the most part, Chances of rain tomorrow and Friday, nothing major though, Pretty sunny Saturday and Sunday. Sunday’s winds are 6-12, the hardest it’s circulating this weekend and that could be problematic for the players on the water filled 15th and 17th holes.

The Mountain Brook Spartans basketball program has written their incredible legacy since Bucky McMillan has been in charge. McMillan, now in his 11th season, has led the Spartans to 4 state championships already in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018. This is also the Spartans 6th Final Four in seven years under McMillan as they face the 4th ranked Robert E. Lee Generals in the semifinals of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state championships at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena tomorrow at 10:30 AM CT for the right to play for another state championship. The game will be broadcast by the NHFS network online. Saturday’s championship game is at 5:45 PM pitting the Spartans-Generals winner versus the Baker-Hoover winner The game will be broadcast by channel 80 on Charter Spectrum Cable. The Spartans set their sights on a 3 peat starting tomorrow.

The Spartans at 29-3 are No.1 in the state. But this story is much richer than that. The Spartans are ranked No.5 in the country by the USA Today in its Super 25 rankings. What’s just as impressive, if not more so, is the Spartans’ victories over national powerhouses this season.

The Spartans played in the City of Palms Tournament in Fort Myers, FL. in December and defeated now No.4 IMG Academy, 72-67. It was a phenomenal performance by the team and its superstar, Trendon Watford, who played against 3 5 stars and 2 4 stars on IMG’s starting 5 and poured in 38 points. The 5 star himself, who is being recruited by LSU, Memphis, Alabama and now Duke, was the best player on the court that night. McMillan stresses the magnitude of that victory. IMG power forward Jeremiah Robinson -Earl is a 5 star and is the 10th ranked player in the country by Rivals. He’s 6’9, 235. He is going to Villanova. 5 star shooting guard Josh Green for IMG is a 5 star and the 6’6”, 185 pounder is going to Arizona. He is the 12th ranked player in the country. 5 Star center Armando Bacot, 6’10”, 235, is going to a little outfit called the University of North Carolina. He is the 18th ranked player in the country. 4 Star shooting guard Lester Quinones, 6’5”, 200, is the 44th ranked player in the country and undecided but with multiple major offers,. And 4 star small forward Terrence Shannon JR. is 6’7”, 185 and the 57th ranked player in the country and undecided but highly sought after by major programs. So that victory was beyond spectacular by the Spartans. The next day, after an incredibly, powerfully, hard fought, massively amazing victory that took all the perseverance, endurance and energy the Spartans could muster, the Spartans had extremely tired legs and lost to USA Today No.2 McEachern, 50-29. It was impossible for the Spartans, which finished at 10:30 PM the night before, to get the energy back up to play McEachern. It was an overwhelming task, so the result was meaningless. It was like playing the Golden State Warriors and defeating them the night before then having to play LeBron and the Lakers the next day.

The victory over IMG was so special. McMillan believes strongly that IMG will finish the season as the No.1 team in the country. Bucky said that IMG would beat McEachern more times than McEachern would beat them, so the IMG victory was remarkable in so many ways.

The Spartans also had a majorly impressive victory over Memphis East, 51-47, in a game played in Mississippi. Memphis East has the No.3 player in the country in 7’0”, 210 center James Wiseman, who’s going to play for Penny Hardaway at Memphis. 4 star Malcolm Dandridge, a 6’7”, 220 pound power forward who is also going to Memphis, also plays on Memphis East’s team. So another phenomenal victory for the Spartans. The Spartans also defeated Olive Branch, Mississippi, in November, 56-53. Olive Branch features 4 star power forward D.J. Jeffries, who is 6’7”, 200 and playing at Memphis next season as well. The Spartans have plowed through the state with their only in-state loss coming to Wenonah, 52-48, in November, in probably the toughest gym in the state to play in. If the Spartans played them at Mountain Brook they’d probably win by 20. But Wenonah Gym is difficult for any team to win at. Plus Wenonah is No.1 in Class 5A and will most likely win the state. They are 29-5. The Spartans only other loss is to DeLaSalle of Minnesota in Souix Falls South Dakota, 63-62. It was a heartbreaker. After the Spartans had taken a 62-60 lead with 7 seconds left, DeLaSalle hit a 3 at the buzzer.

But this season has been an epic. This team is the highest nationally ranked team ever from Alabama. Trendon Watford numbers are phenomenal. He is 6th all time in the state in points scored with 3,543. He is 1st all time in rebounds with 1,890. He averages 24.2 points per game, 12 rebounds and has dished out 3 1/2 assists. Duke has gotten involved in his recruiting, and when Duke calls, much like Alabama and Clemson in football, you listen. Trendon is shooting 46% from the field, 255 of 418, 41% from 3, 45 of 110, and 138 of 178 from the line, 78%. That’s phenomenal.

Alex Washington is just as impressive. He’s going to Harvard next season to play football and basketball. Junior Colby Jones is averaging 14.6 ppg and is very interested in Yale, which wants him. Lior Berman is averaging 10.7 ppg, and 4.2 rebounds. He has been offered by Springhill and some other schools. He is waiting till the end of the season to decide.

McMillan has created a spectacular culture at Mountain Brook. At a recent pep rally, Bucky told me he asked the senior, junior, sophomore and freshmen classes how many of them were the 2013 and 2014 Final Fours. 90% of each class raised their hands. McMillan’s program is some kind of terrific in this community, throughout the state and now nationally. This is a national powerhouse program that is conducted with integrity and character led by McMillan and the superb players/young men on his team.

There will be opportunities for this superstar coach in the college game, but McMillan is still extremely happy at Mountain Brook and told me, “I will fight for every player and person in this community.”

McMillan has created a culture of honor and integrity in Mountain Brook basketball. And one heckuva high school basketball program that could one day be the best team in the country. The state won’t allow this team to travel to California to be one of the top 8 schools competing for the national championship. That’s too bad because it would be awesome to see this team get its shot. The state is protecting the players academically and that’s honorable. But it would be pretty awesome to see Bucky’s outfit try to win it all. They certainly have the hearts of champions and are championship people. It’s an amazing story and one that will have a lasting legacy throughout this community and this state.