NCAA Bracket 2012: How Alabama Basketball Got To March Madness

After winning the 2010-11 SEC West division and finishing 25-12 overall in a season that culminated in an appearance in the finals of the NIT, the Alabama Crimson Tide were picked to finish fourth in the SEC by a select panel of both conference and national media members.

Despite a brief suspension, senior forward JaMychal Green led the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds on the regular season. Tony Mitchell was second on the squad with 13 points and seven rebounds per game on average, but was suspended for the remainder of the season for conduct detrimental to the team in February. Sophomore guard Trevor Releford averages 11.9 points per game and leads the team in both assists (81) and steals (62).

Alabama opened the season with seven straight wins and were 13-3 midway through the season before dropping four straight games in mid-to-late January, a losing streak that began with a 56-52 loss at the 20th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs, their only game against a Top 25 opponent this season. The Crimson Tide won four of five to finish out the regular season. They fell to Florida in the SEC tournament quarterfinal, 66-63. As the No. 9 seed in the Midwest region, they'll face No. 8 Creighton in their first game of the NCAA Tournament.

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