Alabama's Comeback Beats Hofstra in NCAA Tournament

0:00On March 20th, 4th-seated Alabama pulled off a strong comeback to be 13th-seated Hofstra 90-70 in the first round of the Midwest region at the NCAA Tournament. La Bar and Philan Jr. led the way with 29 points as the Crimson Tide improved to 24 wins and 9 losses. The game started tough for Alabama, who trailed by double digits early, but they closed the first half on a 19-7 run to take control. Hofstra kept fighting with 24 points from freshman Preston Edmead, but Alabama rebuilt their lead after a late push from the pride. A crowd of about 17,769 fans got loud backing the underdogs, especially after a dunk brought Hofstra within five points. This marked Hofstra's first tournament appearance since 2001, when their current coach helped them qualify, and they also earned a spot in. 2020, they got canceled by the pandemic. Out their star guard, Aiden Holloway, suspended indefinitely over a felony drug charge,

1:00Alabama leaned on Aiden Cheryl, LaTrell Wrightsell Jr., and a Mari Allen alongside Philan's big second half. Philan sealed it down the stretch with key baskets, and Taylor Bull Bowen added dunks in a three-pointer to push the margin to 20. Now Alabama moves on to face 5th-seated Texas Tech, who won by 20 over Akron earlier, setting up another solid match-up in the second round.