NATE OATS

Mark Sears had 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, and No. 18 Alabama sent top-ranked North Carolina to a second straight loss with a 103-101 in a quadruple-overtime thriller in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational tournament.

Alabama basketball held voluntary shootarounds before NCAA Tournament loss to Notre Dame, and most did not show up.

Jaden Shackelford scored 19 points and had nine rebounds as Alabama toppled No. 4 Baylor 87-78 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Defending national champion Baylor has maintained its top spot in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, though not without ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona, while the six remaining unbeatens continued their rise.

Defending national champion Baylor has maintained its top spot in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, though not without ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona, while the six remaining unbeatens continued their rise.

DeAndre Williams had 20 points and six assists, Jalen Duren added 14 points and Memphis finally played to its potential, beating No. 6 Alabama 92-78 to snap a four-game skid.

Jaden Shackelford scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, Jahvon Quinerly and JD Davison both hit key 3-pointers later, and No. 16 Alabama held off Gonzaga’s big second-half rally for a 91-82 win over the third-ranked Bulldogs.

This time, Pitino had his worst seed ever and second-seeded Alabama (25-6) was too much. Ad“I thought their kids came ready to play,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. Iona forced 14 turnovers, and Alabama had trouble getting an open look for most of the first 30 minutes. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough weapons to beat Alabama.”Iona also got dominated 42-26 in rebounds, a stat Pitino said surprised him. Alabama is in the tournament with its best seeding in history, on the strength of its first SEC Tournament title in 30 years.

6 Alabama won the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1991, holding off a late flurry to edge LSU 80-79 Sunday. Alabama, the reigning national champions in football, won its seventh tournament title overall, second in the SEC only to Kentucky's 31. After Jones went a long way down the lane for his shot, Alabama turned to its defense. UP NEXTLSU is expecting to make consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2005 and 2006. AdAlabama will make the 21st NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

6 Alabama blew out Mississippi State 85-48 on Friday in an SEC quarterfinal. Alabama followed a couple of small early runs with a 17-0 surge over nearly five minutes for an eventual 43-13 cushion just before halftime. The Tide also swarmed the Bulldogs defensively, scoring 24 points off 14 first-half turnovers and holding them to 30% shooting overall. “To get beat this badly was really, really a bitter pill,” he said. Alabama drained 3s in bunches to put this game away early and protected the ball.

Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly (13) dribbles past Mississippi State guard Iverson Molinar (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. 6 Alabama beat Mississippi State 64-59 on Saturday night to clinch its first SEC regular-season championship since 2002. AdKEY STATSQuinerly's effort keyed a huge bench advantage for Alabama, which dominated Mississippi State 36-5. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs had plenty of good looks in the first half that just didn’t fall. They also committed 16 turnovers for just 12 Alabama points, but those loomed large in a tight game.

The result was familiar, if not the methodology: another Crimson Tide win. 8 Alabama came from behind to beat Vanderbilt 82-78 Saturday and move a step closer to a Southeastern Conference championship. Quinerly scored 15 points for the Tide, who made just 10 of 39 3-point attempts (25.6%). Alex Reese scored 10 points while Keon Ellis had eight points and nine rebounds, including a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left. Alabama overcame low scoring from Petty (six points) and Herb Jones (eight before fouling out).

De'Vion Harmon scored 18 points to help No. I thought these guys (Oklahoma), they play hard to begin with, and then when they’re down two starters, they really bought in. “Anytime you can win a game like that is big from a resume standpoint, big from a confidence standpoint, momentum. A pair of free throws by Keon Ellis gave Alabama a 60-59 lead with just under four minutes to play. Alabama could take a significant hit with this loss, especially given the players Oklahoma was missing.

Gonzaga forward Drew Timme celebrates after scoring a basket during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Pacific in Spokane, Wash., Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)Gonzaga, Baylor and Villanova remained atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll Monday, while ninth-ranked Alabama climbed to its highest ranking in 14 years. Villanova remained third followed by Michigan, with the Wolverines cracking the top five for a second straight season under Juwan Howard after being unranked earlier in the year. 18 Tennessee took the week's biggest tumble, falling 12 spots after losses to Florida and Missouri. ___More AP college basketball: http://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25___Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)Gonzaga and Baylor maintained their grip on the top two spots in The Associated Press men's basketball poll Monday. “Everyone has dealt with this,” said Wright, whose team finally gets back on the court Tuesday night against Seton Hall. The Golden Gophers were followed by Auburn, one of this week's poll newcomers, Missouri and Clemson. “We’re still finding out about our team,” said coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team nearly rallied from an 18-point deficit against Virginia Tech. IN AND OUTThe Bruins were the other newcomer to this week's poll after improving to 11-2 and 7-0 in the Pac-12 with consecutive wins over Washington State and Washington.