What NCAA Tournament? Gottfried, Crimson Tide put pundits in rear-view mirror, focus on Hogs
By Cecil Hurt Sports Editor March 03, 2004
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. | University of Alabama basketball coach Mark Gottfried may be the lone holdout, but he refuses to apply any apocalyptic adjectives to tonight’s game with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
It’s not that Gottfried doesn’t understand the importance of every game on Alabama’s schedule, with a potential bid to the NCAA Tournament hanging in the balance. It’s just that he refuses to attach the do-or-die label to it.
“That’s a trap that you can fall into," Gottfried said. “You start saying you need to do this or do that. I’d rather just concentrate on playing hard.
“The one thing that I’ve told our team is not to pay any attention to anyone who says that they know what is going to happen. I watched television last Sunday and there were 10 different commentators and every one was acting like he was the one selecting the field, saying this team is in, or that team is out. The fact is, until 6:30 p.m. on that Sunday (March 14), no one knows for sure."
Alabama’s situation going into tonight’s game is this. The Tide is 15-10, with an RPI ranking of No. 22 (according to collegerpi.com), and the nation’s No. 1 strength of schedule. A win tonight would give Alabama its 16th win -- no team has ever received an at-large invitation with only 15 wins -- and would assure UA of no worse than a .500 record in conference play. There has been speculation that with those two lines on its resume, Alabama would be a lock -- but it’s not Gottfried doing the speculating.
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ROLL TIDE ROLL !!! RMc.
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