The Alabama Crimson Tide is heading to their first-ever Final Four in program history.
Before the Elite Eight game against Clemson, Nate Oats said, win or lose, he was going to bring his team back to Tuscaloosa so they could spend Easter Sunday with their families before heading out to Phoenix.
The team had been on the West coast for two full weeks with the first weekend being played in Spokane and the second weekend in Los Angeles.
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When Oats and company finally did get back on a plane to head home, they were doing so with the West regional champions trophy, and Oats was going to make sure that the plane’s most important passenger was safe:
Safety First!@nate_oats getting our important passenger ready for the flight home. #RollTide 🏆
It’s 12:10 pm central. Wrapping up loading the plane. We should arrive in Tuscaloosa APPROXIMATELY 4:00-4:30 pm central. pic.twitter.com/B1R3rQ7rw7
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) March 31, 2024
When the Tide did return to Tuscaloosa Regional Airport, the team was greeted by a mob of fans who have been starved of a Final Four appearance for the entire history of the program and wanted to show appreciation to the team who got it done:
Alabama is back in Tuscaloosa
Nate Oats is carrying the championship trophy pic.twitter.com/6DfiGS0wAM
— Ryan C. Fowler (@RyanCFowler) March 31, 2024
Alabama will be taking on No. 1 overall seed Connecticut with a trip to the national championship on the line next Saturday night in Phoenix. UCONN has completely dominated its way through the tournament, destroying everyone in its path.
The Huskies are favored by 11.5 points, one of the largest point spreads in Final Four history. Alabama will attempt to pull of the impossible and take down Connecticut.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
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