Alabama and Auburn aren’t the only teams in the state headed to the NCAA Tournament.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Samford found out their fates on Selection Sunday as well.
UAB, the AAC champion, landed as a No. 12 seed in the so-called “region of death” featuring No. 1 overall seed UConn and No. 2 seed Iowa State, one of the hottest teams in the country.
The Blazers will take on San Diego State in the first round, and if they can pull off the upset, a possible Round of 32 matchup with the Auburn Tigers looms.
Meanwhile, Samford, the champion of the Southern Conference, is on the other side of the bracket in the Midwest region as a No. 13 seed.
Former Mountain Brook High head coach Bucky McMillan’s Bulldogs will take on the No. 4 seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the first round while a victory would bring on the winner between Gonzaga and McNeese State.
On Sunday afternoon, UAB destroyed Temple 85-69 to clinch its second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three years.
Samford is fresh off a 76-69 win Saturday in the SoCon Tournament final and will be playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2000.
UAB will tip off in Spokane at 12:45 p.m. CST Friday, while Samford will play in the late slot Thursday night in Salt Lake City at 8:55 p.m. CST.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
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