LOS ANGELES — Alabama and Clemson facing off on a Saturday?
Sounds like a matchup that ought to be happening on a football field in the fall, or perhaps in January with a national championship at stake.
Now, though, their men's basketball programs are clashing during March Madness for a first-ever spot for either program in the NCAA tournament's Final Four.
Fourth-seeded Alabama (24-11) of the Southeastern Conference and the sixth-seeded Tigers (24-11) of the Atlantic Coast Conference are set to meet in the West Region final Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, where the Crimson Tide are listed as three-point favorites by FanDuel Sportsbook. Tipoff is set for 8:49 p.m. Eastern, with TBS and truTV televising the game.
The Tide have been to the Elite Eight just once before, in 2004 under coach Mark Gottfried, and lost to eventual national champion Connecticut.
"This would be the biggest win in the history of Alabama basketball if we can pull it off," coach Nate Oats, who's in his fifth season with the Tide, said Friday afternoon — less than 24 hours after taking down top-seeded North Carolina, the ACC regular-season champion and the league tournament's runner-up.
The Tigers haven't gone this deep in the NCAA tourney since 1980 — when only 48 teams made the field of what is now a 68-team event — with future NBA player Larry Nance on the team. Their win over second-seeded Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday triggered wild celebrations back home in South Carolina.
"Everybody always talks about Clemson football and how big their support is," Tigers guard Joseph Girard III said. "Knowing we're getting a lot of that right now, it feels great."
AP photo by Ryan Sun / Clemson guards Chase Hunter (1) and Joseph Girard III (11) and forward Ian Schieffelin (4) celebrate after the Tigers beat Arizona in an NCAA tournament Sweet 16 game Thursday night in Los Angeles.Under such coaching legends as the late Bear Bryant, the recently retired Nick Saban and others, Alabama owns 18 national championships in football. Clemson has three, winning two under current coach Dabo Swinney, whose Tigers topped Alabama for both of those titles in the College Football Playoff. The teams met in the four-team playoff four straight times from 2016-19, with Alabama winning the title game in January 2016 season and a semifinal two years later.
"Most people would think we're out here playing in the Rose Bowl," Oats said of the California trip.
Alabama touts its Tuscaloosa campus as the place where legends are made, so getting to a Final Four would elevate the basketball program.
"Just be probably legends on campus," guard Rylan Griffen said.
Oats credits Saban, who stepped down in January after winning six of his seven career national championships at Alabama, for the Tide's focus on whatever is coming next, whether it's a game, a play or a possession. He also borrowed a phrase Saban uses to describe praise from the media: "rat poison."
"I told them, 'If you want to get to a Final Four, you've got to be disciplined enough to put that rat poison out, get locked in on what we need to do for the next 24 hours, be prepared to beat this team,'" Oats said. "Because anything else is a total distraction."
Alabama caught everybody's attention by knocking out the Tar Heels with an 89-87 victory in the West Region semifinals. The Tide were carried by senior Grant Nelson, who scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half, totaled 12 rebounds and five blocks, and made 10 of 13 free throws. Mark Sears, their leading scorer this season, had 18 points but was limited to two field goals in the second half.
"I definitely think they'll be a tough out," North Carolina forward Harrison Ingram said. "Just with their shooting and their pace and their size and athleticism. Especially when they're making shots."
Clemson beat Arizona 77-72. Chase Hunter scored 18 points and PJ Hall had 17 as the Tigers held the Wildcats to 5-of-28 shooting from 3-point range and 25-of-67 overall.
In the locker room afterward, Girard took a Facetime call from Swinney. The football coach is also texting Tigers coach Brad Brownell.
"There's a lot of jockeying going on between some of his friends who are Bama fans," Brownell said of Swinney, who played football at Alabama and began his coaching career with the Tide. "There might be even a few dinners bet with some of his old cronies, because he told me this morning that we really need to win."
These basketball teams most recently met on Nov. 28, with Clemson winning 85-77 in Tuscaloosa during the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Tigers had four scorers in double figures and held the host Tide to 34% shooting. Alabama was led by Sears with 23 points, while Nelson had 14.
"There's definitely a revenge factor. Nobody wants to lose to a team twice, especially who you think you can beat," Alabama guard Aaron Estrada said. "That's just going to add even more fuel to us, and it's going to make us play harder."
Clemson is a veteran team, led by Hall, Girard and Ian Schieffelin. The Tigers have held their NCAA tournament opponents to less than 40% shooting.
Do that again, and they very well might be playing next weekend at the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona.
"These guys have seen a lot, done a lot and experienced success," Brownell said. "Our guys have a lot of belief in each other. We're playing good basketball right now."