Football-crazed Alabama sends 4 teams to NCAA hoops tourney
By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer
While the state of Alabama didn’t bring home a football national championship, four schools from the Heart of Dixie will be chasing basketball glory. Only No. 2 seed Auburn counts as anything but a huge longshot heading into the men’s NCAA Tournament. Still, it’s the first time four teams from Alabama have shared the tournament field. The regular-season Southeastern Conference champion Tigers face in-state team Jacksonville State Friday in Greenville, South Carolina. UAB won the Conference USA Tournament and Alabama received an at-large berth as and a No. 6 seed.