That helped us a lot. Alabama, which was ranked in the Top 25 for 14 straight weeks this season, lost five of its final six games and had to settle for an NIT berth. The struggles on the road were the biggest problem for the Crimson Tide. They were just 6-9 away from Tuscaloosa, costing them the NCAA bid, before winning in double overtime at Purdue to earn a trip to New York. We took a bad situation and turned it into something positive for us.
Championships are championships.
After a slow start in which they were down by 14 points after nine minutes, the Tide felt right at home in Madison Square Garden. I thought we did an excellent job of executing until late in the second half when they got very physical in the paint. Phillips, with his Allen Iverson corn rows and fearless attitude, scored 25 points and made seven 3-pointers to lead Detroit. But after scoring 11 points in the first nine minutes, Phillips had a hard time getting open shots. They are very big and kept us from getting out of running because of their offensive rebounds.