Alabama men’s basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament, ready to fight for another March Madness run to the Final Four.

The Crimson Tide is in a prime spot to do so, and really, it has an easier path than a season ago. Alabama is a No. 2 seed this time around, compared to a No. 4 seed in 2024 when it made it to college basketball’s biggest stage.

The Crimson Tide will begin its race to the Final Four on Friday in Cleveland against No. 15 seed Robert Morris. Here’s a look at what Alabama must do to not only win a game or two but actually make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament again.

Be the toughest team on the floor

Florida punked Alabama twice.

Twice the Gators proved to be more physical and more tough than the Crimson Tide this season. Nothing frustrates Oats more than when he senses a lack of toughness or effort. That seemed to be the case in the SEC Tournament semifinal loss to Florida. He mentioned the word “toughness” or some variation of it 15 times in his postgame press conference Saturday.

“With the effort and the toughness I saw the second half tonight, that’s not going to get us very far,” Oats said. “May not get us out of the first round to be honest with you.”

Oats strives to create a blue-collar program, and when he doesn’t get that on the court, he gets frustrated. That’s often because blue-collar plays (blocks, steals, rebounds, loose balls, floor dives, etc.) tend to coincide with winning. That’s never more true than in the NCAA Tournament.

“We want to be the hardest playing, toughest team on the floor,” Oats said.

Get Mark Sears back on track

There’s more to Alabama than its All-American guard, but life sure is easier for the Crimson Tide when he’s playing at a high level.

A rising Sears lifts all Tide.

Sears has not been at his best the past few games. After a five-game stretch against ranked SEC opponents in which he averaged 28 points, he has experienced a bit of a slump. The past three games, Sears has averaged 10.33 points per game. Over that span, he has made 2 of 16 (13%) from beyond the arc.

How does Alabama help Sears get out of the shooting slump? Oats said Sunday it starts in the gym and getting shots up.

“He’s a guy who needs to be in the gym getting his confidence up,” Oats said. “That will be a big factor.”

Oats said the other key will be stressing to Sears to lose himself in the game, because “it’s not like he’s lost his shot.”

“Playing the right way on the defensive end, giving really good effort on the defensive end, playing the right way on the offensive end, the shooting will take care of itself,” Oats said.

Unleash Takeover Grant Nelson

Step 1: Get Nelson healthy.

Step 2: Unleash Takeover Nelson on the NCAA Tournament.

Step 3: Win lots of games.

Alabama is a different team when Nelson’s in takeover mode. He showed it against UNC in the NCAA Tournament in 2024 with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. The same can be said about what he did against Auburn to close out the regular season: 23 points, eight rebounds and one block. Nelson also seemed on track to do something similar against Florida when he scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds, blocked a shot and forced a steal in 10 minutes of play. Then he left the game with a knee injury that prevented the takeover. Nelson is set to see a knee specialist Monday. His knee is swollen and he’s walking. Hope, per Oats, remains that Nelson can still play in the first round.

Alabama needs him back as soon as possible. Once Nelson left the SEC Tournament game, Florida took control. The Crimson Tide looked nowhere near as well equipped to handle the Gators. That’s no coincidence.

When takeover-mode Nelson is playing, the Crimson Tide can be as good as anyone. So if Alabama wants to have a chance to beat anyone it encounters in the NCAA Tournament, the Crimson Tide needs Nelson playing, and playing to the high level of which he’s capable.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.