Alabama men’s basketball’s NCAA Tournament opponent is set. The Crimson Tide will face Charleston in the first round of the big dance, playing the game in Spokane .

The game is scheduled for Friday. Alabama drew the No. 4 seed in the west region, while Charleston got the No. 12.

As UA begins its preparation for the event, here’s what to know about its upcoming opponent.

The road to the dance

The Cougars are entering the tournament with a 27-7 overall record. They racked up a 15-3 record in the Coastal Athletic Association.

Charleston qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the CAA Tournament. It entered the event as the No. 1 seed, before beating Monmouth and Towson to make the final.

On Tuesday, the Cougars had a scare against seventh-seeded Stony Brook. The underdogs scored the final nine-points of regulation to tie the game at 73, and had a chance to win it all on the final possession.

In overtime, Charleston got the job done. The final score was 82-79, with the Cougars cutting down the nets and awaiting their selection Sunday fate.

The stars

Reyne Smith led the charge in the CAA title game. The junior guard had 23 points in the win, including eight of the team’s nine scored in overtime.

Smith averaged 12.8 points per game for Charleston, which led the team. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard posted a 41.2% average shooting from the field, 39.% from three-point range, with 276 of his 313 shooting attempts coming from beyond the arc.

Ante Brzovic is the leading rebounder this season for the Cougars. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound junior has grabbed 6.2 per game.

He’s also a factor offensively, scoring 12.3 points per game. Brzovic had 12 points in the CAA title game on Monday.

Forward Ben Burnham has also played a major role for Charleston this season. The 6-foot-7 junior averaged 11.7 points this season, along with 4.6 rebounds.

The coach

Alabama head coach Nate Oats had high praise for Charleston’s Pat Kelsey once the matchup was announced on Sunday.

“Coach Kelsey is one of the better up-and-coming young head coaches,” Oats said. “They play a pretty modern style of basketball. Pretty similar to us to be honest with you.”

Kelsey got the Charleston job in 2021. He had previously been the head coach at Winthrop since 2012.

Since taking over the Cougars, Kelsey has led the team to the league’s past two regular season and tournament titles and earned the coach of the year award in 2024. While at Winthrop, he won four regular-season and three tournament titles in the Big South.