Alabama learned Tuesday night it will play No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday.

The game will tip off at 1:45 p.m. CT in Birmingham’s Legacy Arena.

On Wednesday, Alabama players Brandon Miller and Mark Sears, and later coach Nate Oats, will hold a news conference around 12:35 p.m. CT ahead of an open practice in the arena at 1:15 p.m.

Check back here for live updates:

— Miller and Sears have arrived. Asked about playing in front of home fans, Miller said the fans “give us great energy, and we play off them.”

— Miller on Jahvon Quinerly: “His story is just a crazy story. Just from an ACL tear, to not being able to play a whole year. I’m really happy for him. I feel like he’s just a big brother away from home, just looking to win.”

— Asked about blocking out “outside noise,” Miller said they have a bond and “we all just lean on each other. We know our struggles on and off the court. We know our strengths on and off the court.”

— Sears: “We love each other like a brother. That means on the court, having that bond on the court. That leads to our success.”

— Sears: “We don’t feel any pressure. Because we go out there, we practice hard and when you practice hard, you really don’t feel any type of pressure when you’re playing hard.”

— Miller on security guard being with team: “I feel like we always travel with security. That’s all I’m going to be able to say about that.”

— Miller on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: “We know they’re going to come out and play us hard.”

— Brandon Miller asked about personal pressure to perform given “all the other stuff swirling around.” Miller: “I just lean on my teammates, really. They’re here for me like a family away from home.”

— Miller: “I’ve never seen a team bond like this, off the court. With with each other every day, at each other’s houses.”

— Nate Oats has arrived.

— Oats said Alabama knew they would have to play well to choose their site, and they played well enough to play close to home in Birmingham. “We’re excited.”

— Oats said his players are “well aware” that a No. 16 seed has beaten a No. 1 seed (UMBC over Virginia). Oats said he shared his experience coaching Buffalo as a lower seed and what they think going into those games. Assistant Charlie Henry was an assistant at Iowa State when they were upset as a No. 3 seed, he added.

— “I think we’ll be locked in, focused on the scouting report,” Oats said. “When the stage gets bigger, the focus on the smaller details becomes much more important.”

— Asked about Nimari Burnett and Dom Welch not playing in the Sunday championship game, Oats said it’s hard to play 11 players in every game. “We kind of went with the guys that were playing well. Stuff started out great and we just kind of rolled with the guys that were playing well,” he said. Both players are 100 percent healthy, Oats said, and he anticipates seeing Burnett early in the game Thursday based on his practice this week.

— Oats said he mentioned to players about UMBC-Virginia and “don’t think because you’re a No. 1 seed, you’re guaranteed to get out of the first round.” Oats said Texas A&M-Corpus Christi coach Steve Lutz is a friend of his.

— Oats said he believes Alabama can make a deep run because the “talent level is high” and the chemistry on the group is great. “I think the more you get to know the group, the more you’ll love them.” Oats said his team two years ago had a great chance, too, but struggled at the free-throw line in an upset loss to UCLA. This team is younger, Oats said, but, “I don’t think youth means immature.”

— Asked about playing in Birmingham after playing on the road in the SEC, especially after the Darius Miles/Brandon Miller situations, Oats said it’s not technically a home game but “I sure hope Legacy is packed out like a home game.”

— Asked about a security guard accompanying Brandon Miller to his news conference Wednesday, Oats said, “If you guys saw some of what I’ve seen sent his way, I think you would understand why that’s the case. I don’t want to get into all of that. The entire situation, as you know, is just heartbreaking on all accounts. … Some of the messages from people that can sit behind fake email addresses, but who knows whether they’re real or not, that I’ve seen. Something that nobody would ever want their son — I treat my players like my own sons … Our administration has seen what I’ve seen, and it’s appropriate. It’s nothing a college kid should have to go through.”

— Oats said Jahvon Quinerly “went through some slumps” after returning early from his ACL injury. “He went up, came down. He’s on an upward trajectory right now with his play, and it’s needed. … I thought he was maybe the best player on the floor against A&M.”

— Oats said they did not go long in practice this week because they will need to potentially play two games in three days.

— Oats said Alabama players have “been great” about “focusing on the task at hand.” Oats said they had a “really good practice” earlier Wednesday.

— Asked when he saw the culture come together for the team, Oats cited the August foreign trip and “I thought we developed a pretty good bond through the summer.” He also cited the closed scrimmage they played against TCU when they lost handily. “I think we were down 30 at the half,” he said. They had a players-only meeting the next day and the veterans said the scrimmage was not up to their standard. “I don’t know what was said in the meeting … but I knew we were about the right stuff. The next practices completely flipped.”

— Oats also cited the loss to Gonzaga in December and said players admitted to him that when they don’t play defense, they are an average team. “Sometimes you need a wake-up call,” he said. “The loss at Oklahoma was another one.”

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.