The Alabama men’s basketball team arrived at the site of the Final Four with a clear message. The Crimson Tide, says forward Grant Nelson, “came here to win the whole thing.”

Alabama practiced at State Farm Arena on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s game against UConn in the Final Four. This is Alabama’s first trip to the Final Four in school history, and the team is a heavy underdog to UConn, but that’s just more of the same for the guys wearing crimson and white.

“I feel like we’ve kind of been doubted this whole year,” Nelson said. “I mean, I think we’ve shown a lot of people that we can be the underdogs and still come out on top. We’ve got a lot of confidence in ourselves. We’ve prepared all week. I think we’ve got a good scouting report and, ultimately, we came here to win the whole thing.”

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Purdue takes on N.C. State in the first game of the Final Four at 5:09 p.m. CT on Saturday and then it’s Alabama (25-11) vs. UConn (35-3) at 7:49 p.m. CT. UConn, the defending national champ, has rolled through opponent after opponent en route to its desert showdown with the Crimson Tide. Alabama, an unlikely four seed, upset North Carolina in the Sweet 16 and then out-gunned Clemson in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region final.

Alabama arrived in Arizona on Tuesday.

“It’s amazing,” Nelson said. “I didn’t know it was going to be quite like this. I’ve watched it my whole life. I’ve grown up wanting to do this. It’s great, especially with this group of guys who all have the same goal in mind and that’s to win a national championship.”