Alabama men’s basketball is headed to Spokane, Washington to start its quest for a national title. The Crimson Tide earned a four seed in the NCAA Tournament and a matchup with No. 13 Charleston in the round of 64.

The Tide is scheduled for Friday in Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Charleston Cougars (27-7) are coming off a CAA Tournament win.

Alabama will play the winner of fifth-seeded St Mary’s and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon.

The Tide will be in the West Region. North Carolina is atop that side of the bracket as the fourth-overall seed. Should the Tide advance to next weekend, it’ll move on to Los Angeles.

It is the ninth time since 2004 that UA is in March Madness and the fourth time under Nate Oats. Twenty years ago, Alabama reached the Elite Eight — its deepest run, which the program honored earlier this season. With an explosive offense and four-guard starting lineup, Oats will attempt to break the Sweet 16 wall he hit in 2021 and again last year.

The Tide is ranked second in adjusted offensive efficiency per KenPom, its 90.8 points per game lead the country. UA has scored fewer than 80 points once since Jan. 27 and has hit triple digits nine times overall. The attack is powered by first-time All-SEC guard Mark Sears (21.1 points per game) and a team 47.7% shooting percentage (36.5% from 3-point range) boosted by transfers Aaron Estrada and Latrell Wrightsell Jr.

Yet, for as productive as the scoring has been, Alabama’s defense is the biggest question mark. It ranks 112th in adjusted defensive efficiency and Rylan Griffen, who Oats has deemed their best perimeter defender, is battling a calf injury. Alabama’s guards have been continually pressed to track shooters better while the bigs have struggled with foul trouble. UA has conceded 100-plus points thrice since Feb. 24.

With a smaller starting lineup, matchups and enacting its pace will be critical to the Tide making a run.

“These guys are going to have to decide how bad they want to win in the NCAA Tournament, how much we want to continue to play defense for 40 minutes.” Oats said on Friday night after dropping its first game in the SEC quarterfinals.” If we play defense for 40 minutes, we can play with anybody in the country. If we decide to take 24 minutes off from the defensive end, it’s going to be hard to beat anybody in the NCAA tournament.”

After replacing four new starters and three new assistant coaches, Alabama has met expectations. Its biggest early-season win was against Oregon, matched with close losses to Clemson, Purdue, Creighton and Arizona. The Tide managed a six-game winning streak before it was routed by Tennessee in Knoxville, starting a trend of disappointing showings away from Coleman Coliseum (at Auburn, Kentucky and Florida). The Tide’s best win was over eventual SEC tournament champion Auburn, a 79-75 final on Jan. 24.

It began the year picked to finish fifth in the SEC media poll and finished fifth in the regular season. A month ago, Alabama was slotted ninth overall by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. But a late-season slide continued with a loss to Florida, putting the Tide 2-4 in its last six.

Still, records are wiped clean in the big dance and Alabama’s offense can compete with any team in the field. Alabama will see if the near week of rest can lead to the balanced efforts on both ends that it has lacked for most of the year.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].