Alabama rallies past Clemson to make first NCAA tournament Final Four - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Alabama head coach Nate Oats said earlier this week that he credits legendary, now-retired Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban for his mantra of always looking to the next play, the next game in order to not get caught up in the success or failure of the present.

But after an 89-82 win over No. 6 Clemson on Saturday night in the Elite Eight, what's «next» for Alabama is now uncharted territory — its first appearance in the Final Four.

Down 13 points in the first half, the Tide didn't flinch. Instead, they stuck to their game plan of shooting their way out of trouble and relied on senior guard Mark Sears — the program's single-season record-holder in scoring — to score 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, including six 3-pointers.

«A lot of people doubted us,» Oats said after receiving the West regional championship trophy. «These guys showed up. They believed.»

All tournament long, the Tigers have made a name for themselves with quick starts. On Saturday, they did it once again, racing out to a 26-13 lead in the first 12 minutes, thanks to 14 points in the paint, while their defense limited Alabama to 1-of-13 from beyond the arc. At one point, the Tide didn't score for nearly four minutes of play.

For the better part of the first half, one of the nation's best offenses was stifled, but it wouldn't be for long. Once a couple of 3-pointers started falling for Alabama, the rhythm returned to its attack, and Clemson's 13-point lead evaporated after a 22-6 run gave the Tide a three-point lead at halftime.

But Clemson didn't go away easily. Early in the second half, the Tigers took the lead for a split second before a 3-pointer by Sears gave it back to Alabama, which didn't relinquish it the rest