How Alabama basketball is leaning into the pressure it's under - ESPN

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — As Alabama head coach Nate Oats tried to explain his team's 110-98 loss to Missouri on Wednesday, a fire alarm interrupted the news conference.

«Your attention please! Your attention please!» a voice said as a siren blared. «A fire has been reported in the building.»

The moment felt like a metaphor for the pressure cooker the Crimson Tide have found themselves in for the past year since losing to the eventual national champion UConn in their unexpected run to the Final Four — and the journey they're on to earn another shot at the crown.

«We'd like to get back here and win this whole thing,» Oats said after that loss to the Huskies. «And I think that's what our goal is going to be. We're going to aim to get back here.»

Exactly 322 days later, No. 4 Alabama will try to avoid a third consecutive loss when it hosts No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN) in the Tide's second straight appearance on «College Gameday» following last weekend's 94-85 home loss to No. 1 Auburn, their archrival. It marked the beginning of a grueling seven-game stretch for Alabama against top-25 teams (half of which currently rank inside the top 10).

Wednesday's loss at Missouri was emblematic of Alabama's long road back to the Final Four: There is minimal margin for error for a team chasing the first national championship in program history. But the Crimson Tide know no matter how they emerge from this gauntlet, they won't get anyone's pity. They're among the game's elite programs and making a run to San Antonio is now the expectation.

Anything short will feel like defeat.

These next five games will amplify the burden on an Alabama squad that could solidify a top seed on Selection Sunday if the Tide don't squander