Men's Basketball

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne announced Sunday he has finalized a contract extension with basketball coach Nate Oats. Byrne announced on social media Oats has signed the deal “that will make him one of the top five compensated men's basketball coaches in the country.”

The Final Four is set. Illinois will face UConn and Michigan will take on Arizona next Saturday, with the winners squaring off two nights later for the national title. The Arizona-Michigan game is a matchup of top seeds. UConn, after a 19-point comeback for a 73-72 win over Duke, is seeded second and will play No. 3 seed Illinois.

Yaxel Lendeborg had 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a dazzling all-around performance, and Michigan beat Alabama 90-77 on Friday night to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau each scored 17 points as top-seeded Michigan set a school record with its 34th win of the season. Roddy Gayle Jr. finished with 16 points.

Labaron Philon Jr. finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and No. 4 seed Alabama rallied from an early double-digit deficit to beat 13th-seeded Hofstra 90-70 in a first-round game in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Alabama is set to begin March Madness on Friday against Hofstra. The Crimson Tide will face the Pride during round one without Aden Holloway. The point guard is facing felony drug charges and more details are reportedly emerging in his case.

Alabama guard Aden Holloway was arrested on a felony drug charge, just days before the start of the NCAA Tournament, authorities said. Holloway, 21, was arrested by agents with the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force,

AJ Storr scored 17 points, Ilias Kamardine added 16 and 15th-seeded Mississippi upset No. 15 and second-seeded Alabama 80-79 on Friday night in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Mississippi won for the third time in three days in the tournament after losing 12 of the final 13 regular-season games.

Kanon Catchings scored a career-high 32 points and Georgia ended No. 16 Alabama's eight-game winning streak with a 98-88 victory Tuesday night. Catchings ignited the Bulldogs with 20 points before halftime, leading their fourth win in five games.

The state’s highest court issued its decision after Crimson Tide Center Charles Bediako requested an injunction that would enable him to continue playing with Alabama during the finals games of the season, and “March Madness.”

Basketball center Charles Bediako is asking the Alabama Supreme Court to let him play the rest of the season for the Crimson Tide. The recent NBA G-League player on Monday filed an appeal of Tuscaloosa Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet’s recent decision that ended Bediako's temporary playing status with the University of Alabama.