Michael Casagrande

Almaty

Senior Sports Reporter at AL.com

Senior sports reporter at @aldotcom. Covering college sports since 2009. WKU grad. 🏆🏆

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Articles

Casagrande: Alabama’s NCAA loss to Duke isn’t complicated

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

This is an opinion column. In a way, you’ve seen this before. Go back 51 weeks and Alabama found itself on a stage this program had never seen. That Final Four trip set the tone for a season with ramped-up expectations that wound its way to Newark, New Jersey on a Saturday night in late March And like last April against UConn, the Crimson Tide bullet train ran into a blue-blooded brick wall.
What will it take for Alabama be beat Duke, make another Final Four?

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

There’s no time for a hangover in March, so the party following Alabama’s outburst against BYU was short. Those 25 made 3s and 113 points scored Thursday night on BYU don’t carry over to Saturday. And Duke won’t be intimidated by those NCAA tournament records when they meet at 7:49 p.m. CT Saturday for a spot in the Final Four. Alabama (28-8) is a 6.5-point underdog to the top-seeded Blue Devils coming off quite possibly the program’s greatest offensive performance.
Casagrande: Wow. Mark Sears goes nuts and Alabama makes NCAA history

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

This is an opinion column. It started with a shot Nate Oats despises. And ended with history. All Mark Sears needed was a mid-range jumper to spark a record-smashing night -- a dizzying display of 3-point dominance. A 113-88 vaporization of BYU saw the Crimson Tide’s All-American emerge from the Pine Barrens as the catalyst of a mystifying performance. It was … insane. At times disorienting.
Casagrande: Why BYU is what people think Alabama is, and why Crimson Tide is better

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

This is an opinion column. Newark is a gritty place. Where its neighbor across the Hudson gets all the glamour, hard work is done across the river on the Jersey side. Take note, Alabama. As you arrive in the land of refineries, that smell is … well, don’t worry about the smell. It’s about the job. And it could be one of those workmanlike assignments Thursday night as the Crimson Tide kicks off Sweet 16 play against BYU.
8 fascinating NCAA basketball tournament notes, observations

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

A few notes scribbled on the back of a cocktail napkin that you could use freely at a party or spring break beach stroll to sound like the most researched partier in the bunch. No credit necessary, just keep reading as the state of Alabama sends 1/8 of the Sweet 16 teams to the NCAA tournament’s second weekend for the first time since 1986. On Selection Sunday, the news was the SEC’s record-breaking 14 bids. A week later, the headline was more SEC history.
Casagrande: The 6 reasons Alabama’s NCAA tournament run has reason to believe

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

This is an opinion column. Two games, two wins and two completely different vibes. Alabama didn’t look great beating a man on Friday; better against a saint on Sunday. For a team whose temperature is hard to take, the No. 2 seeded Crimson Tide left Cleveland with a bit of a tailwind. Robert Morris put up more of a fight than St. Mary’s but Alabama also looked to be dialed in to another degree Sunday night. This 80-66 win was less of an exhale.
Casagrande: Alabama flirts with NCAA disaster but is it time to worry?

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

This is an opinion column. It was all happening. Red lights were blinking as the walls closed in on Alabama. Who the hell is Robert Morris? And how could he be the chaos agent sent to ruin the sequel to Crimson Tide history? From the Final Four to nearly getting kneecapped by some guy named Bob in Cleveland? Sounds crazy but the question’s legit. Does this team have the killer mentality of the three-weekend journey it took last spring? Getting boat raced by No. 1 seed Florida is one thing, but this guy?
Casagrande: What’s Alabama missing? The same thing it lacked last year

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

This is an opinion column. Momentum is fickle. One could argue the Alabama men’s basketball team had none a year ago as it departed for the NCAA tournament. That same one witnessed the program sprint through two weekends of wins to make its first Final Four appearance. Momentum clearly meant nothing last March. Or the Crimson Tide generated its own when all inertia stalled. That’s what makes the current situation so hard to read.
Casagrande: The SEC swaggers into March Madness with bullseye tattooed on forehead

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

This is an opinion column. The SEC made history on Selection Sunday as the NCAA tournament bids rolled in. When it was over, 14 of the 16 schools were in -- a number that’s now 13 after Texas got the boot Wednesday night in Dayton. That smashed the record of teams from a single conference to make the NCAA tournament, a mark that stood since 2011. That year, the Big East sent 11 in what was seen as a milestone flex from the most traditional hoops-heavy league. That was until the games started.
March Madness: Auburn needs top seed or NCAA tournament rep will linger

1 month ago | al.com | Michael Casagrande

This is an opinion column. Reputations are earned. They follow you, and in some cases, the stink is hard to mask. It’s the territory Auburn men’s basketball is facing as it enters the ultimate NCAA tournament test. This is like a comprehensive final, 11 years into the Bruce Pearl era. He’s taken this program from afterthought to the top of the pyramid and that shouldn’t be forgotten. They went 15 years between NCAA tournament appearances when Pearl’s fourth team ended the skid in 2018.