March Madness: Alabama defeats Robert Morris
The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Robert Morris Colonials 90-81 in their first-round game of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Friday. All-America guard Mark Sears of the Crimson Tide scored 22 points with 19 coming in the second half.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Three Alabama baseball signees receive Gatorade Player of the Year honors
Three Alabama baseball signees receive Gatorade Player of the Year honors The hardware and accolades continue to roll in for Alabama Crimson Tide baseball signees at the high school level, as three players have recently been named the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year in their respective state. Those signees are Luke Smyers, Eric Hines, and Will Rhine, who received Gatorade Player of the Year honors in the states of Virginia, Alabama, and Maryland, respectively. Of those three, Smyers saw action both ways for Godwin High School in Virginia, a majority of which came on the mound where he owned a 6-0 record with a 0.60 ERA and 116:17 K:BB ratio across 58.2 innings pitched. While at the plate, Smyers owned a .309 AVG offensively with three home runs, 23 RBI, and nine stolen bases. Hines, a local, in-state signee for the Crimson Tide out of Tuscaloosa, helped lead American Christian Academy to the state's Class 5A state title in 2025 with a monster season offensively in which he owned a .438 AVG. Along with that average, the Alabama signee also hit 20 home runs with 58 RBI. Lastly, Rhine attends John Carroll High School in Maryland, and also owned an average north of .400+, sitting at a .420 AVG. Rhine also added seven home runs and 32 RBI during his senior season. All three are names to watch for in the upcoming 2025 MLB draft later this summer to see when, and if, they are selected. If each makes it to Alabama next season, all three could easily play significant roles as freshmen. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.


USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Alabama star Justin Lebron reportedly makes decision amid transfer portal buzz
Alabama star Justin Lebron reportedly makes decision amid transfer portal buzz Alabama baseball star Justin Lebron is reportedly staying put after helping the Crimson Tide to their best regular season finish in over 20 years. According to a report from Jake Mckeever of College Baseball Report, Lebron will return to Tuscaloosa for his junior season in 2026 "despite rumors of (transfer) portal entrance and tampering." The 20-year-old shortstop, who came to Alabama from Archbishop Edward McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Fla., is one of three players who won't be leaving their respective SEC schools for another program via the transfer portal, Mckeever reported. Kentucky Wildcats shortstop Tyler Bell and Mississippi State third baseman Ace Reese are the two others. Lebron has been a foundational piece for Rob Vaughn in his first two seasons as the Crimson Tide's head coach. He batted .319 with a team-high 18 home runs and 72 RBIs to go with 18 doubles and 17 stolen bases this past season. Lebron started all 58 games as Alabama went 41-18 overall, recording its first 40-win regular season since 2002. Lebron, a potential No. 1 overall pick in next year's MLB draft, led the SEC in RBIs and was tied for third in the conference in doubles with MSU's Reese and Texas Longhorns shortstop Jalin Flores. Lebron placed 10th in the SEC in both home runs and stolen bases and was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award in 2025. Neither Lebron nor Yea Alabama, the school's official NIL entity, have made an official announcement but could do so in the coming days. The entity has made several announcements regarding Alabama athletes and scheduling news, including the recent decision by Crimson Tide basketball guard Labaron Philon to forgo the NBA draft. Vaughn will be returning to Alabama in 2026 after signing a contract extension following reports linking him to the Texas A&M job. The Aggies fired Michael Earley after only one season. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinions.

NBC Sports
4 hours ago
- NBC Sports
What to watch for in today's NASCAR Cup race at Michigan International Speedway
BROOKLYN, Mich. — High speeds, harried restarts and high-pressure decisions will be on display in today's Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. Today's race is the 15th of the season. Eleven races will remain in the regular season after today. The green flag is scheduled for 2:19 p.m. ET on Prime. Here's a look at what to watch for in today's race: Restarts, restarts, restarts Today's race will mark the third for Christopher Bell with new spotter Matt Philpott, who took over after Stevie Reeves left the team after Bell's All-Star win last month at North Wilkesboro. Let Bell, who starts 25th today, explain what Philpott will face in spotting today's race: 'He's in a for a rude awakening at this race track, let me tell you, because restarts here are probably the most intense restarts that we get all year long,' Bell told NBC Sports. 'Massive draft runs. Lots of lanes to pick where to go. 'He's been doing a lot of studying. He's been doing a great job, too. I think for getting thrown in the middle of the season, he's done everything you could ask for. 'From my side, really, there's been a couple of really tight clears. I had my incident with a teammate Ty (Gibbs) at Charlotte that hindered his race, so that was a bummer, but we worked through that. It's just me understanding his language and knowing his tone of voice, stuff like that. 'I think Adam (Stevens, crew chief) has had a little bit of direction for him, but he's been doing a really good job every week and really taking care of our car and getting us to the end of the races. He's doing a really good job.' As Bell noted, restarts are a key part of the racing at Michigan because of how wide the track is, allowing drivers to use different lanes to get around cars. Of course, it also can create calamity and multi-car crashes. Seven cars were involved in a crash shortly after a restart in last year's race that eliminated Bell, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano. A new winner today? Six of the top 10 starters for today's race have yet to win a race this season. Those are Chase Briscoe (starting first), Kyle Busch (second), Chris Buescher (sixth), Ty Gibbs (eighth), Bubba Wallace (ninth) and Zane Smith (10th). Briscoe is starting on the pole for the third consecutive race. Busch is winless in his last 71 Cup races and finished fourth in this race a year ago. Buescher won here two years ago and finished sixth last year despite being involved in an incident. Gibbs finished third in last year's race. Four of the last five races have seen a driver score their first victory of the season. Those drivers were Ryan Blaney (Nashville), Ross Chastain (Coca-Cola 600), Joey Logano (Texas) and Austin Cindric (Talladega). Wait now or wait later With pit crews able to change four tires quicker than a fueler can fill a car with gas, crew chiefs will be left with the decision of having to make their driver wait on fuel or leave when the tires changed and with less gas. Fuel often plays a key role at this 2-mile track. While restarts will be pivotal, gaining track position with a faster pit stop also can prove key. Watch when teams wait for fuel and when they don't in today's race. Chase Briscoe talks about winning his third consecutive Cup Series pole, this time for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, and turning his strong Saturday run into success on Sundays.