The SEC emerged as the best conference in men’s college basketball this season, setting an NCAA record by sending 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament . Despite their incredible success leading up to March Madness, the conference largely fell flat in the first round.
Four of nine SEC teams suffered losses in the first round, including No. 6 seed Missouri’s upset loss against No. 11 seed Drake. Among the SEC teams that managed to advance to the second round was No. 2 seed Alabama , who survived a second-half scare against No. 15 seed Robert Morris.
The Crimson Tide threatened to pull away multiple times, but Robert Morris held on and even briefly took the lead in the second half. Alabama played a majority of the game without forward Grant Nelson, who entered the tournament with a knee injury. Whether it was Nelson’s injury or the Colonial’s effort, the SEC powerhouse struggled to live up to their status as 22.5-point favorites…