Underdog Hofstra hopes to catch No. 4 seed Alabama off-balance

After spending several days in the news for all the wrong reasons, Alabama is more anxious for the NCAA Tournament than ever.

The No. 4 seed Crimson Tide (23-9) will look to put an ugly week behind them when they tip off against No. 13 seed Hofstra (24-10) on Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa, Fla.

Alabama is without Aden Holloway, who was suspended from the team after his arrest Monday on felony drug charges. Police searched Holloway's home and discovered more than 2 pounds of marijuana along with packaging material and a tray.

Holloway averaged 16.8 points and 3.8 assists per game this season for Alabama. He shot 48.1% from the field and 43.8% from 3-point range.

The suspension is indefinite as the school investigates Holloway's arrest.

"Look, we've got standards in our program," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "We've got ways we've held our guys accountable, and we try to keep everything in house. Obviously, some of the situations, you can't. This is one of those."

Minus Holloway, Alabama could learn more on Labaron Philon and Latrell Wrightsell to carry the load on offense. Amari Allen and Houston Mallette also could receive more playing time as Oats looks to fill the void left by the suspended guard.

"If we're going to lose a guy, losing him in the backcourt is the place where we've got the most depth," Oats said. "I told the guys that this team, more than any I've coached, is equipped to handle a situation like this. We've won plenty of games with guys not available, so they'll be ready."

This is the sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament for Alabama, including its fourth straight appearance as a No. 4 seed or better. It is the first time in Crimson Tide program history that the team has achieved that feat.

Hofstra is eager to try to pull off an upset.

The Pride will appear in their first NCAA Tournament game since 2001, when they lost 61-48 against UCLA. Hofstra won the Continental Athletic Association title in 2020 and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament, but the event was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton said his team is not afraid of its moment against a talented SEC team in the national spotlight.

"We're not (just) happy to be here," Claxton said after his team learned of its first-round matchup. "We fully expect to win.

"That's how my guys have been going about it every single game, no matter if we're playing Columbia, Iona, Pittsburgh, Syracuse - whoever we play, we expect to win, and going up against Alabama, it's not going to be any different."

Cruz Davis led Hofstra with 20.2 points per game this season. Preston Edmead was next with 15.9 points per game, and Biggie Patterson rounded out the top three with 9.5 points per contest.

Philon Jr. led Alabama with 21.7 points per game this season. With Holloway away from the team, the next two leading scorers are Wrightsell (12.8 points per game) and Allen (11.7).

This is the first all-time matchup between Alabama and Hofstra.