Mar. 18, 2006 – Oakland Regional Second Round – San Diego, CA
UCLA Bruins 62 – Alabama Crimson Tide 59
The 2-seed Bruins were coached by now Mississippi State coach, Ben Howland. Howland would lead his team to the National Championship game, losing to Florida.
The game was tied at the half. The Crimson Tide almost won the game at the free-throw line. The Tide had 14 more points at the foul line, with UCLA missing 7-of-9 in the closing minutes.
Having lost Chuck Davis to a knee injury in January, Gottfried had a short bench and played just seven guys. Four of them played 34 to 39 minutes and fatigue may have been a factor in the loss.
The Tide cut the gap to a single point with a minute left. UCLA responded with a three. Ronald Steele was fouled while shooting a three and made all three of his foul shots.
It was a tough defeat for a battling Crimson Tide, against one of the season’s best teams. No follower of Alabama Basketball would have dreamed the Tide’s next NCAA Tournament game would not come until 2012.
Mark Gottfried coached the Alabama Basketball team for another three seasons. In his last three years in Tuscaloosa, the former Crimson Tide player could not maintain program success. His last two Tide teams were 17-16 and 18-14.
Anthony Grant was one of the hot coaches in college basketball after his success at VCU. As Gottfried’s successor, Grant’s 2010 Crimson Tide made little improvement, going 17-15. At 21-11 in 2011, Grant’s team was close to an NCAA at-large bid. Instead, it had to settle for the NIT, winning four more games before dropping the final to Wichita State.