To the victors go the spoils, we suppose... While his beloved Auburn Tigers were too busy being a .500 team under the guidance of nepotism to even make the NCAA Tournament, Charles Barkley naturally loved every second of Alabama getting eliminated in the Sweet 16. Alabama just so happened to run into the buzz saw that is the Michigan Wolverines. Nobody is beating them, y'all.
So with minutes left on the clock, Barkley stopped the count, and then sang the Michigan fight song.
"They're going to keep jacking up them 3's, but I'm going to practice now: 'Hail! to the victors valiant. Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes. Hail! Hail! to Michigan. The leaders and best!' Okay, I'm just getting ready for after the game."
As expected, the official Michigan Men's Basketball account over on X quoted it with great splendor.
Sing it loud and proud Chuck! 😂 https://t.co/jqTSDx3Dp6
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) March 28, 2026
No. 1 Michigan will take on the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday afternoon in the Elite Eight.
Charles Barkley stoops to new low with his best Alabama trolling attempt
Once a knucklehead, always a knucklehead. Blessed with the amount of pre-game preparation of one Tony Romo, Barkley was having the time of his life at Alabama's expense by learning the delightful Michigan fight song. You can tell deep down in his Auburn heart that he wanted to teepee the entire inside of the sports studio. If only Auburn was half as good as Alabama is at basketball these days...
In the end, Alabama came up short of Michigan late on Friday night, despite Labaron Philon Jr. giving it his absolute all in what will likely be his final game in a Crimson Tide uniform. As Michigan marches on and the Crimson Tide's season comes to an end, let it be known that Auburn did not make the men's tournament, the women's tournament, or a bowl game this past season on the college gridiron.
Overall, whatever Barkley is going to do to magically make himself feel better, he is going to do that. This is just par for the course when it comes to the former basketball star, turned analyst mogul. Let's be real. The only way this could have been worse is if Barkley was singing the Michigan fight song in unison with Fab Five legend Jalen Rose. The amount of pettiness in college sports never goes away.
For now, let's try and turn the page on what was still a remarkable season for Alabama basketball...