INSIDER
Alabama's Mark Sears and North Carolina's RJ Davis headline The Associated Press preseason All-America men's basketball team.
Kansas is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 preseason men's basketball poll ahead of Alabama and two-time defending national champion UConn.
UConn forward Alex Karaban is returning to school for a try at a third straight national title.
In the 15 minutes before Alabama makes its first Final Four appearance in school history, there probably won’t be many warm and fuzzy moments in the locker room.
Mark Sears hit seven 3-pointers and Alabama recovered from its early long-distance shooting woes to beat Clemson 89-82 and reach the Final Four for the first time.
Purdue big man Zach Edey is an unanimous first-team All-American for The Associated Press for the second straight season.
Zach Edey matched his season high with 35 points in his hometown, Braden Smith had a season-high 27 points and No. 4 Purdue rallied to beat Alabama 92-86 on Saturday.
The holiday break is usually a quiet time in college basketball, many of the top teams playing small-conference schools at home or taking extra time off before conference schedules start in full.
Mark Sears had 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, and No. 18 Alabama sent top-ranked North Carolina to a second straight loss with a 103-101 in a quadruple-overtime thriller in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational tournament.
