Tide Finishes 17th in Final 2004 ESPN/USA Today Rankings
4/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
There's an old adage that says, "it's not how you start, it's how you finish."
The University of Alabama men's basketball team didn't start the season among the Top 25, but it did finish among the nation's elite thanks to its successful 2004 NCAA tournament run. Alabama finished No. 17 in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll released this week. Alabama had not been ranked in either the coaches or the Associated Press polls all season long, though it did receive rankings votes during three rankings weeks in the AP poll and one week in the coaches' poll.
Alabama went from a team at season's beginning that was pressed to replace four starters - three lost to graduation last May and a fourth to the NBA (Mo Williams). Because of those heavy and key losses, the media picked the Crimson Tide to finish fifth of six teams in the SEC Western Division. But what Alabama may have lacked in experience it made up for in determination and fight as the Tide finished T-2nd in the SEC West and won its way to the NCAA tournament's Elite 8. The Tide finished the season 20-13 and one win away from making the Final Four.
