Dethroned

Alabama ends Syracuse's title reign with easy 80-71 win

Chuck Davis and the Crimson Tide are the first No. 8 seed to reach the Elite Eight since 2000. AP Alabama point guard Antoine Pettway scored only 10 points, but he had a huge impact on the game in several ways. By Phil Taylor SI.com's John Donovan This Alabama basketball team is different. It is, in fact, like no Alabama basketball team ever. These guys don't hold to any kind of form. These guys don't know that they're simply not supposed to be here. • Click here for more. PHOENIX REGIONAL First Round: Various Sites Thursday, March 18 • (4) Maryland 86, (13) UTEP 83 • (8) Alabama 65, (9) Southern Illinois 64 • (5) Syracuse 80, (12) Brigham Young 75 • (1) Stanford 71, (16) UT-San Antonio 45 • (2) Connecticut 70, (15) Vermont 53 • (7) DePaul 76, (10) Dayton 69 Friday, March 19 • (3) N.C. State 61, (14) La.-Lafayette 52 • (6) Vanderbilt 71, (11) Western Michigan 58 Second Round Saturday, March 20 • (5) Syracuse 72, (4) Maryland 70 • (8) Alabama 70, (1) Stanford 67 • (2) Connecticut 72, (7) DePaul 55 Sunday, March 21 • (6) Vanderbilt 75, (3) N.C. State 73 Regional Semfinals America West Arena Thursday, March 25 • (2) Connecticut 73, (6) Vanderbilt 53 • (8) Alabama 80, (5) Syracuse 71 Regional Finals Saturday, March 27 • (2) Connecticut 87, (8) Alabama 71 More from SI.com • Updated bracket | Daily schedule • SI.com Writers: Inside the tournament • E-mail Alerts | Hoops Bracket Challenge • Complete NCAA tournament coverage

PHOENIX (AP) -- Forget football. 'Bama is a basketball school now.

The Tide is on some kind of roll!

Alabama, a No. 8 seed, beat defending national champion Syracuse 80-71 in the Phoenix Regional semifinals on Thursday night, five days after stunning Stanford -- the nation's No. 1-ranked team and the region's top seed.

"We made history tonight. You know what I'm talking about?" shouted Alabama's Antoine Pettway as he ran off the court, embracing teammate Earnest Shelton. "Elite Eight baby! We made history!"

Shelton and Kennedy Winston put Alabama (20-12) ahead from the outside in the first half, then Chuck Davis got rough inside in the second to send the Crimson Tide -- which owns six AP national championships in football -- to an NCAA regional final for the first time.

"We wanted to do something that has never been done before by our program," Shelton said. "Win, lose or draw, we were going to leave it on the line."

Next up Saturday is a matchup against No. 2 seed Connecticut, a 73-53 winner over Vanderbilt in Thursday's first game.

"When I came to Alabama, I wasn't bashful about saying that we wanted to play for a national championship," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. "We've taken a step, and hopefully we're not done."

Shelton scored 22 points and Winston 19 for Alabama, but the difference maker was Davis, who scored 17 of his 19 in the second half as the Tide pulled away.

Alabama sank 11 of 12 free throws over the final 8:10 and were 19-of-23 at the line overall.

Gerry McNamara scored 20 of his 24 in the second half, but Hakim Warrick managed just four in the last 20 minutes after a 15-point first half for Syracuse (23-8).

"They did a good job of fronting me," Warrick said, "and they had good weak-side help. When I got the ball, I just didn't finish when I was around the basket."

The Orangemen were out to prove they could get back to the Final Four without superstar Carmelo Anthony, who left for the NBA after helping coach Jim Boeheim earn his first national title.

"It's hard to repeat anything," said Josh Pace, who was on last year's title team. "When you win, teams are looking for you more than they're looking at everybody else. You're going to catch a team's best shot. All year teams have been giving us their best shot."

Boeheim pointed to his team's 18 turnovers.

"That's what got us tonight," he said. "When they took control of the second half, we had as good of a run as we had made all year but we made some uncharacteristically bad turnovers, and that really hurt us."

Alabama's 3-point barrage offset Syracuse's dominance inside through the first half, putting the Crimson Tide up 38-36 at the break.

Alabama went 8-for-15 on 3s in the first half, with Winston and Shelton each going 4-for-6. Winston scored 15 and Shelton 13 in the first 20 minutes, while Antoine Pettway, in brand new shiny red shoes, had two 3s and six assists.

Pettway, the undisputed leader of this team and one of the most popular athletes in Alabama history, finished with 10 points, nine assists and no turnovers in 36 minutes. He sat out four while trainers patched a cut lip.

"We just gotta play 'Bama basketball," he said.

McNamara's two free throws tied the game for the last time at 57 with 8:17 to go. Shelton's two free throws put Alabama ahead 59-57, and the Tide was off on a 19-5 run.

Davis, a 6-foot, 7-inch sophomore who has scored in double figures in each of his last seven games, scored eight in the decisive outburst. Emmett Thomas' 19-footer made it 76-62 with 2:28 to play, and the Orangemen were finished.

"In the second half, we got a lead and they had to go to man [defense]," Davis said, "and I felt like that was a time for me to step up and hit some shots."

In the first minute of the second half, Gottfried drew a technical foul for complaining about an offensive foul on Davis, and McNamara made both free throws to tie it at 38.

Shelton followed with a 3 and the Tide jumped out to a double-digit lead. Davis scored eight in a 15-4 run, capped by his three-point play that put Alabama up 53-42 with 12:18 remaining.

That's when McNamara's shooting touch came to life. He made consecutive 3-pointers, then Warrick followed with a three-point play in a 9-0 Syracuse spurt that tied it at 55-55 8:45 from the finish.

The Crimson Tide made five of its first six shots, 4-of-4 3-pointers, to jump to a 14-6 lead. Syracuse came back to tie it at 20, then Shelton sank consecutive 3s and Alabama led 26-20 with 8:02 to go in the half.

Syracuse finally took the lead, 29-28, on McNamara's two free throws 5:19 from the break.

"We're not satisfied because we wanted to go to the Final Four," Syracuse freshman Demetris Nichols said. "We did some good things as a team, but we're not satisfied."