Alabama rolled into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed on the back of an SEC regular-season title and SEC Tournament title. Unfortunately, hopes of a national title for Nate Oats and the Tide came to a crashing halt Friday night.

Facing San Diego State, a 5-seed, Alabama struggled to find its rhythm and shooting touch all game long. When it was all said and done, the Crimson Tide shot just 32.9% from the field and a horrific 3-for-26 from 3-point range in the 71-64 stunner.

The even bigger story of the loss was the play of superstar freshman Brandon Miller. He finished the game with just 9 points and was an abysmal 3-for-19 from the field and 1-for-10 from 3-point range.

In addition to his shooting woes, Miller led all players with 6 turnovers in the loss. Across 3 NCAA Tournament games, Miller finishes with 28 total points scored. He had 5 games of 28+ points scored throughout the season.

Mark Sears led a trio of Alabama players in double figures with 16 points but was 0-for-5 from deep. Charles Bediako was efficient with 10 points and 7 rebounds on 5-for-7 shooting.

As for the Aztecs, Alabama could never quite figure out Darrion Trammell who delivered a game-high 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Nathan Mensah was also an integral piece for the defense with 5 blocks as San Diego State finished the game with 8 blocks and 9 steals as a team.

What’s next for Alabama?

Just a few short weeks ago, the idea of Alabama falling short of a Final Four — much less a national title — seemed unthinkable. The Tide even rolled through the SEC Tournament, but the injury to Brandon Miller could have wound up playing a bigger role than Alabama let on in March Madness.

There’s no reason to think Nate Oats will not continue to have Alabama competing at an elite level, but it’s also worth mentioning Miller is likely to depart for the NBA this offseason. We’ll see how the Tide respond if they are indeed moving on without Miller in the lineup.