High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Alabama Crimson Tide men`s basketball program has a history of being among the best of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In the conference it trails only Kentucky in basketball wins, SEC tournament titles, and SEC regular season conference titles. Alabama is coached by head coach Anthony Grant, who began with the Crimson Tide before the 2009-10 season. The men`s basketball program rose in stature nationally during the 1990s. Under former coach Mark Gottfried, the team achieved a No. 1 national ranking briefly in 2003, and competed for a NCAA Regional Tournament Championship in 2004. The program was notable as a regular conference basketball contender in the 1980s and early 1990s under the direction of coach Wimp Sanderson and in the 1970s under coach C. M. Newton. Alabama has 8 NCAA Sweet 16 appearances. In the 2003-04 season, the men`s team defeated a #1-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament, and reached the Elite Eight round where they lost to the eventual national champion, Connecticut.