Historically Black underdog Alabama State to face in-state powerhouse Auburn in March Madness
Updated: 8:26 PM CDT Mar 19, 2025
You just said it March Madness, uh, again I think I, I’ve talked about this with all of, uh, the media is that all of our all of our games in just like this some kind of way we either gotta get *** bucket or we have to get *** stop and, uh, fortunately enough we was able to get *** bucket to finish this game off, man, we’re just so proud of these guys. Again man, we did not play very well. Uh, we gotta give Saint Francis *** lot of credit, but we did not play very well, but we just talk about finding *** way, finding *** way, and, uh, you know, we got the W and that’s the only thing that that matters. You’re talking about, you know, survive and advance. We’ll now open up the floor. Uh, first questions towards our student athletes and then when, uh, we’re done there, we’ll, we’ll get to coach. But right now, questions for Omar and TJ. Let’s go to the first row here on the end. Adam Rittenberg with ESPN congratulations guys. That last play, what was both of your views, obviously, Amar, uh, but what was, what was the, the, the design there and then what actually happened? Uh, well, first we wanted to, you know, throw the ball long and we put our tallest athletic person, uh, to go get the ball and, uh, fortunately the the everybody took the ball and it landed to me and I got the rebound, made the lay up but couldn’t have done it without my whole team. They pro we executed *** play that we passed on all day and practice our game plan and it worked. Uh, yeah, like he said, uh, we go over *** lot of situational stuff and practice every day, so at the end of the day it’s about who wants it, and I know he, he obviously showed he wanted *** little bit more tonight. Let’s go to the 2nd row, Arch. Yeah, Tom Archte in, uh, Dayton. Simpson made *** heck of *** pass, uh, just, uh, what was he *** quarterback or something, or why is he so that was right on the money. TJ, uh, like I said, we go over *** lot of situations and stuff, uh, in practice, so he’s the one throwing it in practice every single day. So he’s used to that pass. He was ready for the moment and we executed perfectly. Amar, was he *** quarterback? Oh yeah, he definitely *** quarterback. Yeah, he make that pass on the money all the time at practice and it was perfect today. Let’s go to the first row on the end. Yeah, Kayla Milli from Mainline Newspapers. Um, I wanted to ask, uh, Saint Francis was up by 9 at one point shortly before the, uh, before halftime. Uh, what was kind of your mentality when you guys were down? Um, what did you guys kind of have to do? Was there any conversation, uh, just about climbing back, and what was your kind of your mentality just to get kind of get back in this game, especially late, Lamar. Well, we, we’ve been in that moment in that situation, uh, *** few times this year, and we, we knew we just have to come out and play ball and um we, we stayed positive we knew this as soon as the next, uh, half started that we would come out fly around, play aggressive, and just do whatever it takes to win the game. Uh, yeah, we, we know it’s *** game of runs, and we knew early we wasn’t playing good and it might have been because of, uh, *** little nerves. So once we, once we got through with that, we knew we, all we had to do was go out there and play, play our game, we’ll be good. Other questions for our student athletes. We do have one, online, uh, Jason. Ah, go ahead with your question for, for our student athletes. Hey guys, uh, Jason Muns with the commercial Appeal in Memphis. Uh, there’s *** lot of Memphis up there, uh, at that, at that table, um. Just how proud are you guys, uh, uh, of this moment and I mean, I know, uh I heard Coach Madlock on the TV say, you know, sort of shout out Memphis, so, uh, just talk about just how proud you how proud you guys are at this moment. TJ. Uh, yeah, like you said, *** lot of, uh, Memphis up here at this table, so we, it’s good to represent the city, man, it’s the best city in the world, so it feels good to represent Lamar. Uh, yeah, um, I feel like Memphis is the best city in the world. Um, we have to show out and, uh, represent our city the best way we can. Second row on the end, Marcus. Just for Here I’m sure it was What was the experience like for you guys here, uh, just, you know, you’re not here very long, but you accomplished what you wanted to accomplish. TJ, unbelievable. Like you said, I mean, it’s March Madness, it’s not like it. It’s every player, uh, dream to play in March Madness so to finally be here and to Uh, play and actually get *** win, man, it’s unbelievable, man. So yeah, it’s amazing. Yeah, uh, it’s, it’s incredible, uh, to play in March Madness. Uh, it’s my first time being here. I plan on coming next year too, but, um, it, it’s amazing. Like it’s ***, it’s *** crazy atmosphere. We got just *** couple questions left here for our student athletes. Any other questions? Let’s go to the the back corner there. Josh Elijah Cryer Media, uh, you didn’t make it to the line until about 5 minutes left in the game. What does it say about your squad to continue to kind of stick with it and, and battle in the paint and keep grinding, Lamar. Well, that’s, that’s normally not us. uh, we normally get to the free throw line, but, um, things happen, uh, we just gotta find *** way to get the win and that’s what, uh, our entire team did, and I’m proud of them guys and trying to move forward. Uh, we need to get to the line more, like you said, we need to be more aggressive, uh, but *** lot of our shots that we’re shooting, *** lot of our threes, they were wide open looks and we’ll, we’ll take them all day every day, so, but we do need to be *** little bit more aggressive, which we will next game. Let’s go to the uh front row here. TJ, just to clarify, was that supposed to go to you that pass, or were you one of the, the tall guys who’s supposed to get it there? It wasn’t supposed to go to me, but I, I wanted to, I wanted to go get it, go make *** play, and that’s what I did, but it wasn’t supposed to go to me. It was supposed to go to RB, but it’s March Madness, so anything can happen. Any other questions for DJ RR? Gentlemen, congratulations. Best of luck against Auburn, an outstanding showing here tonight in *** brilliant way to start March Madness. Thank you. I appreciate. Thank you. All right. And now, uh, questions for the head coach of the, uh, Alabama State Hornets and Tony Matlock. Uh, we’ll start in the 3rd row. Michael Preston NCAA.com. Michael was just saying that he was put in to be the pastor in that play about January, he thought. What made you think that he was the guy to do that to trial and error, uh, because again, we, we spent *** lot of time, especially on, on game day. Game that we always spend probably about 10 to 10 to 12 minutes on situational stuff and so and we had *** couple guys throwing the pass and it just you know wasn’t very consistent and then once we got uh Michael Sims we call him Deuce, he started throwing it and uh it been it’s been going pretty good so that’s that’s what happened so he became, he became the guy that throws that pass on that play. We’ll go to the, uh, first row here. And Tony, some some people with 3.5 seconds might do *** shorter pass, dribble up, try to make something. Why is that your best play in that situation in your mind? Well, we, we, we have multiple plays that we would do with 3 seconds. Uh, we just chose that one today, uh, because sometimes it is just getting it in because we do also *** situated, uh, situational deal we shoot half court shots so we know you got with 3 seconds you got 1, you got 2 good dribbles and then get it up. So but we decided to go with that one today. Again, for our friends in the media, just to state your name and media affiliation for every question. Let’s go first row on the other side. Yes, uh, Kayla Miller from Mainline Newspapers, uh, Cranford, especially in the first half, uh, hitting *** lot of deep shots. Uh, what did you guys have to do to try to contain him and kind of what was your game plan to kind of try to keep him in check? Yeah, they’re they’re *** good team. They’re *** good team, and, um, they made shots and, but we just knew that that was part of the game plan that we cannot let them get open threes. Uh, we did *** better job in the second half. Uh, they made *** couple late, but we did *** good job, but we just knew defensively second half we had to be more aggressive and we were 2nd row. Yeah, Tom Arch Deacon Dayton. Tony, how many times in your career do you remember that play has worked? Do you remember other games where that baseball pass has worked and, uh. Uh, no, not that I’ve been involved in, but we practice it *** lot. First round. Bratriing Democrat, uh, coach, the pressure defense, especially late was big for you guys, forcing 15 turnovers. Um, what’s your thoughts on that and how big was that in this game? Yeah, we was trying to do that for 40 minutes and not just to turn them over, but you know it didn’t happen like that again we had some nerves, uh, guys had nerves. This is *** big stage, man. This is *** big stage and, uh, but again, so proud of these guys, uh, they just represent Alabama State so well. Uh, they just do everything I ask them to do and they try to do it to their best ability, man. I’m again, I’m just so proud. Coach, talking about the big stage, obviously so proud about your team, but how cool is it in in sharing this and. You know, father son of of TJ along for the ride. Oh man, we’re gonna have stories forever, aren’t we? Uh, for, you know, for everything that happened with with Alabama State 1st 1st time winning *** tournament game, uh, got to 20 wins this year and you know how hard that is. For an HBCU school it’s so hard, uh, because you have to play those money games early, but for us to just fight and fight and fight and find *** way to get to 20 games, 20 wins, it just means so much again to our program, to the city of Montgomery, to Alabama State University, man, again we just wanna make that city proud. Few more questions for coach. Let’s go to the 3rd row. Uh, Michael Press and Stila.com. It has been ***, ***, *** great year for the state of Alabama in basketball and *** number of teams. Is there irony or is, uh, is it kind of cool that, that Auburn’s next for you guys? And second of all, when you win *** game like this, The demands of the tournament is you move on, how long can you savor this before it clicks in that you’re about to play the number one seed in the tournament? I don’t know. I will figure that out tonight, uh, but I know we’re gonna enjoy this tonight. Uh, we’re gonna have this, uh, bus ride, I guess *** couple of hours down the road to to Lexton and get *** chance to play at Rupp Arena. I mean, how can you beat that? How can you beat that for *** school again in swack, uh, that has, you know, *** lot of great tradition was to go play at Rupp Arena, nothing like we can’t wait. Second row. Marcus Hartman Dayton Daily News, did the atmosphere and everything live up to what you were expecting? Oh, it, it, it did. It was, it was outstanding. Uh, Dayton does *** great job. The city does *** great job of, of, uh, hosting this tournament. Everybody’s so friendly, so nice, and, uh, I mean, no, it was, it’s, it’s unbelievable. Have another question, uh, online via Zoom. Uh, Jason, go ahead. Coach Madlock, Jason Muns, commercial appeal. Have you, uh, have you heard from Penny yet? I, I’m pretty sure I, I will have *** text message from him when I get to my phone, uh, but again, man, you know, we, we, I get, I told, uh, *** couple of people that we talked the other day on, uh, on my ride, uh, to work the other morning and. You know, we just talked about the journey, you know, when, uh, both of us was playing at Memphis and we made that Eli Elite Eight run way back in the day now, uh, but it just, just talked about, you know, that both of us are taking our team to the dance and it’s just *** special moment, man, again, we just try to represent, uh, the, the city of Memphis and stuff we do, and, uh, and I’m just proud to to to get this opportunity.
Historically Black underdog Alabama State to face in-state powerhouse Auburn in March Madness
Updated: 8:26 PM CDT Mar 19, 2025
Alabama State coach Tony Madlock knows he and his Hornets won’t get much sleep before taking the court Thursday against Auburn, the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.Madlock isn’t worried. His Hornets have plenty of experience against power conference teams for a simple reason, and they now have the adrenaline from the program’s first March Madness victory. They beat Saint Francis 70-68 to kick off this year’s tournament.Also, historically Black colleges and universities are used to making do and playing “money” games against tough competition to help pay the bills.“All HBCUs have to do ’em. We’re used to playing high-major teams,” Madlock said Wednesday. “We’ve done it.”Alabama State played at Auburn in December 2023, with Tigers coach Bruce Pearl noting the Hornets won the second half even if they lost the game.The NCAA Tournament is different, and this time Alabama State is sticking around longer than it did the last time, in 2011.“It seemed like the lights were a lot brighter in Dayton Arena,” Madlock said. “We played all over the country this year. We played at high-major programs. And last night it seemed like the lights were brighter in the NCAA Tournament.”Madlock and Auburn are familiar with each other, with Alabama State about 50 miles away in Montgomery. Madlock also spent four seasons as an assistant with the Tigers under Tony Barbee, and a son started his basketball career there.Senior guard CJ Hines said this is a rivalry.>> FOLLOW YOUR TEAMS: Sports coverage from WVTM 13“Just because it’s so close, two Alabama teams facing off, so it means a lot to us just because it’s two teams from the state of Alabama,” Hines said.Pearl said he knows the Hornets won’t be intimidated in part because of how Madlock and his assistants prepare their players.“They don’t have the resources that we have, but their expectations for how they train, how they coach and how they treat their players (are the same as ours),” Pearl said.Auburn from the mighty Southeastern Conference is 6-0 all-time against Alabama State, including one played on the Southwestern Athletic Conference program’s home court.This will be Pearl’s second matchup with Alabama State after that Dec. 22, 2023 meeting at Neville Arena, which Auburn won 82-62. The schools have never met in March Madness, and it’s the second time Auburn has faced an in-state rival in the tournament.Madlock said his Hornets plan to have fun and enjoy the moment. He knows what Tuesday night’s win means not just for Alabama State but for all HBCUs and the state of Alabama.“That is the type of thing that we like to be heard about our university, all positive things, so we’re really excited about that,” Madlock said.Stay updated on the latest sports stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.
Alabama State coach Tony Madlock knows he and his Hornets won’t get much sleep before taking the court Thursday against Auburn, the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.
Madlock isn’t worried. His Hornets have plenty of experience against power conference teams for a simple reason, and they now have the adrenaline from the program’s first March Madness victory. They beat Saint Francis 70-68 to kick off this year’s tournament.
Also, historically Black colleges and universities are used to making do and playing “money” games against tough competition to help pay the bills.
“All HBCUs have to do ’em. We’re used to playing high-major teams,” Madlock said Wednesday. “We’ve done it.”
Alabama State played at Auburn in December 2023, with Tigers coach Bruce Pearl noting the Hornets won the second half even if they lost the game.
The NCAA Tournament is different, and this time Alabama State is sticking around longer than it did the last time, in 2011.
“It seemed like the lights were a lot brighter in Dayton Arena,” Madlock said. “We played all over the country this year. We played at high-major programs. And last night it seemed like the lights were brighter in the NCAA Tournament.”
Madlock and Auburn are familiar with each other, with Alabama State about 50 miles away in Montgomery. Madlock also spent four seasons as an assistant with the Tigers under Tony Barbee, and a son started his basketball career there.
Senior guard CJ Hines said this is a rivalry.
>> FOLLOW YOUR TEAMS: Sports coverage from WVTM 13
“Just because it’s so close, two Alabama teams facing off, so it means a lot to us just because it’s two teams from the state of Alabama,” Hines said.
Pearl said he knows the Hornets won’t be intimidated in part because of how Madlock and his assistants prepare their players.
“They don’t have the resources that we have, but their expectations for how they train, how they coach and how they treat their players (are the same as ours),” Pearl said.
Auburn from the mighty Southeastern Conference is 6-0 all-time against Alabama State, including one played on the Southwestern Athletic Conference program’s home court.
This will be Pearl’s second matchup with Alabama State after that Dec. 22, 2023 meeting at Neville Arena, which Auburn won 82-62. The schools have never met in March Madness, and it’s the second time Auburn has faced an in-state rival in the tournament.
Madlock said his Hornets plan to have fun and enjoy the moment. He knows what Tuesday night’s win means not just for Alabama State but for all HBCUs and the state of Alabama.
“That is the type of thing that we like to be heard about our university, all positive things, so we’re really excited about that,” Madlock said.
Stay updated on the latest sports stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.
