Alabama guard Aaron Estrada does not want to lose to Clemson a second time, especially when he feels they should beat the ACC school.

Estrada and the Crimson Tide lost to the No. 6 seeded Tigers near the start of the season. Clemson got 21 points from PJ Hall, 16 from Joe Girard and 15 from Chase Hunter in an 85-77 victory in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on November 28, 2023.

When the two Southern schools meet Saturday in the NCAA West Regional Final at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, a spot in next week’s Final Four will be at stake.

“I think as us being competitors, there’s definitely a revenge factor,” said Estrada, who scored 16 points in their Nov. 28 game against the Tigers, though he was 6 of 16 from the field and 2-for-8 beyond the arc. “Nobody wants to lose to a team twice, especially who you think you can beat. So, I think that’s just going to add even more fuel to us, and it’s going to make us play harder.”

The Tigers, who are playing in their first Elite Eight since 1980, held the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide to 34.4 percent shooting, including 11 of 35 from three-point range (31.4 percent) in that November game.

Alabama (24-11), who leads the nation in scoring at nearly 91 points per game, feels it is better equipped to handle Clemson this time around. On their path to the Elite Eight, Clemson held New Mexico, Baylor and Arizona well below their season scoring averages and to 35.1 percent shooting from the field, including 18.6 percent from behind the arc.

Clemson (24-11) held Bama 14 points below their season average in their earlier meeting.

“I think there’s a lot to learn from the last time we played them, like, I think we fronted the post a little too much,” Alabama forward Grant Nelson said. “Gave (their bigs) too many angles. And then we let their shooters get hot.

“So, I think we’ve got a lot to learn, but also, that was the beginning of the season, and I feel like a lot has changed for them. The same with us. We’re definitely going to make some changes on the scouting report. And I think we’re going to do our best to do what we can to stop their best players from getting hot.”

Clemson says it plans on doing the same thing.

“Coach has talked to us a little bit since we found out that’s who we were playing against, they’re kind of a completely different team than they were when we played them earlier. So are we,” Clemson guard Joe Girard said. “But obviously there’s advantages and disadvantages that you had in the first game that you can use.

“But, again, it’s March now, and that was back in, what, November or December. So, it’s completely different teams, but at the same time you just have to go in there, follow the game plan and make sure you do what you do.”

What the Tigers do is try to play tough defense and frustrate their opponent. That is what they did to Alabama earlier this year and to everyone they have played so far in the tournament.

Clemson also beat Alabama, 64-56, in 2020, Nate Oats’ first year at Bama.

“Those games don’t matter. They really don’t,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “I don’t know that there’s anything that we’ve done that’s special. Sometimes you’re a little fortunate. I think we’ve gotten our defense set and maybe guarded pretty well. But other than that, I don’t know that we’ve done anything that other teams maybe in their league didn’t do. Certainly, it’s been exciting to play those teams and their games because of how good they are.

“We just have a lot of respect for how good Alabama’s been. When you get an opportunity to play good teams like Alabama, your guys are up for it. They’re excited. But there’s no specific coaching thing that we’ve done that’s been any different than what other people have tried to do.”

Clemson and Alabama will play at 8:49 EST Saturday on TBS.

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