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Up next for Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide in their quest for a second straight Final Four run is a Sweet 16 matchup in the 2025 NCAA Tournament with the BYU Cougars at Prudential Center in Newark.
Alabama (27-8 overall), the No. 2 seed in the East Region, opened March Madness with a closer-than-expected 91-80 victory over No. 15 seed Robert Morris last Friday in Cleveland. Mark Sears had 22 points against RMU, and the Crimson Tide followed with an improved effort in an 80-66 takedown of No. 7 seed Saint Mary's Sunday. Chris Youngblood led Alabama with 13 points, one of six players to finish in double figures.
BYU (26-9), the region's No. 6 seed, scored a 91-89 win over the No. 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers in the round of 32 last Saturday in Denver behind 25 points from top scoring guard Richie Saunders. The Cougars got a stop of Badgers star John Tonje at the buzzer on Wisconsin's last possession at Ball Arena.
Ahead of Thursday's Sweet 16 matchups, ESPN Analytics and its Matchup Predictor have made a prediction for who will advance to the East Region finals based on its popular College Basketball Power Index ratings, which are "meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward" and represent "how many points above or below average a team is."
According to the data and metrics used by ESPN, Alabama has a 64.8 percent chance of beating BYU. The Crimson Tide are No. 6 in BPI with an overall rating of 19.0 -- 12.2 for offense and 6.8 for defense. BYU is No. 23 overall in BPI with a 15.3 rating (9.7 offense, 5.2 defense).
Alabama is the top scoring offense in the nation, averaging 90.8 points per game. BYU is 25th at 81.2 PPG. ESPN adds that its metrics-based predictions "account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude."
ESPN Analytics' odds may favor Alabama, but the network's staff of college basketball writers are a bit torn. While predicting every game (subscription required) in this year's Sweet 16, ESPN's Jeff Borzello predicts a 94-92 BYU upset of Alabama, while Joe Lunardi takes the Crimson Tide in an 85-80 victory.
Alabama vs. BYU is set for a 6:09 p.m. CT tipoff Thursday from Prudential Center in New Jersey. The game can be seen on CBS. Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (analyst) and Allie LaForce (sideline) will have the national TV call of the game for CBS.
The winner of Alabama-BYU will advance to the Elite Eight on Saturday for a matchup against either the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils or No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama basketball odds vs BYU in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, per ESPN
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Alabama (27-8 overall), the No. 2 seed in the East Region, opened March Madness with a closer-than-expected 91-80 victory over No. 15 seed Robert Morris last Friday in Cleveland. Mark Sears had 22 points against RMU, and the Crimson Tide followed with an improved effort in an 80-66 takedown of No. 7 seed Saint Mary's Sunday. Chris Youngblood led Alabama with 13 points, one of six players to finish in double figures.
BYU (26-9), the region's No. 6 seed, scored a 91-89 win over the No. 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers in the round of 32 last Saturday in Denver behind 25 points from top scoring guard Richie Saunders. The Cougars got a stop of Badgers star John Tonje at the buzzer on Wisconsin's last possession at Ball Arena.
Ahead of Thursday's Sweet 16 matchups, ESPN Analytics and its Matchup Predictor have made a prediction for who will advance to the East Region finals based on its popular College Basketball Power Index ratings, which are "meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward" and represent "how many points above or below average a team is."
According to the data and metrics used by ESPN, Alabama has a 64.8 percent chance of beating BYU. The Crimson Tide are No. 6 in BPI with an overall rating of 19.0 -- 12.2 for offense and 6.8 for defense. BYU is No. 23 overall in BPI with a 15.3 rating (9.7 offense, 5.2 defense).
Alabama is the top scoring offense in the nation, averaging 90.8 points per game. BYU is 25th at 81.2 PPG. ESPN adds that its metrics-based predictions "account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude."
ESPN college basketball experts torn on Alabama vs BYU Sweet 16 matchup
ESPN Analytics' odds may favor Alabama, but the network's staff of college basketball writers are a bit torn. While predicting every game (subscription required) in this year's Sweet 16, ESPN's Jeff Borzello predicts a 94-92 BYU upset of Alabama, while Joe Lunardi takes the Crimson Tide in an 85-80 victory.
Alabama vs. BYU is set for a 6:09 p.m. CT tipoff Thursday from Prudential Center in New Jersey. The game can be seen on CBS. Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (analyst) and Allie LaForce (sideline) will have the national TV call of the game for CBS.
The winner of Alabama-BYU will advance to the Elite Eight on Saturday for a matchup against either the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils or No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama basketball odds vs BYU in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, per ESPN
Continue reading...
