Clemson Can Keep It Close Against Alabama

Clemson vs. Alabama, 8:45 ET

A quarter of the Final Four will be set by the time this game takes place and now we will see who faces off in that matchup as Clemson and Alabama take each other on in the last of the Elite 8 games for today. Both of the winners in this game were underdogs in the last game and now look to find a way to advance and keep their run going. I was able to get a win in the game Clemson played but I was wrong and thought that North Carolina would take down Alabama. That wasn't the case and set up today's matchup. 

Clemson comes into the game with a 24-11 record and playing some very good basketball. Prior to the wins in this tournament they looked like they probably would be bounced early. Before the game began, the lost to Boston College in the ACC Tournament. It wasn't just a loss, they were blown out, losing by 21 points. Prior to that they lost on the road to Wake Forest and Notre Dame, both teams that were not very good this season. Once the bright lights came on, they've found a way to win. In the first game, they took down New Mexico with ease, winning 77-56. The first surprising win was against Baylor as they beat them 72-64. In that game, they were able to hold Baylor to just 39% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc. In the game against Arizona, they exposed the Wildcats as a bit of a fraudulent team. Arizona struggled in this tournament, and Clemson was able to take them down. Their defense has continued to excel and also held Arizona to just 37.3% from the floor and 17.9% from deep. Even though they were outrebounded, and Arizona took eight more field goal attempts than Clemson did.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Mark Sears #1 & Aaron Estrada #55 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrate the win against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Crypto.com Arena on March 28, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Alabama enters the contest with the same record as Clemson and was the first team in the tournament to knock off a #1 seed. In their first game, they were able to beat Charleston by 13 points, but they still allowed 96 points. In the second game they took down a surprisingly competitive Grand Canyon squad. In the game against North Carolina, they won by two. I was expecting it to be a struggle as I didn't think they'd have the team down low to battle with the Tar Heels. I was wrong as the best frontcourt player was Grant Nelson. In the game he poured in 24 points on just nine field goal attempts. He was able to get to the line regularly and was 10-for-11 before he missed one late and intentionally (I think) missed the second with 0.9 remaining on the clock. Perhaps the bigger issue for North Carolina was that RJ Davis shot rather poorly. He only scored 19 points, but I wouldn't say that Alabama guarded him that well. Sure, there were moments where they forced tough shots, but the Crimson Tide still got a little lucky. 

Defensive stops down the stretch might be the difference in this one. If Clemson can stop Mark Sears, I think they can win the game. Alabama was balanced offensively against North Carolina, but there was still room for improvement. To me, Clemson's defense has been more reliable than the Alabama offense. Both teams had to use a lot of their energy in the last game. That leads me to think the under is a better look than the over, but who wants to take an under in an Alabama game? I'm going to take the points in a matchup that is closer than I expected. Grab Clemson +3.

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