Huskies Will Roll Tide Out Of The Tournament

Alabama vs. UConn, 8:50 ET

There have been a lot of great games in this NCAA Tournament. There aren't quite as many upsets or deep runs from low seeds (with the exception of the Final Four North Carolina State, an 11-seed). However, in this one we get a 1 vs. 4 matchup. No one should be surprised that either of these teams have made it this far in the tournament. The biggest question in this game really is if Alabama can make UConn sweat at all in this game, or will it be yet another blowout for the Huskies? 

Alabama has put together a very nice run in the tournament with their most impressive win coming against North Carolina in the Sweet 16. They were able to take down the Tar Heels with an 89-87 victory. In that game, they were very good with both their front and backcourt. The three guards combined to score 56 points. They also had Grant Nelson pour in 24 points against a talented North Carolina forward duo. In the next game against Clemson, they were able to get Mark Sears going as he put up 23 points. He struggled shooting from deep to start the game then hit something like six of seven attempts and that allowed Alabama to get in control and stay in control. Once again they got good support from their front court, but this time it was from their bench player, Jarin Stevenson. The biggest question that you have to have in this game is if they can do enough defensively to stop UConn. Alabama can put up points with the best of them, but UConn has five guys that play defense and force turnovers. Alabama can be coaxed into turnovers, but their offense has been so good that they are able to overcome those issues. They've allowed their opponent to score over 80 points in four of their past five games. That doesn't bode well for them, because I don't think UConn will allow 80 points to Alabama. 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Mark Sears #1 of the Alabama Crimson Tide shoots against Cormac Ryan #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Crypto.com Arena on March 28, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The Alabama Crimson Tide won, 89-87. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

UConn has been unbelievably good in this tournament. Here are the point differentials for the four games in the NCAA Tournament: 39 points against Stetson, 17 against Northwestern, 30 against San Diego State University, and 25 points against Illinois. If you're an Illini fan, take a little solace in the fact that if UConn didn't do that 30-0 run, the Illini would've won the game by five points. You read that correctly, UConn scored 30 unanswered points to dominate Illinois. They haven't really had to sweat in any of these games. They've allowed just one team to score more than 52 points in the tournament. Illinois had one of the best offenses in the country and they held them to 52 points. The last game against Illinois might be a good indication of how they can dominate this one. Again, 30 points unanswered can't be expected, but Alabama is similar to the Illini. They have a very good guard in Sears (just like Terrence Shannon from Illinois) and they have some solid forwards, just like Illinois. It really doesn't matter though, UConn has done everything, and anything they've wanted on both offense and defense. 

UConn will repeat as NCAA Champions this year, the question in these games remains: by how much will they win each game? I take nothing away from Alabama's offense, this should be a tough game for UConn to defend. However, I don't think Alabama's defense is good enough to keep up with UConn. I also think the Huskies are so good defensively that the Alabama offense will struggle. UConn will likely win this one by 20 again. I'll take them to cover the -11.5. 

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