On Thursday, the BYU Cougars will try and keep the Cinderella run going with a College Basketball odds matchup agaisnt the Alabama Crimson Tide. Head coach Nate Oats has led the Tide to the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive season. And for the fourth in the last five years. Namely, Kevin Young was hired away from the Phoenix Suns, where he was serving as associate head coach, to replace Pope. Correlate that the rookie head coach has produced the first Sweet Sixteen for BYU since 2011.
2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: BYU Cougars vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
| Date and Time: | Thursday, March 27, 2025, 7:09 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Prudential Center, Newark, NJ |
| TV Coverage: | CBS |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYU | +5½ -115 | 175½ -110 | +192 |  |
| Alabama | -5½ -105 | 175½ -110 | -222 | |
| ||||
BYU Cougars Team Overview
Late on, BYU has covered eight of its previous ten games and has gone over the total in five of its last six outings. Richie Saunders is first among BYU scorers with 16.3 points per game.
Overall, the BYU Cougars are 25-9 straight up, 18-12-1 against the spread, and 18-12-1 over/under the sportsbook total. BYU has national metrics of 26th for scoring offense, 19th for field goal percentage, 39th for 3-point field goal percentage, 274th for free throw percentage, and 84th for offensive rebounding. Defensively, BYU is 127th for scoring defense, 96th for field goal percentage permitted, 243rd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 15th for defensive rebounding.
Alabama Crimson Tide Team Overview
Late on, Alabama has covered three of its previous five games. Alabama has gone over the NCAA Tournament odds total in four of its last six outings. First among Alabama scorers is Mark Sears with 18.6 points per game.
Overall, the Alabama Crimson Tide are 26-8 straight up, 18-13-0 against the spread, and 16-14-1 over/under the total. Alabama has national metrics of 1st for scoring offense, 26th for field goal percentage, 125th for 3-point field goal percentage, 207th for free throw percentage, and 2nd for offensive rebounding. Defensively, Alabama is 356th for scoring defense, 97th for field goal percentage permitted, 31st for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 289th for defensive rebounding.
Overall, Six Alabama players scored in double figures. Hence, the No. 2 seed Crimson Tide held seventh-seeded Saint Mary’s to 24-of-70 shooting from the floor. Alabama took an 80-66 win in the second round of the East Region on Sunday in Cleveland.
Alabama answered every one of the Gaels’ efforts at a rally in the second half. It preserved the 13-point advantage the Crimson Tide had built going into halftime. Alabama capitalized on the Gaels’ 0-for-9 start from 3-point range. Including 0 of 6 as part of a woeful 9-of-36 shooting performance through the first 20 minutes.
Saint Mary’s threatened multiple times in the second half behind Jordan Ross, Mitchell Saxen, and Augustas Marciulionis. In sum, each of them scored eight points in the latter 20 minutes. However, the Gaels could get no closer than seven points thanks to timely points from a variety of Alabama scorers.
Aden Holloway, Mark Sears, and Grant Nelson each scored 12 points. Nelson did not play until late in the game because of a knee injury during Alabama’s first-round win over Robert Morris. But he was integral to the Tide combating a Saint Mary’s team that was excellent on the boards all season.
BYU vs. Alabama SBG Free Picks
In this situation, BYU is a capable underdog against the leaky Alabama defense.
BYU vs. Alabama SBG Best Bet: BYU Cougars.