San Diego State vs. Alabama Sweet 16 Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The Tide are -7.5 on the college basketball odds.
San Diego St. Aztecs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Sweet 16 Point Spread and Betting
The winner of this game will face either No. 6 Creighton (my choice) or No. 15 Princeton for the South Region title Sunday and a trip to the Final Four.
Just a reminder that a No. 1 overall seed hasn’t won the NCAA Tournament since 2013. Alabama is the +311 favourite as well as -127 to capture the South. You can also bet the Tide’s stage of elimination: This game +232, Elite Eight +278, Final Four +394, national runner-up at +510 and championship winner at +371. Fifth-seeded San Diego State is +427 to win the South and +3281 for the national title. The Aztecs are the only Mountain West team still standing.
It’s the first-ever matchup between the schools.
San Diego St. Aztecs
San Diego State has faced only double-digit seeds so far, beating No. 12 Charleston by six in Round 1 and then No. 13 Furman 75-52 in Round 2. That game was notable as four Aztecs played scored in double figures after only Matt Bradley did in the first round; he’s also the only SDSU player averaging double-figure points on the season. He had 10 against Furman, while Micah Parrish led with 16 off the bench. Coach Brian Dutcher goes quite deep into his bench. Outside of San Diego State, the Mountain West has had a terrible tournament. SDSU is the first Mountain West team to reach the Sweet 16 since Nevada in 2018. It’ll be the third Sweet 16 appearance for the Aztecs and the seventh for the Mountain West overall. Alabama will be the fifth power conference team that San Diego State has faced this season. The Aztecs beat Stanford and Ohio State but lost to Arizona and another SEC team in Arkansas. San Diego State is 4-0 ATS in its past four.
Alabama Crimson Tide
There was concern about the health of Tide star Brandon Miller, the SEC Player and Freshman of the Year, when he was scoreless in 19 minutes in Round 1 dealing with a groin injury, but Miller played 34 minutes in Round 2 and had 19 points in a 73-51 win over Maryland. Jahvon Quinerly led with 22 points, and Charles Bediako had 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Tide outscored the Terps 45-28 in the second half. The 22-point win matched the Tide’s second-largest NCAA Tournament win in program history. Bama is in the ninth Sweet 16 in school history and second in three years. Note that Bama’s first two games of this Dance were played only 55 miles or so from campus in Birmingham, Ala., although the Tide still should have the major fan advantage in Louisville. The Tide are 4-1 ATS in their past five games.
SDSU
ALA