Texas A&M CC vs. Alabama Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
It’s not whether No. 1 overall seed Alabama beats No. 16 Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in NCAA Tournament South Region first-round action Thursday from Birmingham, but by how much. The Tide are 24-point favourites on the college basketball odds.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Alabama Point Spread and Betting
The winner of this game, which absolutely will be Alabama, faces either No. 8 Maryland or No. 9 West Virginia in the Round of 32, and I’d expect the Tide to beat either of those teams fairly comfortably. A No. 1 seed has lost to a No. 16 just once: In 2018: No. 1 overall seed Virginia was shocked by UMBC.
Alabama and Texas A&M are SEC rivals, but A&M-Corpus Christi is a satellite branch and plays in the Southland Conference. It won the regular season and conference tournament titles. The Islanders had never won a game in the Big Dance until Tuesday.
The Tide are the No. 1 overall seed this year, and it’s the first time the football-first school has earned a No. 1 seed of any kind in the NCAA Tournament. It marks the 23rd Big Dance appearance in program history, with Alabama owning a record of 21-22. To win the South and reach its first Final Four, Bama is the +150 favourite. To win it all, the Tide are +486 second favourites behind Houston.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (16)
We picked the Islanders to win their First Four matchup in Dayton on Tuesday over fellow No. 16 seed Southeast Missouri State even though at the time we weren’t sure on the status of Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference selection Terrion Murdix. He was hurt in the Southland Tournament final and didn’t play Tuesday – his season is over. The senior guard averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals.
The Islanders did beat SEMO 75-71 without him for the school’s first-ever Big Dance win behind 22 points from Jalen Jackson, who only averages 7.5 ppg on the year but also was the Southland Tournament MVP. He was 14-for-18 from the free-throw line Tuesday. Isaac Mushila, an All-Southland first-team selection, had 15 points and 12 rebounds. A&M-Corpus Christi has won 13 of its past 14 games. It is 7-0 ATS in its past seven vs. teams with a winning record.
Alabama Crimson Tide (1)
Looking for a common opponent between Alabama and A&M-CC? The Islanders opened the season at another SEC school, losing 63-44 at Mississippi State – which lost in the other First Four game Tuesday. Alabama was 3-0 vs. MSU this season and beat the Bulldogs 72-49 last Friday in the SEC Tournament. The Tide, who were SEC regular-season and tournament champions, are led by arguably the country’s top freshman in Brandon Miller, the SEC Player and Freshman of the Year and a lock Top 10 if not Top 5 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Miller became the first SEC player since Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2012) to win SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same season and the fourth player in the past 50 years to lead the conference in scoring. He also was named SEC Tournament MVP after averaging 19.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists across the Tide’s three tournament games. Bama’s 29 wins are a school record as are its total points scored. Alabama is 1-4 ATS in its past five NCAA Tournament games.
