The No. 1 seed in the East Region Alabama Crimson Tide(27-8) will face N0. 6 seed BYU Cougars(26-9) in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This game will occur on Thursday, March 27, in Newark, New Jersey.
The Crimson Tide had a dominant performance against Saint Mary’s. BYU survived a second-half run against Wisconsin. Which team will win and punch their ticket to the Elite 8?
Alabama Finds Its Footing In 2nd Round
The Crimson Tide struggled with Robert Morris in the opening round. They had no such issues in the 2nd round against Saint Mary’s. The Gaels kept it close for the first 10 minutes of the game before Alabama pulled away and never looked back. Bama prevailed 80-66 to advance.
Even though the Crimson Tide, the nation’s highest-scoring team, scored 80 points its defense was the story. They held Saint Mary’s to 34.3% shooting from the field and 21.4% from three-point range. Even though the Crimson Tide had no player that stood out on offense, they had a great day on that end of the floor. Guard Mark Sears struggled shooting though. He scored 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the field. Sears must play better for Alabama to reach its full potential.
BYU Survives In a Thriller
The Cougars withstood a late rally to defeat Wisconsin 91-89. BYU’s offense made history in their 2nd round win over the Badgers. BYU took an 11-point lead into halftime, but the Badgers cut into the lead as the second half wore on. The Badgers cut the lead to 2 with a minute left. BYU’s defense, which struggled for most of the game, got a few key stops to keep dancing.
BYU’s offense was led by Forward Richie Saunders. He scored 25 points and will need to maintain his level of play for the Cougars to advance. Their offense is averaging 85.5 points per game in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Final Thoughts
As expected, Alabama is favored in a game that will be a shootout. Both offenses have been at their best as of late. The winner of this game will be the team’s defense that can come up with stops late in the game. The Crimson Tide is one of the nation’s best teams. Their offense will play well and their defense will do just enough to slow down a high-flying Cougars attack. The Crimson Tide will win and advance to the Elite Eight.
