Following one of the most chaotic first two rounds in recent NCAA Tournament memory with multiple high seeds falling short, the Sweet 16 round is here. One of the biggest clashes will be this Friday when one of the two No. 1 seeds remaining, the Alabama Crimson Tide, square off with the champions of the Mountain West, San Diego State. In the Tide’s last two games, Nate Oats’ squad was able to glide past the likes of Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the first round, 96-75, and then Maryland, 73-51. San Diego State on the other hand had a bit more difficulty dispatching a feisty Charleson squad in the first round, 63-57. After that though, they blew out Furman by a margin of 75-52 in the second round, making their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2014.
In this article, SBS will be going over what to look for from each team along with more notes and information about NCAA basketball wagering.
A squad that is among the favorites in the Mountain West Conference year in and year out, the Aztecs had another great campaign in 2022-23, winning both the regular season and postseason MW Tournaments. Led by a balanced veteran rotation, Brian Dutcher’s squad is a battle-tested team and has gotten the monkey off their back to a degree with two wins in the NCAA Tournament, snapping a losing streak for the MWC. Guard Matt Bradley is a great leader for the Aztecs, averaging 13 points per game, while also operating at a very efficient level with 41.1 field goal shooting.
Beyond Bradley, Lamont Butler is another player to keep an eye on as the main assists player for the Aztecs with 3.3 apg. Nathan Mensah is the main rebounder for SDSU as well with 5.9 rpg, however, SDSU has a balanced attack where a handful of their players contribute towards rebounding the basketball. The Aztecs are 12-1 since losing to the Nevada Wolf Pack at the end of January and have been playing some of their best basketball as of late. However, this Alabama team will be the best squad SDSU has faced all season.
One of two remaining one seeds left, the Crimson Tide have been blitzing opponents much of this year, including two impressive wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. As mentioned before in this space, star guard Brandon Miller is the focal point of the Tide attack with 19.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg. Going back to their SEC Tournament Championship performance, not many teams have been able to hang with Alabama with the Tide pulling off multiple double-digit victories over NCAA Tournament-caliber teams. In fact, Alabama has left few contests in doubt this season, going toe-to-toe with multiple college basketball heavyweights this year.
In their last outing against the Maryland Terrapins, Alabama blitzed past Maryland in the second half of the contest, outscoring the Terps, 45 to 28. While they only shot 28.6% from three-point range, the Tide did hold Maryland to just 12.5% in a stifling outing. Moreover, Alabama outrebounded Maryland 44 to 32. This will definitely be a performance they will want to replicate against the balanced SDSU attack.
Prediction: While San Diego State has had a great year thus far, Alabama has been a handful for every team they have faced and the Tide will continue to roll onto the Elite 8.
Once you are all set regarding your latest round of NCAA basketball bets, SBS has a ton of other great information to keep you rolling throughout the entire NCAA tournament. For even more information pertaining to college basketball, the SBS NCAAB betting sites guide is a must-read with the latest betting markets on the sport. Of course for further analysis of this year’s NCAA Tournament, our March Madness betting strategy page is a great tool for you to check out that gives you all kinds of insider information for each basketball game during this year’s tournament. On a final note, if you are perhaps interested in even more high-stakes wagering then the SBS VIP sports betting sites rundown is a must-read for you. On this page you can find out all the benefits of VIP online sports betting and if it is the right fit for you.
About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football and basketball across the country. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones. CURRENTLY Business Development and freelance sports writing RESIDES IN Reno, NV EDUCATION University of Nevada BS and MBA EXPERTISE -Sports writing proficiency in: NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and some motor sports -Topical news -Promotional and marketing ideas/updates -Business development Summary Chris Boline serves in a business development sales capacity as his day job. He has previously held sales/marketing positions with The Applied Companies (TAC), KTVN 2 News and the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. He is a Reno native and is a member of various community boards including the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET and the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA). Chris graduated from the University of Nevada in 2015 with a bachelors in management and economics and also earned his MBA from Nevada in 2023. More about Chris: Past president of the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA) 2022-23 Two-time honoree for University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year (Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, 2017 & COBAA, 2021) 2021 NCET award for Professional Services Organization of the Year with TAC Northern Nevada Human Resources Association 2020 Best Places to Work-Northern Nevada, Second Place with TAC 2016-17 Reno Bighorns MVP from the Sacramento Kings The Nevada Sagebrush editor-in-chief 2013-15 Associated Collegiate Press 2015 Four-year Non-daily Newspaper Pacemaker honoree University of Nevada, Reno College of Business Dean's List honoree (5x) from 2011-2015 Nevada Press Association award for Best Sports Column – Community in 2015 Education
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