For the Alabama Crimson Tide, their run through the NCAA Tournament has been nothing short of special.
Making the first Final Four appearance in program history, Alabama started their run through March Madness with two victories over double-digit seeds, Charleston and Grand Canyon, and then backed that up with a pair of wins over the North Carolina Tar Heels and Clemson Tigers. Two of the biggest victories in program history, North Carolina was the No. 1 seed in the West Region, while their win over Clemson in the Elite Eight avenged a home loss to the Tigers from earlier this year.
Next up for Alabama is the Final Four, which, as mentioned above, is the Crimson Tide’s first-ever trip to college basketball’s biggest stage. This is also where a date with the top-seeded UConn Huskies awaits. This will likely be Alabama’s toughest test faced so far this season.
UConn, who are also the defending national champions, are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies enter this matchup sitting at 35-3 overall for the season, as well as 18-2 in Big East play. The Big East regular season and tournament champions, UConn also ranks No. 9 nationally in points per game allowed to opponents at only 63.3 PPG, and have a strong offense that averages 81.4 PPG.
A deep team, UConn has five different players averaging in double-figures, led by All-American guard Tristen Newton. The Huskies also have a true difference maker inside in 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan, along with others in double-figures that include Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, and Stephon Castle.
In what is the first meeting between the Crimson Tide and Huskies since an 82-67 victory for UConn back in 2022, can Alabama potentially pick up the upset to advance to their first national championship game ever?
Prediction: UConn 85, Alabama 78