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The No. 6 seed BYU Cougars (26-9) and the No. 2 seed Alabama Crimson Tide (27-8) meet Thursday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, for an NCAA Tournament East Region Sweet 16 game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the BYU vs. Alabama odds, and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
The Cougars outlasted the Wisconsin Badgers in a second-round game, winning 91-89 as a 1-point underdog as the Over (156) cashed. BYU has topped Wisconsin and the VCU Commodores to advance to the Sweet 16, covering both times while cashing the Over in each game.
BYU G Richie Saunders rolled up 25 points with 7 rebounds and 3 triples against Wisconsin, and he was 1 of 4 players to reach double digits in points. G Egor Demin had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists against the Badgers.
BYU is into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011, when it lost to Florida 83-74 in OT. Alabama rolled to the Final 4 last season, falling to eventual champ UConn 86-72 in a national semifinal.
The Crimson Tide, ranked No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, belted the Saint Mary’s Gaels 80-66 as a 5-point favorite in the second round as the Under (149) connected. C Clifford Omoruyi posted 10 points with 11 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, 1 of 6 players to hit double digits in points against the Gaels.
This is the first meeting between these teams since Nov. 24, 2017, when Alabama won 71-59 as an 8-point favorite as the Under (151) cashed in a neutral floor game at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn.
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BYU vs. Alabama odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:03 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): BYU +185 (bet $100 to win $185) | Alabama -225 (bet $225 to win $100)
- Against the spread: BYU +5.5 (-110) | Alabama -5.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 175.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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BYU vs. Alabama picks and predictions
Prediction
BYU 91, Alabama 87
Moneyline
BYU (+185) is a strong play for the chance to nearly double up.
Defense wins championships, and Alabama has none, while BYU can lock it down when it needs to.
The Cougars have the offense to hang with the Crimson Tide, too. BYU isn’t the leading scoring team in the nation like Bama, but it was 25th with 81.4 points per game, while hitting 48.7% from the field and 37.0% from behind the 3-point line.
Against the spread
BYU +5.5 (-110) is still a decent play, if you can’t quite pick it straight up. This should be a high-scoring, seesaw affair in Newark.
The Cougars are 3-1 ATS in the postseason, and they’re on a 10-2 ATS roll in the past 12 games since Feb. 11.
Alabama is just 1-2 ATS in the past 3 games, while going just 6-5 SU in the past 11 games, while going 6-5 ATS, too.
Over/Under
OVER 175.5 (-115) is the lean, but only go with a half-unit play at most.
The Over has hit in 2 of the past 3 games for Bama, while going 8-4 across the previous 12 outings since Feb. 11.
For BYU, the total has cashed in 3 of 4 games in the postseason, while the Over is 12-3-1 in the past 16 games since Jan. 28.
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