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The Charleston Cougars (27-7) and Alabama Crimson Tide (21-11) meet Friday for an NCAA Tournament 1st-round game. Tip-off from the Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Wash., is scheduled for approximately 7:35 p.m. ET (truTV). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Charleston vs. Alabama odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
The 13-seeded Cougars of the Coastal Athletic Association, formerly the Colonial, won 3 games in its conference tournament to punch its ticket to the Big Dance. Charleston topped Towson by just 5 in the semifinals, and it edged Stony Brook in OT by just 3 in the final. It has failed to cover the past 2 outings after a 5-0 against the spread (ATS) run.
Charleston faced 3 teams in the NCAA Tournament field, losing by 18 points to Duquesne and by 9 points to Vermont in neutral-site games, while falling by 16 at FAU. The Cougars are also 0-3 ATS in 3 games against NCAA Tournament teams this season.
The 4th-seeded Crimson Tide struggled down the stretch, dropped 4 of the past 6 games, including its 1st game of the SEC Tournament against Florida. The Crimson Tide is also 0-4 ATS in the past 4 games, and 1-6 ATS in the previous 7 outings.
Alabama ranked No. 1 in the country with 90.8 PPG scored, and the Tide enters the NCAA Tournament on a 3-0 Over run, while cashing the Over in 10 of the past 11 games. Alabama is No. 18 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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Charleston vs. Alabama odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook’s; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 8:34 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Charleston +375 (bet $100 to win $375) | Alabama -500 (bet $500 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Charleston +9.5 (-110) | Alabama -9.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 173.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Charleston vs. Alabama picks and predictions
Prediction
Alabama 95, Charleston 82
Moneyline
Alabama (-500) will cost you 5 times your potential return, and that’s way too much risk for not enough reward. Even as part of a multi-team parlay, including Bama sucks all of the value out of your ticket.
PASS, and focus on the spread instead.
Against the spread
ALABAMA -9.5 (-110) is worth a look, especially if it remains under double digits.
The Crimson Tide has a tremendous resume, with wins over NCAA Tournament teams Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State (x2), Morehead State, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and everybody’s favorite tournament snub, Indiana State.
Charleston +9.5 (-110), on the other hand, is 0-3 SU/ATS in 3 games against NCAA Tournament teams, losing by an average of 14.3 PPG against those opponents.
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Over/Under
OVER 173.5 (-105) is a strong play.
Alabama was the highest-scoring team in the regular season, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see this team go for triple digits. Charleston allowed 73.3 PPG, which was in the bottom 3rd in the nation, while teams had a 44.4% field-goal percentage against the Cougars, while hitting 3s at a 33.6% clip. However, Charleston can move, and score the basketball, averaging 81.0 PPG.
Look for this game to be a rather high-scoring affair in Spokane.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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