Alabama opens as 7.5-point favorite over San Diego State in Sweet 16

Entering Sunday’s NCAA Tournament action, just one Sweet 16 matchup has been finalized. That would be in the South Region, where 1-seed Alabama will take on 5-seed San Diego State with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.

The opening odds have been released for the matchup, and Alabama is unsurprisingly favored. The Crimson Tide open as a 7.5-point favorite over the Aztecs, according to FanDuel.

Alabama is the NCAA Tournament’s top overall seed, and they have looked the part thus far as March Madness has unleased chaos throughout the rest of the bracket. The Crimson Tide defeated 16-seed Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the Round of 64, 96-75, before moving on to face 8-seed Maryland in the Round of 32 on Saturday. Alabama had no issues against Maryland, cruising to a 73-51 victory.

San Diego State was a popular team on upset watch in the Round of 64, facing 12-seed College of Charleston. The Aztecs proved a lot of people wrong, though, winning 63-57. After 13-seed Furman knocked off 4-seed Virginia in the opening round, San Diego State had another matchup with a double-digit seed in the Round of 32. Against Furman, San Diego State had a similar performance to Alabama in the second round. The Aztecs beat Furman 75-52 to move on to the Sweet 16.

Alabama and San Diego State will tip off at some point on Friday to determine who moves on to the Elite Eight.

Oats is preparing for Alabama to face a tough San Diego State team

An important storyline to follow for Alabama will be the health of star forward Brandon Miller, who has been dealing with a groin injury throughout the tournament. He was held scoreless in the opening round, but had a better shwoing in the second round with 19 points and seven rebounds. The Crimson Tide will need Miller to perform at a high level to continue advancing in the tournament.

Alabama is one of two No. 1 seeds still alive at this point, along with Houston. Kansas lost in the Round of 32 against Arkansas and Purdue lost in the opening round against Farleigh Dickinson. But avoiding the dreaded upset will be tough against San Diego State, and Alabama head coach Nate Oats knows just that.

“They’re a great defensive team,” Oats said of SDSU. “Furman’s a really good offensive team and they shut them down. They switch 1-5 so we’re gonna have to get ready to play. Our defense is gonna have to be great. Our offense is gonna have to be good too, but they’re a great defensive team.”