Paul Finebaum evaluates Alabama's chances at winning national championship after opening weekend

ESPN college analyst Paul Finebaum evaluated Alabama’s chances of winning a national championship after the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Finebaum made the case that Alabama has moved closer to winning a national championship as it enters the Sweet Sixteen during his weekly appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.

“No, I think they’ve moved a lot closer to winning it,” Paul Finebaum said. “A week ago, there were some major obstacles even within the South regional. There really aren’t anymore.”

Paul Finebaum is pointing out that upsets have made the path easier for Alabama. That includes Arizona, Baylor, and Virginia — the two, three, and four seeds in the South who all lost on opening weekend.

“And, listen, we all know what happened over the past four days, but they have a clear path to Houston and I would be shocked if they don’t get there right now. I mean, they are just playing great basketball, dominating. They don’t look like a lot of the other top seeds who seem stage fright in tough situations, and I think right now, yeah, it would be considered a major disappointment not to get to Houston and, quite frankly, I’d say they should expect to win it all right now.”

Alabama cruised through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. That started with an easy win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christie and then against an overmatched Maryland team. So, it’s easy to get very confident about Alabama’s odds moving forward.

Things are going to get tougher as the Crimson Tide gets to the Sweet Sixteen, though. There, Alabama will take on a tough San Diego State team. In that game, Alabama is currently a 6.5-point favorite.

Nate Oats previewed Alabama’s Sweet Sixteen matchup

Alabama head coach Nate Oats knows that San Diego State is going to be a tough opponent. For him, that starts with how good the Aztecs are on the defensive end. This, according to Oats, is going to be incredibly difficult for Alabama to manage.

“They’re a great defensive team,” Oats said.

“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.”