Alabama vs. Notre Dame: NCAA Tournament odds, final score predictions from ESPN, KenPom

After getting a thrilling double-overtime victory over Rutgers in the First Four, No. 11 seed Notre Dame made the trip to San Diego to take on No. 6 seed Alabama Friday night. The Vegas odds are in, and the metrics have made their predictions for the Round of 64 matchup.

How to watch Alabama vs. Notre Dame

Time: 4:15 p.m. ET

Location: Veijas Arena, San Diego, Calif.

Network: TNT

Vegas odds

According to VegasInsider, Alabama is a four-point favorite over Notre Dame on Friday. The over/under for the game is 153.

ESPN BPI prediction

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) measures team strength and predicts future performances across the sport. The BPI prediction from ESPN gives the Crimson Tide a 63.6% chance to advance to the second round of March Madness.

Projected winner: Alabama

Predicted point differential: 3.7

Matchup Quality: 87.0

KenPom prediction

KenPom is another tool used to predict and project college basketball results. Like the BPI, KenPom predicts Alabama will come away with the victory.

Predicted winner: Alabama

Predicted final score: Alabama 78, Notre Dame 76

Win probability (for Alabama): 59%

Notre Dame-Rutgers play-in game ends on insane last-second shot

What a game it was between Notre Dame and Rutgers in the First Four on Wednesday night. It took two overtimes, but Paul Atkinson hit an insane put-back last-second shot to give the Fighting Irish the win — and send them to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Rutgers had the lead at halftime thanks to a late surge in the first half, but Notre Dame stormed back to eventually force overtime despite having a late lead. The two teams continued to trade blows in the extra period before the Fighting Irish capitalized on some Scarlet Knights miscues to force double overtime.

Once again, it went back and forth, but Atkinson’s shot won it for Notre Dame.

That shot capped off a monster night for Atkinson, who finished with 26 points on 13-for-15 shooting to lead all scorers. Nate Laszewski had a huge night off the bench, as well, scoring 18 points to help lead the Fighting Irish to the win.

Now, Notre Dame gets ready to take on Alabama, the No. 6 seed in this year’s tournament. The Crimson Tide had a rollercoaster regular season, getting wins over Gonzaga and Baylor, but losing to Georgia and suffering an SEC Tournament loss to Vanderbilt.

Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly have been two big pieces this year for Alabama, leading the way with 16.7 and 14.3 points per game, respectively. They’re going to be two of the X-factors for the Crimson Tide, who lost four of their last six games to end the regular season.