Tyler Hansbrough doubles down on Alabama national championship pick, throws shade at Duke

North Carolina legend Tyler Hansbrough can’t be brought to root for Duke, no matter what. Even with his bracket at stake, the Blue Devils will get zero love from the former Tar Heels star.

After the resounding victory for Cooper Flagg and company on Thursday night in the Sweet 16, Duke is headed to the Elite Eight, where they’ll meet Alabama. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Hansbrough revealed he actually has the Crimson Tide defeating the favored Blue Devils, and going on to win the entire NCAA Tournament. Hansbrough threw in another hilarious dig at Duke, as well.

“I’m really locked in on the NCAA Tournament. I’m going to go with ‘Bama,” Hansbrough predicted. “I know they’re facing Duke. I actually had Duke losing the first game to the No. 16-seed. So, I’m a little biased. I picked ‘Bama at the early part of the year. So, I’ll stick with ‘Bama.”

Did you expect anything less from one of the best players to ever suit up for North Carolina? It’d be more surprising if Hansbrough was rocking with Duke. These colors don’t run, and that’s especially true when it comes to the Tobacco Road Rivalry.

Still, even though Hansbrough thinks Alabama will win, head to the Final Four and cap off its run with a national title, the oddsmakers don’t have the same confidence. Duke is the favorite against Alabama, currently a 6.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Blue Devils’ money line is currently set at -260, as well.

KenPom, another predictive system for college basketball designed to show how strong a team is at a given time, without taking factors like injuries into account, agrees with Vegas. They have Duke winning by six, and the algorithm is giving the Blue Devils a 70% chance of winning Saturday’s showdown.

Regardless, this will be one of the more anticipated matchups we have throughout the entire NCAA Tournament. Alabama is another example of the SEC having an immense amount of success outside of the conference, while Duke has taken down a few members of the conference. Another one is going to be required on Saturday.

Tyler Hansbrough is backing Alabama, but the oddsmakers are riding with the Blue Devils. We’ll see if Duke is victorious, or if the Crimson Tide can get the job done. That one will tip off on Saturday at 8:49 PM EST on CBS.

— On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.