Enjoy it, Alabama fans. This is the golden era of Tide hoops.
After a dominant win over Texas Tech in the Round of 32, Alabama will play in the Sweet 16 for a fourth consecutive season, a program record. Enjoy that, and try to ignore for now who stands in the way of Nate Oats leading the Tide to an unprecedented third consecutive Elite Eight.
Because the team standing in the way might be the best team in the entire country.
Alabama will face No. 1 seed Michigan on Friday night at 6:35 pm CT in the Sweet 16 in Chicago. FanDuel's opening odds don't paint a rosy picture of what is waiting for the Crimson Tide.
Shortly after Alabama finished off its dismantling of Texas Tech, FanDuel released the odds, and the Crimson Tide opened as a 10.5-point underdog to the Wolverines.
Alabama is a significant underdog against Michigan in the Sweet 16
Oddsmakers are even more bullish on Michigan's chances against Alabama than the analytical sites. Bart Torvik projects a 93-85 win for the Wolverines, giving Alabama a 26% implied chance of victory.
KenPom thinks Alabama can keep it slightly closer, projecting a 90-83 win for Michigan, but only giving Oats and his team a 24% implied chance of winning.
None of that is surprising. Michigan is 33-3 on the year, and has one of college basketball's most dominant frontcourts with Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara. They will give Alabama all sorts of problems in Chicago.
For the Crimson Tide to have a chance at pulling the upset, it'll probably take a similar shooting performance to what they put up against Texas Tech. Alabama knocked down 19-of-45 from three-point range against the Red Raiders to help spark a 25-point blowout win.
At this point, though, Alabama is playing with house money. It can play fast and free, and let the chips fall where they may.
After Iowa stunned Florida in the 2nd Round on Sunday night, a Crimson Tide upset of the Wolverines no longer seems that crazy.