Alabama and Texas Tech took care of business in their respective opening round matchups, setting up what should be an all-out war in the second round on Sunday.
In the first game of the day in Tampa, Texas Tech surged in the second half to roll to a 91-71 win over Akron. Alabama followed a similar script, overcoming an early deficit to take a small halftime lead before running away with things down the stretch for a 90-70 win.
These are two evenly matched teams that will both have to play without one of their best players. The Red Raiders will be without JT Toppin, who suffered a season-ending injury a few weeks ago. The Crimson Tide will be without Aden Holloway, who is currently suspended from the team after being charged with two felony counts of marijuana possession and failure to affix a tax stamp.
Alabama and Texas Tech have spent the year neck-and-neck in metrics like KenPom and Bart Torvik. FanDuel seems to agree.
When opening odds were released on Friday night, the Crimson Tide was installed as a very small favorite. FanDuel listed Alabama as a 1.5-point favorite in what is effectively a toss-up game.
Alabama opened as a 1.5-point favorite over Texas Tech on FanDuel
Most thought Texas Tech's season was over when JT Toppin suffered a torn ACL in a late February loss to Arizona State. And while the Red Raiders limped into the tournament with three straight losses, they did earn a road win over Iowa State without their star forward and are more than capable of doing some damage.
Akron was a popular 12-5 upset pick in brackets, but Texas Tech was never in serious trouble against the Zips.
Tech will present similar problems that Hofstra did, though they have a more talented roster. Led by Christian Anderson, the Raiders have an elite backcourt and can light it up from three-point range. They shoot 39% from deep this year, a mark that ranks 3rd in the country, per KenPom. They'll look to slow the tempo down and keep the Crimson Tide from running.
Alabama will be looking to book a fourth straight appearance in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, something that wouldn't have even sounded realistic just a decade ago. But Nate Oats has consistently put the Tide in position to make deep tournament runs, and the Crimson Tide is a win away from the Sweet 16 even without one of its best players.