The BYU Cougars have one big advantage over Alabama Basketball in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. And it is not that BYU has a 6'9", Russian point guard. It is the Cougars, as a Mormon school, cannot play basketball on Sundays. BYU is assigned the Thursday-Saturday schedule. Some of the Friday-Sunday teams will play with five days of rest. Alabama will play with three days of rest. Alabama played St. Mary's on Sunday, and BYU played Wisconsin on Saturday, so the Cougars gain an extra day of rest.
The extra day may mean little or nothing, but it might slightly minimize the Crimson Tide's tempo advantage over the Cougars.
Alabama has been dealing with a religion-related disadvantage throughout the tournament. As a practicing Muslim, Mo Dioubate cannot eat during the daylight hours of Ramadan. On Thursday, the sun will set in Newark at approximately 6:15 PM CST. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:09 PM. The Alabama staff will have a good plan for Mo, but his inability to fuel his body before the game is another advantage for BYU.
These circumstances do not lead me to predict a BYU win. The Cougars are a dangerous team, with a style of basketball that is difficult to defend, but I agree with the ESPN computer model. The algorithm gives the Crimson Tide a 64.8% probability of winning.
ESPN 'Experts' not picking Alabama Basketball to win
Some ESPN 'experts' disagree. Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf have predicted that BYU will beat the Crimson Tide. Maybe the ESPN guys are correct, but three additional computer models that I trust have Alabama winning in the range of a three to five-point victory.
There is a legitimate reason for Alabama fans to be nervous. Over the last six games, Mark Sears has shot 35 threes and made only five. The Crimson Tide needs something well above 14.2% from Sears outside the arc to win close games. To Mark's credit, in those games he contributed in other ways, especially in the Robert Morris game when he dished 10 assists and was 11-for-13 at the foul line.