Reasons why the Alabama Crimson Tide will beat UConn
For good reason the UConn Huskies are favored over the Alabama Crimson Tide. There are several other reasons that point to an Alabama upset.
By Ronald Evans
- Reason No. 2 - Alabama's top players, if not the entire roster, believe they can beat the Huskies. The late-season version of the Alabama Crimson Tide has a 'refuse to lose' mentality. Nate Oats deserves credit for his team's mental toughness. Oats and his players fear no team and will not be awed by anything UConn does.
- Reason No. 3 - The primary reason for Alabama's strong belief is the team's confidence in its 'Brain Trust'. Relying on analytics is a given in college basketball, but no team has a data science and game-planning group equal to the Crimson Tide. And no team uses a data trove as boldly as Nate Oats.
- Reason No. 4 - Much has been made about Alabama being ranked by Ken Pomeroy at No. 105 in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. UConn ranked No. 4, indicates the Huskies are a serious defensive threat while the Crimson Tide is not. Bart Torvik's calculation from the Tide's four NCAA Tournament games provides a more accurate assessment. For the same stat, Torvik has the Crimson Tide at No. 56. Even that ranking would have been much lower if the Crimson Tide had not hit a defensive cruise button in the second half against Charleston. The bottom line is Alabama now, is a far better defensive team than it was before the NCAA Tournament.