Tipoff time announced for Alabama/Michigan: Tide get top Sweet 16 billing

With a 90-65 blowout win over Texas Tech in the Round of 32 on Sunday night at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, the Crimson Tide are heading to their fourth-consecutive Sweet 16. The reward for Nate Oats’s consistency is a matchup with top-seeded Michigan, which dismantled Saint Louis 95-72 in the first game of the second round on Saturday afternoon. 

However, any rest advantage that the Wolverines have before the Midwest Regional in Chicago is negligible because Michigan and Alabama won’t tip off their Sweet 16 matchup at the United Center until 7:35 p.m. ET on Friday night. 

Alabama and its fans already knew that if they got past the Red Raiders, they would play the top-seeded Wolverines on Friday, but they didn’t know that they’d get arguably the most ideal tip time of the Sweet 16. 

Alabama/Michigan set to tip off Friday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. ET in Chicago

Friday is certainly preferable in the Sweet 16 from a fan’s perspective, and the early game is much better than the late tip. The Tide played the final game of the Round of 32 on Sunday night, tipping off at 10:08 p.m. ET. The game didn’t end until well after midnight on the East Coast and at almost 11:30 p.m. in Tuscaloosa. 

The late-night tips aren’t just tough for young kids who may not have been able to revel in Alabama’s blowout win and fourth-straight trip to the Regional semifinals. They’re also difficult for basically anyone who has a job they have to wake up for in the morning. That’s less of a problem on a Friday night than a Sunday, but it’s still much better to have the early tip time at the location that won’t get moved back because there’s no game ahead of it that could run long. 

As much as Alabama has become a draw in basketball, the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region also has Michigan, one of the sport’s biggest national brands and best teams in the country, to thank for the ideal tip time in the Sweet 16. 

It’s time to start planning your Sweet 16 parties because the Tide look primed to pull an upset on Friday night.