By Garin Turner
The 4/13 matchup in the Midwest region pits 4 seed Alabama against 13 seed Hofstra in the first round of the Men’s NCAA Tournament. The game is on March 20 at 2:15 PM EST on truTV. The winner of this game will face the winner of Texas Tech and Akron.
Alabama’s road to the tournament
Alabama went 23-9 and finished second in the SEC. Alabama started 2-0 before losing to Purdue 87-80. They bounced back and beat the Fighting Illini 90-86 before losing to Gonzaga 95-85. Alabama would go on two different four-win streaks. After a loss to Florida on Feb 1st, the Crimson Tide won eight in a row. Alabama went 4-5 against ranked opponents.
Hofstra’s road to the tournament
Hofstra Pride went 24-10 and finished 3rd in the CAA. They punched their ticket by winning the conference championship and have won seven in a row.
Keys to the game
How will Alabama respond to not having second leading scorer Aden Holloway? Holloway won’t be with the team after being arrested. He was averaging 16.8 points a game 3.8 assists, shot 48% from the field, 43% from three and an 86.4% free throw shooter. They have depth with guards Houston Malette, and Jalil Bethea playing minutes off the bench.
Alabama Season Leaders
Points: Labaron Philon Jr.; 21.7
Rebounds: Amari Allen; 7.1
Assists: Labaron Philon Jr.; 4.7
Hofstra Season Leaders
Points: Cruz Davis; 20.2
Rebounds: Silas Sunday; 6.9
Assists: Cruz Davis; 1.1
Verdict
Of course, not having Holloway hurts but not enough where it’s going to cost Alabama. Philon Jr. might get asked to do more and he’ll rise to the occasion. Hofstra and Davis will come out swinging but Alabama takes over early and never looks back. Alabama 85-Hofstra 58.
(Image Credit: Hofstra Athletics)
