ESPN predicts the odds of Alabama losing to Hofstra in NCAA Tournament

The stage is set for Alabama basketball’s sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Crimson Tide are the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region and will face the Hofstra Pride Friday afternoon at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.

Alabama (23-9 overall), ranked No. 18 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll, enters the tournament having won nine of its last 11 games. The Tide suffered an 80-79 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels at the SEC Tournament in Nashville on Friday despite a game-high 28 points from Labaron Philon.

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Alabama leads the nation in scoring with an average of 91.7 points per game. The Crimson Tide’s offense also rates third nationally in KenPom’s efficiency ratings, trailing only Purdue and Illinois. Philon’s 21.7 points per game leads Alabama scorers, followed by Aden Holloway’s 16.8.

Holloway was arrested early Monday morning in Tuscaloosa County on a felony drug charge and has been suspended from the team. Nate Oats said during his weekly appearance on “Hey Coach” that the Crimson Tide were preparing to play without their second-leading scorer. After Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell averages almost 13 points a night and has four games this season with 20 or more points.

As for Hofstra (24-10), the Pride are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001. Hofstra won the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) tournament after defeating Monmouth in the championship game. Cruz Davis leads Hofstra in scoring with 20.2 points per game while Preston Edmead averages 16. The Pride average 75.6 points per game and allow 66.

Alabama hasn’t lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament since falling to Notre Dame in March 2022. Will the Crimson Tide make it four straight years with at least one win in March Madness?

Will Alabama beat Hofstra to avoid NCAA Tournament upset?

Ahead of Alabama-Hofstra, ESPN Analytics gave its odds for Friday’s game.

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ESPN’s matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college…

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Publish date : 2026-03-19 13:02:00

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