Jay Bilas calls Alabama the 'obvious choice' to win South region
After the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the top of the South region is in relative shambles. Arizona, Baylor, and Virginia — the two, three, and four seeds in the South all lost. That leaves Alabama, the number one seed, as the obvious choice to win the region according to Jay Bilas.
Bilas explained this during an appearance on SportsCenter.
“The obvious choice is Alabama. I thought the Arizona-Alabama matchup that would have occurred in the Elite Eight, that Arizona matched up really well with Alabama,” Jay Bilas said.
“But Alabama has a clear path. They had a clear path to the Elite Eight before all this went on with Arizona. But I think it really opens it up for Alabama. So, Alabama’s the clear choice there.”
The Crimson Tide will take on San Diego State in the Sweet Sixteen. There, Alabama is a 6.5-point favorite as of right now. According to head coach Nate Oats, the game is going to be a challenge due to what the Aztecs do on the defensive end.
“They’re a great defensive team,” Oats said. “Furman’s a really good offensive team and they shut them down. They switch 1-5 so we’re gonna have to get ready to play. Our defense is gonna have to be great. Our offense is gonna have to be good too, but they’re a great defensive team.”
Assuming Alabama wins, the Crimson Tide will only have one more game in the Elite Eight before Jay Bilas is proven correct and Alabama wins the South Region.
Paul Finebaum is high on Alabama
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum went further than Jay Bilas. He thinks that the way things broke down, Alabama has a path to win the national championship.
“No, I think they’ve moved a lot closer to winning it. A week ago, there were some major obstacles even within the South regional. There really aren’t anymore,” Finebaum said.
“And, listen, we all know what happened over the past four days, but they have a clear path to Houston and I would be shocked if they don’t get there right now. I mean, they are just playing great basketball, dominating. They don’t look like a lot of the other top seeds who seem stage fright in tough situations, and I think right now, yeah, it would be considered a major disappointment not to get to Houston and, quite frankly, I’d say they should expect to win it all right now.”