For most of the college basketball season, experts have debated whether Duke or Auburn were the best team in the nation. At first glance, it was hard to go with anybody else.
The NCAA Tournament is here, and with it, the brackets. As such, everybody’s trying to put together the perfect prediction, and that means choosing a couple of upsets every now and then.
That’s why Brad Evans of The Athletic tried to figure out the biggest threat to Duke, the No. 1 team, on the road to the top of the East Region. Apparently, that spot goes to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Alabama might be the only threat to Duke
“The Crimson Tide exhaust opponents. The tournament requires quick turnarounds. Preparing to face them can be daunting for competitors unfamiliar with nonstop bombardments. Their mid-February lull raised concerns, but when the 3-pointers are falling, they can overwhelm any team in the country,” Evans wrote.
A view of the March Madness logo
The expert also claimed that they were an underrated defensive team. Add their athleticism and never-ending energy into the mix, and other teams will be in a lot of trouble.
“They’re a superb offensive rebounding team and often attack the basket off the bounce. Underrated defensively due to the frenetic style, they slot inside the top 40 in effective field goal defense. You better have oxygen tanks at the ready when matched against Bama,” he added.
At the end of the day, anything can happen in a one-game scenario. But if the Crimson Tide finds its shooting stroke, it will be very hard to keep up with this team.
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Then again, they call it March Madness for a reason, and while this team has looked almost unbeatable for most of the year, we’ve seen this situation multiple times in the past.
