Dean Etheridge
The No.1 seeds and new competition favorites, the Alabama Crimson Tide takes on the San Diego State Aztecs in the Sweet 16 this Friday. Can the Crimson Tide continue their great form and move another step closer to their first ever NCAA Tournament win? Or will the San Diego Aztecs pull off the latest shock in this year’s competition. Let’s take a closer look with our free NCAAB betting picks.
- What; NCAA Tournament, Men’s Basketball, March Madness – Sweet 16
- Who; Alabama Crimson Tide (1) vs San Diego State Aztecs (5)
- Where; KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
- When; Friday, March 24th, 2023
- Tip Off; 5.30 pm ET
The Crimson Tide are favorites and top seeds for a reason. Alabama finished top of the Southeastern with a 26-5 record. And following three wins in the SEC Tournament, and two more at March Madness, they now have an overall record of 31-5.
In the latest tournament betting, Nate Oats’ side are -130 to win the South Region. The odds on the other three teams in this bracket are Creighton at +175, San Diego at +575, with Princeton the outsiders at +2800.
Betting to win 2023 NCAA Tournament
In the betting to win the NCAA Basketball Tournament, the Crimson Tide are just +325. That puts them ahead of the Houston Cougars who are second in the betting at +400. There must be a lot of money coming in for Alabama since they made it to the Sweet 16. In the immediate aftermath of their Round 2 win over Maryland, they were +375. By Monday evening they had been cut to +350, and by Tuesday they had been further trimmed into +325.
As for their opponents, the San Diego State Aztecs are +4000 to win the competition. They are one of the outsiders with the best college basketball betting sites. Full betting on the 2023 NCAA Tournament can be found below. For more information on the betting sites we use for odds, please check out our top US sportsbooks reviews page.
| 2023 NCAAB Tournament Winner Betting |  |  |  |
| Alabama | +350 | +350 | +350 |
| Houston | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Texas | +650 | +650 | +650 |
| UCLA | +750 | +750 | +750 |
| Connecticut | +900 | +900 | +900 |
| Gonzaga | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Creighton | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Tennessee | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Kansas State | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Michigan State | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Arkansas | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Xavier | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| San Diego State | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
| Florida | +4500 | +4500 | +4500 |
| Miami Florida | +5000 | +5000 | +5000 |
| Princeton | +15000 | +15000 | +15000 |
Alabama vs San Diego State Match Betting
Shock, horror! The top-rated March Madness betting sites are favoring the Crimson Tide to beat the Aztecs. Starting with the moneyline, Nate Oats’ team is -360, with San Diego priced up at +290.
Moving onto the handicap spread, San Diego has been handed a +7.5 points start. From the +7.5 points position, the Aztecs are -110. Alabama are also -110, starting from -7.5 points. The total points spread is set at 137. Both over and under is -110.
Is the Crimson Tide the best side in the NCAA?
A lot of punters think the Crimson Tide are now the best side in college basketball. And it’s easy to see why!
The Crimson Tide have had a great season so far in the NCAA. And they have carried their excellent form into March Madness where they have got themselves into the Sweet 16 without too much trouble.
In the First Round they defeated the No.16 seeds, Texas A&M-CC 96-75. And they followed that up by seeing off Maryland by 22 points in the Second Round.
At the halfway point against the No.8 seeds, Alabama were 28-23 up. But what followed in the second period of the match shows why the Crimson Tide are the favorites to win the competition. Nate Oats’ team simply stepped up gear and blew Maryland away, outscoring them 45-28, to complete a comfortable 73-51 win.
(1) ALABAMA ADVANCES TO THE SWEET 16 💪
The Tide roll past (8) Maryland 73-51 to move on to the Sweet 16! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/ONqBBhISTw
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2023
The star of the show was Jahvon Quinerly with 22 points. Although Brandon Miller wasn’t too far behind with 19. With weapons like that in their team, the Crimson Tide will be hard to stop!
In-form San Diego on a six-match winning streak
The Aztecs topped the Mountain West conference with a 15-3 record. Their overall clip was an impressive 24-6, which earned them a No.5 seeding from the Selection Committee. In the Mountain West Tournament they defeated CO State (64-61), San Jose State (64-49), and Utah State (62-57).
Moving on, and in the First Round of the end of season national tournament they beat Charleston 63-57, and they followed that up with a 75-52 win over Furman in the Second Round.
AZTECS ARE SWEET 16 BOUND ‼️
(5) San Diego State advances to the Sweet 16 after defeating (13) Furman 75-52 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/HuCsq5aSHa
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2023
In total, the Aztecs are currently on a six-match winning streak. But is that form going to be good enough to stop the Crimson Tide?
Our Pick
We’ve gone with the Crimson Tide to win the NCAA Tournament outright, so it won’t come as any surprise to see we expect to see them defeat the Aztecs. For some, the Crimson Tide might be a touch short at -360 on the moneyline. So, instead we’re looking to the handicap market to provide us with some better value.
The spread is set at 7.5 points, and we think that Nate Oats’ team can cover that. Alabama have scored 72 or more points in their five-match winning streak, and if we look back further, they have topped this mark in nine of their last ten matches.
Can we see the Aztecs getting within 7 points of Alabama? Probably not. Therefore we expect Alabama to cover the spread, and make this our betting pick.
