2022 NCAA Tournament First Round: No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
How to Watch:
- Date: Friday, March 18
- Time: 4:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA
- TV: TNT
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 6 BAMA | STAT | No. 11 ND |
| SEC | Conference | ACC |
| 19-13 | Record | 23-10 |
| 80.0 (9th) | Points Per Game | 72.5 (154th) |
| 76.4 | Points Allowed Per Game | 66.8 |
| 0.6105 (19th) | RPI | 0.568 (59th) |
| 1st | Strength of Schedule | 63rd |
| At-Large Bid | Bid | At-Large Bid |
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Alabama leaders:
- Jaden Shackelford, G, JR: 16.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 35.6% 3PT
- Jahvon Quinerly, G, JR: 14.3 points, 3.1 RPG, 4.3 APG
Notre Dame leaders:
- Blake Wesley, G, FR: 14.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.2 SPG
- Dane Goodwin, G, JR: 13.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 44.8% 3PT
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- BAMA Moneyline: -180
- ND Moneyline: +155
- Spread: Bama -4
- Over/Under: 152.5
- ATS Record: BAMA 11-20-1, ND 18-14
- Over/Under Record: BAMA 22-10, ND 17-13-2
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- According to KenPom, this matchup isn’t overly close. The Crimson Tide rank 25th in the nation by those metrics and have played the toughest schedule in basketball, while the Fighting Irish rank 51st and faced the 70th-ranked schedule.
- The Crimson Tide play fast and love to chuck from three. They average the 8th most three-point attempts per game in the nation but shoot just 30.8%, which is 309th in the country, so it’s certainly quantity over quality.
- We could also see two drastically different styles since the Crimson Tide play at the 11th fastest adjusted tempo, while the underdog Irish play at the 251st pace. Controlling the pace is going to be a key component in controlling the game, especially since Notre Dame should be on tired legs after Tuesday’s win and might not be likely to keep up and down the court for a full game.
- The Fighting Irish survived double overtime against Rutgers in the First Four by playing bully ball, scoring 54 of their 89 points in the paint. It was a welcome change for a team that had been just 11-8 when they don’t shoot 40% from three (they shot 31.6%).
- The Fighting Irish also took great care of the basketball, only turning the ball over five times in the entire game, compared to 13 from the Scarlet Knights. However, the Fighting Irish did get outrebounded 44-32, which is a weakness of their game and will be something to monitor against a Crimson Tide team that is 15th in the country in rebounds (although some of that clearly has to do with just how fast they play and how many possessions they get).
