The North Carolina Tar Heels and Alabama Crimson Tide will face off in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Basketball Tournament. North Carolina easily took down Wagner in the first round of the tournament, before taking on Michigan State. While things looked bad for the Tar Heels to start the game, they were able to right the ship in the second half and fend off the Spartans. As for Alabama, it was a fairly similar story to UNC. They easily took down Charleston, before fending off Grand Canyon in the second half of their round of 32 game.
Below, we will preview this Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament college basketball game, providing data, trends and analysis. Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
North Carolina vs Alabama Prediction and Sweet 16 March Madness Picks
2024 NCAA Tournament – Sweet 16
No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels (29-7) vs. No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide (23-11)
Date: Thursday, March 28, 2024
Time: 9:39 PM EST
Venue: Crypto.com Arena — Los Angeles, CA
Coverage: CBS
UNC vs Alabama March Madness Odds
All college basketball betting odds for North Carolina vs Alabama can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: UNC: (-190) | BAMA: (+163)
Point Spread: UNC: -5 (-110) | BAMA: +5 (-110)
Total: 173.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| North Carolina | 9 | 119.2 (17) | 93.1 (6) | 70.7 (41) |
| Alabama | 14 | 125.1 (4) | 102.3 (101) | 72.9 (8) |
UNC vs Alabama College Basketball Trends
- North Carolina is 10-3 in non-conference college basketball games.
- Alabama is 10-5 in non-conference college basketball games.
- The OVER is 18-17-1 in North Carolina basketball games this season.
- The OVER is 25-9 in Alabama basketball games this season.
- UNC is seeking its 30th Elite Eight appearance in school history.
- Alabama is seeking its second Elite Eight appearance in school history.
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North Carolina vs Alabama Prediction | March Madness Sweet 16 Picks
In their first two appearances in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, North Carolina kept to their classic Roy Williams roots. They worked the ball inside, with Armando Bacot and Jae’lyn Withers, while pushing the ball down the court with Elliott Cadeau and R.J. Davis. They have also succeeded in defending inside. While Malik Hall found early production in the post, once Harrison Ingram switched to him, Hall was somewhat neutralized. Along with the defense, Ingram dominated on the offense side of the ball. Shooting 5-of-7 from the three-point line, Ingram recorded 17 points. Davis and Bacot will continue to play well, but it is once again going to be Ingram who is going to be the X-Factor in this game.
As for Alabama, the Crimson Tide have had little resistance in their first two games on the tournament. Against Charleston, the Crimson Tide’s offense was once again at the top of its game, as they scored 109 points. That offense tapered off in the round of 32 though, as they only scored 72 points against a good Grand Canyon team. In the first two games, the offense has revolved around Superstar Mark Sears. Sears has continued to push the ball and score at will, totaling 56 points so far in the tournament. Through the first two games, the Crimson Tide have shot 48% from the field. The Crimson Tide are going to go as far as Sears takes them, which honestly can be all the way.
While Alabama has had a fairly easy time in the tournament, with their first two matchups against Mid-Majors, UNC provides a different test. The Tar Heels have had one of the best defenses in the country all year long and should be able to somewhat limit Sears. North Carolina’s Seth Trimble provided a defensive masterclass against Michigan State and will probably see Sears in this one. As for Carolina, most 1-seeds aren’t tested until the Sweet 16. They instead got Michigan State in the round of 32. A Tom Izzo-coached team is always dangerous, but as stated before, the Tar Heels got the job done. Bacot has been a stud all tournament on defense and on the glass. I would imagine that will continue against Alabama, who can be inconsistent on the glass. Alabama has struggled against good defenses this year, going 0-2 against Tennessee and losing to Auburn and Arizona. For our Sweet 16 North Carolina vs Alabama prediction, we are picking the UNC to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
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NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Schedule
Thursday, March 28th
Arizona vs Clemson (7:09 PM EST)
UConn vs San Diego State (7:39 PM)
North Carolina vs Alabama (9:39 PM)
Iowa State vs Illinois (10:09 PM)
Friday, March 29th
Marquette vs NC State (7:09 PM EST)
Purdue vs Gonzaga (7:39 PM)
Houston vs Duke (9:39 PM)
Tennessee vs Creighton (10:09 PM)
