Grand Canyon Picking Up Steam as March Madness Cinderella
Grand Canyon vs Alabama Betting Preview Favors High-Scoring Crimson Tide
Can Alabama Make It Three Trips in Five Years to the NCAA Regionals?
The Alabama players who might have expressed a desire to see The Grand Canyon are getting their wish with a second-round matchup with the Grand Canyon Antelopes. The Grand Canyon vs Alabama betting preview has the Crimson Tide favored for its ninth straight March Madness matchup.
This is the first matchup between Alabama and Grand Canyon with the Antelopes coming off their first March Madness win after falling in the first round in the 2021 and 2023 NCAA college basketball tournaments.
Alabama is listed by the college basketball lines as the 6.5-point favorite. The Crimson Tide is priced at -240 to win outright with the Moneyline at +200 for Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon goes after its second straight win against a team in the top 25 in college basketball rankings after upsetting No. 15 Saint Mary’s. Alabama is 18th in the USA Today coaches poll and 19th in the Associated Press poll.
Alabama is tied for 13th at +4000 in the NCAAB odds of winning March Madness with Grand Canyon well back at +20000 in the championship odds.
Keep on reading for more on the matchup between No. 4 seed Alabama and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon in the West Region.
Grand Canyon vs Alabama 
Date & Time:
Records: Grand Canyon 30-4/Alabama 22-11
Location: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA
Streaming: TBS
Antelopes Enjoying March Madness
At this time of the year, teams have to prepare for different styles of basketball and that is certainly the case for Grand Valley.
The program that moved up to the Division I level in 2017 had to deal with a Saint Mary’s team that ranked second nationally in scoring defense to meeting the top-scoring team in the country.
Grand Canyon is one of eight double-digit seeds to win in the first round with the Antelopes one of five mid-major programs to win as a double-digit seed.
The roster includes four NCAAB players who began their careers at Power-5 conference schools with former Kansas guard Tyon Grant-Foster leading the Antelopes in scoring – while Duke Brennan and Lok Wur both transferred in from Pac-12 schools – with Brennan playing one season at Arizona State and Wur appearing in 51 games in the previous three seasons for Oregon.
Sydney Curry started 37 games over two seasons at Louisville. The top six scorers all began their collegiate careers at other schools.
Grant-Foster had 22 points in the win over Saint Mary’s to give him five 20-point efforts in his last six games. Keep that in mind when looking at the Grand Canyon vs Alabama betting preview.
Grand Canyon has covered in each of its last six games.
Crimson Tide Roll in Tournament Opener
Facing a College of Charleston team that loves to push the pace was just fine for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Alabama had hit the 90-point mark just once in the previous 20 March Madness games. The Crimson Tide got there with 8:42 left to play on a layup by Aaron Estrada. A Sam Walters 3-pointer with 5:38 remaining gave Alabama its 10th 100-point game of the NCAAB season. Senior guard Mark Sears led the way with 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
Grand Canyon ranks 41st nationally in defensive efficiency according to the Pomeroy college basketball database with the adjusted tempo outside the top 100 for this matchup so Alabama might have to grind things out as they go up against a mid-major program for the fourth time in its last five NCAA tournament games.
Alabama is 1-4 against the college basketball spread in its last five games and 1-5 ATS in its last six games in March.
Grand Canyon vs Alabama Betting Preview
Grand Canyon coach Bryce Drew knows a little about facing Alabama thanks to his three seasons coaching in the SEC at Vanderbilt. Drew’s Commodores were 1-3 against the Crimson Tide during that time with three of the four matchups finishing under the total. That could factor into the Grand Canyon vs Alabama betting preview.
The line opened with Alabama favored by 10.5 points but is currently at 6.5 likely because of the struggles by the SEC in this year’s tournament with five of the eight SEC teams in the March Madness field falling in the first round, all to lower-seeded teams.
Guard Davin Cosby is out for Alabama while Grand Canyon is in good shape from an NCAAB injury standpoint.
Alabama is 21-4 as a favorite this season with Grand Canyon 3-0 as the underdog.
The Antelopes have covered in five of their six neutral-site games while Alabama is 2-5 against the spread on neutral courts. Eleven of those 13 contests have landed over the total.
Grand Canyon is 9-0 against the spread in its last nine NCAAB games played in March.
The total has gone over in 11 of Alabama’s last 12 games. The total is set at 168.5 in this matchup.
For all of Alabama’s offensive fireworks, the Crimson Tide still needed to work to cover against College of Charleston in the first round. There has been a lot of early money on Grand Canyon to cover.
For NCAAB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
