March Madness Round 1: Charleston vs Alabama Analysis & Score

Charleston vs Alabama Final Score

Points May Come Early and Often in Matchup Between Charleston and Bama

After stumbling a bit down the stretch, Alabama surrendered 102 points in an upset loss to Florida in its SEC tournament opener.

The Crimson Tide look to rebound against a College of Charleston team coming off a run to the Coastal Athletic Association tournament title. The Charleston vs Alabama betting preview has the Crimson Tide as the heavy favorite to win in the first round of the March Madness bracket.

The teams haven’t met since the College of Charleston won 82-60 back in 1993 in a game played at the North Charleston Coliseum in the Lowcountry Classic.

The college basketball lines have Alabama listed as the 9.5-point favorite, with the Crimson Tide priced at -470 to win the game outright.

When looking at the college basketball rankings, Alabama went from 19th to 18th in the USA Today coaches poll, with the Crimson Tide remaining at No. 19 in the Associated Press poll. College of Charleston lost its only game against a ranked opponent this season, a 90-74 loss to Florida Atlantic.

A quick look at the NCAA tournament bracket: the winner of the Alabama-Charleston game will meet up with the winner of the matchup between Saint Mary’s and Grand Canyon.

Keep on reading for more on the game between the 13th-seeded College of Charleston Cougars and the fourth-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide.

Cougars Go After A Lucky 13th Win In a Row

After winning the Coastal Athletic Association regular-season title by two games, the Cougars had to fight their way to the tournament title and a spot in the March Madness field.

After a comfortable win over Monmouth in the quarterfinals, Charleston overcame a seven-point deficit against Towson in the semifinals. Stony Brook had three chances to take the lead in the final two minutes of the second half before Reyne Smith scored seven of his 23 points in the overtime to lift Charleston to the three-point win.

A three-year starter, Smith scored at least 20 points four times during the Cougars’ 12-game winning streak. Keep that in mind when it comes to the Charleston vs Alabama betting preview.

College of Charleston has covered in five of its last seven games.

Sears Lighting It Up For the Crimson Tide

Alabama is trending in the wrong direction heading into the NCAA tournament, but it is hard to fault the Crimson Tide’s top offensive NCAAB player.

Senior guard Mark Sears, in his second season at Alabama after playing at Ohio for two seasons, has scored at least 20 points in 14 of the last 15 games. That could play a role in the Charleston vs Alabama betting preview.

He is a significant reason why the Crimson Tide topped 100 points nine times this season. Offense is not an issue for Alabama. In the Crimson Tide’s last five losses, Alabama has allowed an average of 101 points per game.

Florida got to the foul line 36 times in the SEC tournament so the Crimson Tide has some work to do in order to make a deep March Madness run.

Alabama is 1-6 against the Las Vegas odds in its last seven NCAAB games.

Charleston vs Alabama Betting Preview

Alabama enters the NCAA tournament as the top-scoring team in the nation so if the Crimson Tide tend to business on the defensive end, they could be around for a while in the tournament.

The Charleston Cougars are 28th nationally in rebounding and 16th in offensive rebounding.

The total has gone under in six of College of Charleston’s last seven games against SEC teams.

The Cougars have covered in 10 of their last 13 games when listed as the underdog.

With the way Alabama can score, it is hardly a surprise that 10 of the Crimson Tide’s last 11 games have landed over the total. The total of 173.5 points is the highest among the March Madness first-round games.

Alabama has won the opening-round game just twice in its last four trips to the NCAA tournament, so the Crimson Tide looks to take care of business.

Don’t be surprised to see this game go over the total as Alabama ranks 112th and Charleston is 176th in defensive efficiency according to the Pomeroy college basketball database.

The question is whether Alabama can cover as 9.5-point favorites. The Crimson Tide is 15-9 against the spread as a favorite this NCAAB season, while Charleston is 3-2 ATS as the betting underdog.

For NCAAB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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