Busting Brackets
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Projecting Alabama Basketball’s path to a 2021 National Championship

By Matthew Travis

Alabama celebrates their 80 to 79 win against LSU as they raise the championship trophy after the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game at Bridgestone Arena Sunday, March 14, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn.Nas Sec Lsu Ala 053
Alabama celebrates their 80 to 79 win against LSU as they raise the championship trophy after the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game at Bridgestone Arena Sunday, March 14, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn.Nas Sec Lsu Ala 053 /
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Connecticut Huskies Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Connecticut Huskies Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

Alabama vs Maryland or UConn

In the Round of 32, Alabama would face either the UCONN Huskies or the Maryland Terrapins, should the Crimson Tide manage to beat Iona Saturday. UCONN vs. Maryland is a matchup of 7 vs. 10, the Huskies being the seven-seed, Maryland being the 10.

UCONN enters the NCAA Tournament with a 15-7 overall record, but an abysmal 7-7 combined record against quadrant one and two teams. The Huskies are 7-3 over their last 10 games and are coming off a loss three-point loss to Creighton in the Big East Tournament.

One thing the Huskies do have going for them is star guard, James Bouknight. Bouknight has played in only 14 of UCONN’s 22 games, but in those 14 games, he holds averages of 19.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

Bouknight is a problem for opposing defenses, but luckily for the Crimson Tide, Alabama has one of the best defenses in the nation, and because of it they should be able to hold James Bouknight in check should they play one another in the Round of 32.

As for Maryland, the Terrapins enter the NCAA Tournament with a record of 15-13, a NET Ranking of 30, and a record of 6-4 over their last 10 with their most recent game being a 13-point loss to Michigan in the Big 10 Tournament.

Maryland has struggled to say the least this season, but they have managed to get this far and now they have a chance to knock off UCONN and better yet, knock off the red hot Alabama Crimson Tide.

That would certainly be a tall task, and first, they have to stop Bouknight and the UCONN Huskies if they want a shot to potentially knock off Alabama. As for the Terps, they have three players averaging double-figures with Eric Ayala leading the way as he is averaging 14.9 points per game.

Maryland-UCONN will certainly be a great game, but in the end, I would expect the Huskies to come out on top as they have the best player of the two teams in James Bouknight, and they have the better team overall as well.

With that, UCONN would then move on to the Round of 32 where they would likely face off with the Alabama Crimson Tide. With that, I think UCONN would have a very difficult time slowing down the Tide with a Sweet 16 bid on the line.

Alabama has two fantastic players in Herb Jones who won the SEC Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors, and John Petty who is averaging 12.3 points per game, but they also have two other players averaging double-figures in Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly.

Overall, this should be another game that the Crimson Tide should easily handle, and in doing so, move onto the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004.

Prediction: Alabama 78, UCONN 65

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