NCAA Basketball: 5 best bets to win 2021-22 national championship
By Tommy Farmer
Alabama +2000 ($100 bet wins $2,000)
Every team that introduces a style of play that is much different from its peers seems to have the period of doubt in which everyone says that it can’t possibly win a championship playing that way. The Warriors and their small-ball lineups were doubted until they won in 2015. Giannis and the Bucks were doubted before they won it this past year because people didn’t think Giannis could be a “batman”.
My next two candidates for breakout team are Alabama Basketball and the Baltimore Ravens. Get Lamar some real receivers, not a bunch of Bishop Sycamore alums, and he’ll win a Super Bowl. Anyways, is it slightly over-the-top to compare Alabama hoops to the Warriors, Bucks, and Ravens? Probably. Does the narrative exist, though, that Alabama can win in the regular season but can’t win six tournament games in a row? It absolutely does. I think that narrative is garbage.
Alabama is going to be deep and talented at the guard positions. JD Davison, Jaden Shackelford, and Jahvon Quinerly will make life miserable for opposing guards. Out of the three, I have my hopes the highest for Quinerly. He was very impressive late in the season and looked like he had figured out how to play in their system.
With another offseason under his belt with the Tide, I expect Quinerly to be one of the top guards in the country. If he takes another leap, Alabama could be looking at an early April trip to New Orleans. Keep an eye on the Tide at +2000.