BYU vs. Alabama: Three NCAA Tournament Game Day Thoughts
Mar 27, 2025, 12:39 AM
NEWARK, N.J. – BYU vs Alabama marks the third NCAA Tournament game day for BYU basketball in the past week.
The Cougars are getting set to play in their first Sweet 16 game since 2011.
Meanwhile, Alabama is in its third consecutive Sweet 16, and fourth in the past five seasons.
BYU enters the matchup as one of the lowest-seeded teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament field. No. 10 Arkansas in the West Region is the only team with a lower seed than No. 6 seed BYU.
BYU is tied with Ole Miss at No. 6.
Here are some thoughts heading into tonight’s matchup from inside the Prudential Center in New Jersey.
#1 Which defense is going to be elite?
Alabama head coach Nate Oats said his defense must be elite to slow down BYU. The same can be said for BYU, which is going to try to keep Alabama in check.
All of the talk entering this matchup is about offense. This begs the question: Which defense is going to rise to the occasion and put together a strong performance?
BYU center Keba Keita told KSL Sports that one of the keys against Alabama is to “get back in transition and build the wall earlier.”
The best way to do that is to knock down shots. If BYU is missing its shots, that will allow Alabama to get out and run.
BYU’s Richie Saunders is still as tough as they come on the defensive end, despite increasing his workload as a First Team All-Big 12 performer.
Former Rutgers transfer Mawot Mag, who was a top storyline for New Jersey/New York media, will also be critical to BYU’s success on the defensive end.
Mag put together the game-winning defensive stand against Wisconsin’s John Tonje, which put BYU in a position to advance to the Sweet 16.
BYU starter and former Rutgers transfer Mawot Mag was a popular man in Newark. pic.twitter.com/7pTUjh8XLv
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 26, 2025
Then, backup guards such as Dallin Hall and Trey Stewart will likely get the assignments to try to slow down All-American Mark Sears.
If BYU can put Alabama in a few scoring droughts of two minutes or more, BYU’s offense is potent enough to be able to create separation in that stretch. But can they generate those stops to allow that to happen? As Kevin Young said on Wednesday, “It’s a tall task.”
#2 Kevin Young vs. Nate Oats is an awesome coaching matchup
If you love college basketball, tonight is a great game for you.
The high-powered offenses are going to be a must-see. But then you’ve got the two coaches, who are trendsetters in the game.
Watching the chess match between these two coaches should be a lot of fun.
Then you add the backdrop of Young already getting the upper hand on Oats while on the recruiting trail, it could possibly add a little bit of heat to this matchup.
How does Oats counter the spacing that BYU plays with?
BYU likes to get out and run, but no one moves at a greater tempo than the Crimson Tide. What in-game adjustments does Young make in this one?
The coaching battle is almost as riveting as the game itself in this matchup.
“They’re playing well,” Nate Oats said about BYU.
“We’ve got a really tough game in front of us in BYU,” Oats said to reporters on Wednesday. “A lot of respect for what Kevin (Young) has done in year one there, getting them playing one of the more modern styles of basketball in all of college basketball.
“He was an NBA assistant for a long time. I know him a little bit, been to some Suns training camps when he was an assistant. I think they’ve done a really good job.”
#3 BYU basketball needs to be close to or above 50% shooting from the field
BYU has no problem getting into games where the opponent loves to get out and run. Look at the Arizona game in Tucson in February, or last week’s Round of 32 victory over Wisconsin.
BYU thrives in that type of matchup.
Alabama feels like a different level compared to Arizona and Wisconsin. The margin for error probably won’t be as great with how efficient the Crimson Tide is on offense.
Sweet 16 at the Prudential Center. pic.twitter.com/VK3CLV8Jrq
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 26, 2025
While Alabama is great offensively, its defensive metrics are not the greatest. Most notably, allowing opponents to shoot 35% from three this season, which ranks 273rd nationally.
BYU is an excellent team from inside the arc. They are shooting 58% this season. From 3-point range, BYU is 30th nationally at 37.3%.
Those percentages are solid. However, to pull off another upset, you need to be above your averages to take down a program that is used to playing in this second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
If BYU can shoot close to 50% in this game, they will have a great chance of pulling off the upset.
BYU vs Alabama
Regional Semifinals – 2025 NCAA Tournament
Location: Newark, New Jersey
Arena: Prudential Center
Tip-Off: 5:09 p.m. (MDT)/7:09 p.m. (EDT)
TV: CBS
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM in Utah — Extended pregame begins at 3 p.m. MDT/5 p.m. EDT)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
