ESPN's Jay Bilas makes prediction for Alabama in NCAA Tournament
Alabama has been predicted to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament by ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas.
The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Hofstra Pride in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. Alabama will enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region following an overall record of 23-9 throughout the 2025-26 regular season campaign.
There are some across college basketball who believe that Alabama could be a sleeping giant in the tournament, despite being listed as a four seed, one of which is ESPN analyst Jay Bilas. Bilas also recently revealed his predictions for the Midwest Region, as the analyst picks Alabama to defeat both Hofstra and Texas Tech while advancing to the Sweet 16. The Tide have been widely regarded as a top team in the nation for the majority of the regular season.
Bilas’ prediction has Alabama’s season ending in the Sweet 16 vs. Michigan, but the Tide have proven to have the ability to defeat anyone should they continue shooting at an elite level. Alabama will face Hofstra on Friday afternoon at 2:15 p.
m. CT, as the Tide will look to make a run throughout the NCAA Tournament. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion .