Hofstra Pride vs Alabama Crimson Tide Prediction, 3/20/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Hofstra Pride vs Alabama Crimson Tide

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026

Location: Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, FL

TV: truTV

Odds/Point Spread: Alabama (-12)

The Alabama Crimson Tide (23-9) will go up against the Hofstra Pride (24-10) at Benchmark International Arena on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Alabama opens as 12-point favorites from oddsmakers. The over/under has been set at 158.5.

The Hofstra Pride took the court against Monmouth and notched a win by a score of 75-69 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Pride left the arena with 20 and Monmouth recorded 19 personal fouls. They knocked down 7 of 23 tries from downtown. Monmouth shot 70.0% from the charity stripe by making 14 of 20 shots. In addition, Monmouth grabbed 27 boards (6 offensive, 21 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Monmouth doled out 11 assists and had 7 steals in the game. When it comes to defense, Hofstra let their opponent shoot 43.6% from the field on 24 of 55 shooting. They also doled out 10 dimes for this game while forcing 9 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Concerning hauling in rebounds, they compiled 42 with 15 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Pride converted 23 of 28 attempts for a rate of 82.1%. Hofstra wrapped up the game with a 39.7% field goal percentage (23 out of 58) and made 6 of 22 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Preston Edmead is a player who played a role in this matchup. He finished the contest at 47.1% from the floor and recorded 4 assists. He was on the hardwood for 40 mins and also grabbed 4 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 26 points on 8 of 17 shooting.

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Hofstra comes into this matchup with a record of 24-10 on the season. They are turning it over 10.6 times per game and as a unit they commit 17.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Hofstra is pulling down 39.3 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 434 dimes so far this season, which ranks 213th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Pride are connecting on 36.8% on shots from 3-point land (322 of 876) and 74.6% from the free throw line. They have an average of 75.6 points per outing (181st in college) while connecting on 44.2% from the field.

On defense, the Pride are forcing their opponents into 10.1 turnovers every game and they draw 16.8 fouls. They currently rank 144th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 418 conceded this year. The Pride are giving up a field goal percentage of 38.7% (761 of 1,967) and they concede 33.8 rebounds per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 31.6% on three-point shots while they are 19th in D-1 in opponents points per game (66.1).

The last time they took the court, the Alabama Crimson Tide took a loss by a final score of 80-79 when they played Ole Miss. Regarding rebounding, Alabama permitted Ole Miss to pull down 40 overall (7 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 42.1% from three-point range by connecting on 8 out of 19 and ended up shooting 10 of 15 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Crimson Tide permitted Ole Miss to convert 31 of 67 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 46.3% in this game. When the game finished, the Crimson Tide shot 26 out of 64 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.6%. When discussing three-point attempts, Alabama made 9 out of 29 attempts (31.0%). They were able to make 18 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 72.0%. Ole Miss committed 19 fouls for the matchup which got the Crimson Tide to the charity stripe for a total of 25 attempts. They also turned it over 5 times, while getting 5 steals for this game. The Crimson Tide pulled down 27 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 34 for this contest.

Labaron Philon was important for the Crimson Tide for the matchup. He recorded 28 points in his 34 minutes of playing time and had 4 assists for the matchup. He knocked down 9 out of 16 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 56.3%, and had 4 rebounds.

Alabama has a mark of 23-9 so far this season. The Crimson Tide are responsible for committing 18.5 fouls per game and they go 76.5% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 16.1 times per contest (55th in the nation) and they turn it over 9.8 times per game. Alabama has totaled 2,935 pts on the season (91.7 per contest) and they average 40.6 boards per contest. As an offense, the Crimson Tide are connecting on 45.8% from the field, which ranks them 145th in the nation.

The Alabama defense gives up 33.5% on 3-pointers (259 of 773) and their opponents are connecting on 69.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 13.9 assists and 40.0 rebounds per game, which ranks 229th and 361st in those categories. The Crimson Tide defensively are ranked 356th in college in PPG allowed with 83.5. They are able to force 9.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.3% from the field (122nd in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Alabama (-12)

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