Alabama and Charleston (SC) play in first round of NCAA Tournament
Charleston (SC) Cougars (27-7, 18-3 CAA) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (21-11, 13-6 SEC)
Spokane, Washington; Friday, 7:35 p.m. EDT
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Crimson Tide -9.5; over/under is 173.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 19 Alabama and Charleston (SC) meet in the NCAA Tournament opening round.
The Crimson Tide have gone 13-6 against SEC teams, with an 8-5 record in non-conference play. Alabama ranks third in the SEC in rebounding with 39.6 rebounds. Grant Nelson leads the Crimson Tide with 5.7 boards.
The Cougars' record in CAA play is 18-3. Charleston (SC) ranks sixth in the CAA shooting 34.5% from 3-point range.
Alabama makes 47.7% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.7 percentage points higher than Charleston (SC) has allowed to its opponents (44.0%). Charleston (SC) averages 80.5 points per game, 0.6 fewer than the 81.1 Alabama gives up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mark Sears is scoring 21.1 points per game with 4.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Crimson Tide. Aaron Estrada is averaging 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists and two steals over the last 10 games.
Reyne Smith is shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc with 3.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Cougars, while averaging 12.8 points. Frankie Policelli is averaging 11.6 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Crimson Tide: 5-5, averaging 92.7 points, 39.7 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 94.0 points per game.
Cougars: 10-0, averaging 79.3 points, 37.3 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 7.7 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.0 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
