ESPN analyst Jay Bilas still sees Alabama as a Final Four team
A prominent ESPN analyst thinks Alabama basketball will reach a new milestone for the program.
Alabama, which faces UCLA to conclude the Sweet 16, remains one of Jay Bilas’ Final Four picks.
Earlier in the week, Bilas told SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt that he is impressed by the Crimson Tide’s defense.
“Well, Alabama’s defense is so much better this year — it’s really remarkable, the transition they’ve made on the defensive end,” Bilas said. “They’re an outstanding defensive team. They’re not just good defensively and they can really score — they’re outstanding defensively. In fact, their defense is better than their offense. …
“But it all really starts, I think, with their defense — and that’s been the difference in Alabama being a good team and them being a team that I think is Final Four worthy.”
On SportsCenter this weekend, Bilas had Gonzaga, Baylor, Alabama and Loyola-Chicago as his updated Final Four picks. In Sweet 16 action so far, two of those teams have advanced to the Elite Eight (Gonzaga and Baylor) while Loyola-Chicago fell to Oregon State.
With a win over UCLA, Alabama would reach the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history and first since 2004. The game is set for 7:15 p.m. ET/6:15 p.m. CT on TBS.
