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Charles Barkley picks BYU to pull off upset against Alabama in Sweet 16
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Charles Barkley is picking against Alabama in the Sweet 16. Surprise, surprise.
The former Auburn great predicted BYU to upset the No. 2 seed Crimson Tide on Thursday night ahead of their Sweet 16 game. Alabama closed as a 4.5-point favorite (via ESPN Bet) but the 6-seed Cougars pose a significant threat to knock off the Tide.
“They’re going to have to have a great shooting night,” Barkley said of BYU. “And I think they’re gonna get it done. I really do. I think they’re gonna make enough shots. They’ve got to do a good job on the boards, but I’m taking BYU in an upset.”
In fairness to Barkley’s objectivity, he did say last week he’ll “root for everybody” in the SEC when it comes to basketball, and he only hates Alabama football.
As Barkley mentioned, BYU takes nearly as many 3s as it does 2s. The Cougars (26-9) take triples on 47.8% of their overall shot attempts, and they shoot those 3s at a 37.3% clip.
It’s a fascinating matchup with Alabama because the 2 sides are 2 of the most modernized, optimized offenses in college basketball. BYU doesn’t play at the breakneck pace Alabama does, but it does operate with the same “3 and rim” principles when it has the basketball.
The Tide and the Cougars are squaring off on CBS. The winner advances to the Elite Eight, where it’ll face either 1-seed Duke or 4-seed Arizona.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
