Hofstra vs. Alabama Odds & Betting Predictions - March 20, 2026

Cmon

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CBB POD

11-1 in their L12. #1 EFGD% in the COUNTRY in that span. Top 20 3pt D + 2 bucket getters on offense.

Not as good of a # now. I liked Hofstra as a lean but not confident that Holloway is playing. That’s enough to fully lock in on Pride

Worth small bet with recent news and not terrible matchup against shot volume clown Bama

Alabama is down Aden Holloway, the team’s best perimeter shooter and second-leading scorer (16.8 ppg, 43.8% 3PT). Holloway “will be off the team until he goes through the school's investigation process, which is conducted outside of the athletic department through the UA Office of Student Conduct,” according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. This makes it highly unlikely he’ll be available to play on Friday. That’s a big blow for any team to take right before the Big Dance.  Is Hofstra positioned to pounce? Absolutely. The Pride enter the NCAA Tournament on an 11-1 run, equipped with a well-balanced offense and a rapidly improving defense. All five starters have at least one game of 20 or more points this season, demonstrating Speedy Claxton’s pick-your-poison approach. But it has been their defensive makeover that has turned them from an underwhelming CAA team to a March Madness sleeper.   In the month of January, Hofstra suffered a five-game losing streak while grading out as the 250th-best defense per Torvik. How much did they improve after that? By leaps and bounds, to put it lightly. Since February 1st, Hofstra has ranked 32nd in adjusted defensive efficiency and a matching 32nd in defending the three-point arc. But wait, it gets better. They led the nation in the past six weeks in both effective field goal percentage and two-point defense. They’re contesting everything inside of 20 feet, rotating with urgency and closing out on shooters. The results have been eye-opening, and they’ll need that kind of defensive energy to slow one of the country’s best offenses led by Labaron Philon Jr.    If they pull off a small miracle and hold Alabama below 80 points, they will be in this one late because Alabama isn’t comfortable playing in lower-scoring games. In fact, Nate Oats' team is 1-4 SU when held below 80 points on the season. The CAA Player of the Year Cruz Davis, and his backcourt mate, Preston Edmead, just scored 41 points per game through their conference tournament. Cruz is a multi-level scorer, and Edmead has grown more and more confident in his perimeter shotmaking as the season has progressed. If they keep up that scoring pace, Alabama will be sweating late in this game because the Tide remain a lackluster defensive outfit more interested in running and gunning than creating stops in the half-court.