McNeese State vs Alabama Prediction, Odds & Picks

The McNeese State Cowboys, one of the top mid-major teams in the country, will be visiting the #2 ranked team in the nation in the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Cowboys were stunned in their first game against South Dakota State, losing to the Jackrabbits 80-73 as a double-digit favorite. The Crimson Tide are coming off 2 consecutive home wins and look to make it a third Monday night. McNeese coach Will Wade and Alabama coach Nate Oats have met several times before when Wade was the former head coach at LSU before his recruiting scandal occurred. It will be interesting to see who wins the chess match on the sidelines in Tuscaloosa.

As for the actual matchup, Alabama has some real advantages here, and it starts on the perimeter. McNeese plays a much smaller lineup, especially in the frontcourt. Coach Wade combats this by playing a very aggressive style defense as his teams crowd the paint to take away their opponents’ rim opportunities. This can be a difficult style to execute against an elite team like Alabama because leaving guys like Mark Sears, Latrell Wrightsell, Aden Hollway and Labaron Philon open is a scary proposition. Even if McNeese tries to protect the interior, Alabama can still win the rebounding game by a significant margin. The Cowboys ranked 254th in the nation in defensive rebounding rate last season and did not appear to make improvements in that area this season. Cliff Omoruyi, Grant Nelson and company could have a very nice night on glass with their considerable size advantage.

The number we get at -20.5 may be a bit overpriced, as this is most likely an overreaction to McNeese’s surprise loss on opening night. But this is a good matchup for the Crimson Tide on the perimeter, and that factor may be too much to ignore. The Cowboys are no slouch on the perimeter and could find some success on offense, but the Crimson Tide defense is much improved in every aspect this season, so a blowout could be in store. Getting a better track live is perhaps the best bet I can recommend here. There is a chance that the Crimson Tide will come out of the gates cold shooting, which would possibly give us a spot to jump in and get a smaller number. If that’s not your style, Nate Oats is 18-8 (69%) as a double-digit non-conference favorite in his coaching career, so the number might not matter.

McNeese State vs Alabama pick: Alabama -20.5 (-110) available at time of publication. Can be played on that track.

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