Alabama vs Michigan: Sweet 16 Showdown

0:00On March 25th, Alabama basketball has reached the sweet 16th in the NCAA tournament for the fourth year in a row. The fourth-seated Crimson Tide dominated their first two games, beating the 13th-seated Hofstra by 20 points and the fifth-seated Texas Tech by 25. Now they face a tough challenge against top-seated Michigan on Friday evening in Chicago. The Crimson Tide earned their spot with one of the nation's toughest schedules, ranking third and strength of schedule after facing nine ranked. Opponents all season. That grit helped them secure the fourth seed in the Midwest region and advance deep into March Madness once again. Michigan has been a powerhouse, staying in the top three of the AP pole for 14 of 19 weeks and never dropping out of the top seven. They topped the Kim Palm rankings overall, sitting sixth in offense and second in defense, while leading the country in nine key-per-game stats like field. Gold percentage in blocks. When you stack up the teens, Alabama holds edges in areas like defensive rebounds and two-point shooting, but Michigan's defensive prowess and scoring could make it a battle.

1:07The Wolverines rolled through their early rounds, crushing the 16th-seated Howard and in the ninth-seated St. Louis 95-2. Coach Nate Oats called his squad underdogs with a chip on their shoulder, praising their buy-in as key to pulling off the upset. This match up pits Alabama's resilience against Michigan's dominance, setting up what could be the highlight of the sweet 16.