Watch the above video as BamaCentral staff writer Hunter De Siver discusses Alabama basketball’s potential adversaries in the opening weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. <\/p>\n
Alabama basketball was named the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday and\u00a0will face 13-seed Hofstra on March 20<\/a>\u00a0in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Crimson Tide was labeled as the No. 14 overall seed after the full bracket was announced.<\/p>\n Should the Crimson Tide take down Hofstra, it would face the winner of 5-seed Texas Tech\/12-seed Akron in Tampa on Sunday. While Alabama is the highest seed among these programs, each of them brings different styles to the table that could frustrate head coach Nate Oats and company.<\/p>\n Here are the most threatening stats by Hofstra<\/a>, Texas Tech and Akron.<\/p>\n 13-seed Hofstra<\/p>\n The Stat: Opponent field goal percentage (.387 \u2014 fourth in the nation; .435 from 2-point range \u2014 second in the nation)<\/p>\n How it Impacts Alabama: The Crimson Tide has shot under 39 percent from the field just once this season, but it was in a loss to Vanderbilt. That said, eight of Alabama’s nine losses this season have come when it shoots under 45 percent. UA shot under 50 percent from inside the arc just six times, which resulted in four of the nine losses.<\/p>\n 5-seed Texas Tech<\/p>\n The Stats: 3-point conversions (11.5 per game \u2014 fifth in the nation) and 3-point percentage (.393 \u2014 fifth in the nation)<\/p>\n How it Impacts Alabama: If Alabama beats Hofstra and Texas Tech takes down Akron, don’t expect this potential matchup to be a brawl in the paint. While the Red Raiders are fifth in the country in the stats listed above, Alabama is second in conversions (12.7) and first in attempts (35.3), but 81st in 3-point percentage (.358). This could be a shootout, and six of its nine losses came in contests where the Tide converted fewer than 13 3-pointers.<\/p>\n 12-seed Akron<\/p>\n The Stats: Points per game (88.4 \u2014 seventh in the nation) and assists per game (17.4 \u2014 seventh in the nation)<\/p>\n How it Impacts Alabama: The Tide leads the country in points per game (91.7), but Akron is just one possession away from that spot. The Zips are also 10th in field goal percentage, while Alabama is 146th, and a big reason for that is the Zips’ stellar ball movement. Oats said after the Feb. 25 Mississippi State home win<\/a>, “When the ball was moving and we got the blender threes, that’s when we were hitting them,” as swinging the rock will be pivotal in this potential matchup.<\/p>\n Sign up to our free\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\/X,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0YouTube<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0Threads<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Blue Sky<\/a>\u00a0for the latest news.<\/p>\n