Losing an impact player like Aden Holloway certainly hurts a team. Yet, Alabama has the system to overcome the first weekend against a Texas Tech team that did lose their final three games prior to March Madness. A great back and forth game but look for Bama to close in the final minutes.

Since losing JT Toppin, the Red Raiders have posted a 4–3 record, suggesting they are vulnerable against teams with elite interior presence or high-volume transition attacks. Texas Tech is due for regression coming off a 55% 3-point performance over Akron, while Alabama shot just 33% from downtown in their win over Hofstra. Alabama’s Aiden Sherrell and Amari Allen are ready to dominate the glass and provide additional scoring chances that will exhaust the Red Raiders’ thin frontcourt rotation. Alabama holds a 7–1 all-time series lead against Texas Tech, including a perfect 2–0 record on neutral floors.

The Red Raiders own wins over Duke, Arizona and Houston. Even though they remain without JT Toppin, they have enough to get by an Alabama team missing Aden Holloway. Texas Tech excels in transition defense, which will be key in this matchup. The Red Raiders rank third nationally in 3-point shooting percentage and have hit 42.9 percent over their past three games. They've also been just as good of a 3-point shooting team away from home.