NCAAB Saturday Febuary 25th Arkansas at #2 Alabama Betting Preview

The #2 Crimson Tide have looked human lately coming into Saturday’s Arkansas at Alabama betting matchup. Nate Oats’ club rose to the top spot in the country after knocking off 13 wins in 14 games since mid-December but lost to Tennessee on February 15th and needed OT to beat South Carolina on Wednesday even as -17 point favorites.

Arkansas has upset on their mind Saturday, but they really couldn’t stay close when the teams met back at Fayetteville on January 11th, with Alabama pulling out an 84-69 win even as +1.5 road underdogs. The Crimson Tide are -8.5 favorites back on their own court, but 60% of the betting public are taking Arkansas and the points.

Why Arkansas Can Cover +8.5 Points

Say what you want about the Hogs being inconsistent at times, they are 7-4 over their last 11 games and all four of those defeats were close. The losses for Arkansas since mid-January have come 79-76 at Missouri, 67-64 at Baylor, 70-64 vs Mississippi State, 62-56 at Texas A&M so all competitive games.

The Razorbacks are just 2-6 on the road this year but a few of those defeats were close – plus Arkansas has gotten a win over Kentucky this month in Lexington, 88-73 on February 7th as +5 point underdogs.

Arkansas has the #3 scoring offense in the SEC at 75.0 ppg and they are 14th in the country with a 48.6% field goal percentage. The Razorbacks have averaged 90.5 ppg their last two with three different players putting up 22+ points the last two contests.

Why Alabama Can Cover -8 Points

Sure Arkansas can score as the #3 unit in the SEC, but Alabama is #1 and their 83.3 ppg is the 6th most in the country. The Arkansas at Alabama betting total is up their pretty good at 153.5, but the reason it’s not even higher is because the Crimson Tide can play defense too, ranking 3rd in the country in opponent FG% (37.4) and 2nd in opposing three point shooting (27.0).

The Razorbacks have a decent defense too, ranking 12th in adjusted efficiency while Alabama is 6th in that category. How does anybody contain a Crimson Tide offense that has scored 97+ points in three of their last seven games?

Brandon Miller isn’t letting some recent controversy affect his play as he just went for 41 points in Wednesday’s win at South Carolina. Miller has 20+ points in four of his last seven so he’s been consistent as of late as well.

Free Arkansas at Alabama Betting Pick

The Crimson Tide rolled over Arkansas 84-69 on the road last month when the teams were ranked #4 and #15 respectively. Alabama has looked human lately in the loss to (an albeit good team) Tennessee and needing OT against bottom feeding South Carolina.

With the Crimson Tide’s recent ups and downs it’s hard to back them giving the 8 points. Plus, Arkansas has been scoring the basketball recently which means at the very least they can keep this game closer than the books expect.

Free Pick: Arkansas +8