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March Madness Elite Eight: High-Scoring Alabama Vs. Duke Headlines Top Teams Shooting For 2025 Final Four

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March Madness Elite Eight: High-Scoring Alabama Vs. Duke Headlines Top Teams Shooting For 2025 Final Four


The 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament is playing out to form with seven of the top-8 seeds advancing from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight this weekend. That includes all four No. 1 seeds with Auburn, Florida, Duke and Houston shooting to make the Final Four next weekend in San Antonio.

Elite Eight Matchups, Odds And TV Schedule

The Southeastern Conference sent a record 14 SEC teams to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and all four SEC teams in the Elite Eight have a chance to make the Final Four – No. 1 seeds Auburn Tigers and Florida Gators and No. 2 seeds Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers.

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While online betting is regulated in nearly 40 states with easy access also available for mobile betting, the three most populous states in the U.S. do not offer betting at U.S. Sportsbooks—California, Texas and Florida. These are also states where some of college basketball’s top teams play, like Florida, Houston and Texas Tech of the remaining Elite Eight teams. Also, regulated, legal sports betting is not available in Alabama, where the Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers entertain and engage fans but not for regulated sports betting.

Panama-based BetOnline has been a market leader for more than 30 years providing more betting options, contests and NCAA bracket pools for fans.

Updated Men’s College Basketball NCAA Tournament Bracket And Scores

BetOnline and leading online sportsbooks provide college basketball betting odds for the most watched and wagered college basketball games including the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four. Odds and futures refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting. Favorites (-) listed, all times Eastern.

Sat., March 29

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East – Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)

No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 1 Duke (-7) | Total 174.5 | 8:49 p.m. | TBS/truTV

Pick: Alabama

West – Chase Center (San Francisco, CA)

No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Florida (-6.5) | Total 157 | 6:09 p.m. | TBS/truTV

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Sun., March 30

South – State Farm Arena (Atlanta, GA)

No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Auburn (-5) | Total 149 | 5:05 p.m. | CBS

Midwest – Lucas Oil Stadium, (Indianapolis, IN)

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Houston (-3.5) | Total 124 | 1:20 p.m. | CBS

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Pick: Tennessee

The four No. 1 seeds profiles are included below following their Sweet Sixteen wins. The favorites are rewarding bettors and especially moneyline bets as more moneyline parlays cashed in during Sweet 16 games. While no perfect brackets remain across the country in online March Madness pools, many are doing well with all four No. 1 seeds still alive into the Elite Eight along with three No. 2 seeds and one No. 3 seed.

Alabama’s 113 points in their Sweet 16 victory was the most points ever scored by a team in a NCAA Tournament game. The Crimson Tide also set records with 25 made 3-pointers and 51 three-point attempts.

  • Alabama 113, BYU 88
  • Duke 100, Arizona 93
  • Florida 87, Maryland 71
  • Texas Tech 85, Arkansas 83 OT
  • Michigan State 73, Ole Miss 70
  • Auburn 78, Michigan 65
  • Houston 62, Purdue 60
  • Tennessee 78, Kentucky 65

Betting favorites went 8-0 straight up in the Sweet Sixteen, and 4-4 against the spread (ATS) after Mississippi player hit a 3-point shot at the final buzzer to cover the closing spread (+3.5) in a 73-70 loss to Michigan State, who opened a -2.5 point favorite and took more money.

No. 1 Seeds To The Final Four And National Champions

Since the First Round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, favorites are 44-12 SU and 30-26 ATS. The over/under game totals are 24-31-1 with Friday night Sweet 16 games going 4-0 to the under.

Since the men’s NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, there have been 62 No. 1 seeds make the Final Four. Of those, 39 made the championship game and 25 have become national champions, including 13 of the past 17 title winners.

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Only once in NCAA Tournament history have all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four, and it happened in 2008.

Auburn Tigers

Most experts believed No. 1 overall seed Auburn had the “easiest” path to the national semifinals. KenPom ratings and research notes that a top-2 NCAA Tournament seed has never made a Final Four if they began the year outside the preseason AP Top 25 like Michigan State. Auburn held the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for eight consecutive weeks before Duke took over the top spot on March 10. The Tigers were 25-2 with 14 Quad 1 wins in late February, including a road win over No. 2 Alabama.

Auburn ranks No. 3 in adjusted offensive efficiency despite No. 29 in effective FG percentage shooting (55.2%). Auburn’s adjusted defensive efficiency and effective field goal percentage are both top-15, with elite 3-point defense (29.6%) and block percentage. Auburn made their first and only Final Four appearance in 2019, but the Tigers have never made it to a national championship game. Auburn’s Elite Eight opponent Michigan State is has made the Final Four ten times with their last appearance in 2019. The Spartans won the national championship in 2000 under current head coach Tom Izzo – the last Big Ten team to win the NCAA Tournament with Purdue playing in the national title game last year.

Florida Gators

Florida is 15-1 since a blowout loss at Tennessee Feb. 1. The Gators rolled through the SEC tournament as champions and were on a 6-0 ATS run until failing to cover their first two NCAA Tournament games but rebounding with a double-digit win over Maryland.

The Gators are the nation’s No. 2 efficiency offense with an elite offensive rebounding team. Florida is also a top defensive team, and up to No. 9 in adjusted efficiency and top-5 in effective field goal defense (45.4%) and 3-point defense (29.3%). The Gators made the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and are now 1-game from a Final Four, which they last made in 2014. The Gators won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Florida’s Elite Eight opponent Texas Tech made their only Final Four appearance in 2019 and lost to Virginia in overtime in the national championship game.

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Duke Blue Devils

Duke has won 14 in a row and 30 of its last 31 games, scoring 93, 89 and 100 points in three NCAA Tournament games to move back to No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency ratings. The Blue Devils sport a 58.2% effective field goal percentage to rank No. 3 in the country. Duke is also the only team to rank top-5 in offensive and defensive efficiency ratings with their 44.4% effective field goal defense No. 1 in the country. The Blue Devils program has made the Final Four 17 times most recently in 2022 with their last national championship victory in 2015. Duke’s Elite Eight opponent Alabama reached its first-ever Final Four last year losing to eventual national champion Connecticut.

Houston Cougars

Houston has the country’s best defense, trapping and forcing turnovers while allowing just 58.4 points per game in winning the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament title. Houston’s 38.4% field goal defense tops college basketball along with Tennessee (38.5%) and Duke (38.5%). The Cougars rank No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency defense, and their offense is No. 12 with strong offensive rebounding and the No. 1 team in 3-point shooting (39.8%). Houston also plays at the slowest pace of the remaining tournament teams on offense while forcing the longest possession on defense. Houston has made 8-straight Sweet 16’s and six Final Four’s with their last in 2019. The Cougars have never won the national championship, but were runner-up in 1983 and 1984. Houston’s Elite Eight opponent Tennessee is shooting to make their first-ever Final Four, and making their second-straight Elite Eight appearance and third overall.

As noted previously in March Madness coverage, 21 of the last 22 National Champions have finished in the Top 20 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency ratings by KenPom’s advanced metrics. Five remaining teams fit the profile.

  • Duke (1 offense, 5 defense)
  • Florida (2,9)
  • Auburn (3,8)
  • Houston (12,1)
  • Tennessee (17,3)

KenPom offensive and defensive efficiency rankings for the remaining teams include Alabama (4,28), Michigan State (23,4) and Texas Tech (5,39).

Elite Eight Betting Trends And Notes

Courtesy of Playbook Sports newsletter and research.

  • No. 1 Seeds are 9-3 ATS the last 8 years.
  • No. 3 seeds are 4-16 ATS the last 17 years.
  • Underdogs off an ATS loss in the Sweet 16 are 1-4 ATS the last 11 years (Texas Tech, Michigan State).

Follow along for more March Madness betting coverage into the Elite Eight this weekend as the top teams shoot for the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

You can bet on it.

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Which Alabama football 2027 targets are on commit watch this weekend?

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Which Alabama football 2027 targets are on commit watch this weekend?





© BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Alabama football is hosting an impressive group of 2027 recruits throughout this weekend. This is the first of several weekends the Tide will host top recruits for official visits.

So, will Alabama add a commit this weekend? This is very much possible, and there are a few prospects Touchdown Alabama has our eyes on.

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No. 1 Alabama Outlasts No. 8 UCLA with Big Blasts from Pupillo, Wells

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No. 1 Alabama Outlasts No. 8 UCLA with Big Blasts from Pupillo, Wells


OKLAHOMA CITY–– UCLA’s home run power made headlines all season, but it was Alabama’s super sluggers who stepped up in the biggest moments on the biggest stage during the Crimson Tide’s opening game of the Women’s College World Series.

No. 1 Alabama was trailing by two runs heading into the fifth inning of Thursday’s game before Alexis Pupillo tied it up with a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame.

The Tide had struggled with runners in scoring position all game, but when Alabama’s home run leader Brooke Wells stepped to the plate with two on in the sixth inning, she made sure that wasn’t going to happen again. In her first ever game at the WCWS, Wells hit one over the right field wall to give Alabama a three-run lead.

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That score would hold as No. 1 Alabama beat No. 8 UCLA 6-3 to move into the winners’ bracket at the WCWS.

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The moment meant a lot for Wells after she went without a hit during the super regional round against LSU. The team rallied around her, and head coach Patrick Murphy put a card in her locker at the beginning of the week.

“It was great to do it for these girls,” Wells said after the game. “These girls are so great. They had my back all last weekend, you know, how he said. It wasn’t the best weekend for me, but they never lost trust in me, they never lost faith in me. Murph gave me a card, the girls picked me up all weekend. I walked in here feeling as confident as ever. Didn’t really cross my mind anything that happened last weekend.”

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This is the first trip to the World Series for both Wells and Pupillo as transfers into Alabama. Pupillo is in her final season and has now hit a home run in three straight postseason games and is up to 20 on the season.

“This is the moment that I’ve been waiting for since I was like eight years old,” Pupillo said. “I walked through the gates today, I kind of started tearing up for a second because it just felt surreal. I just remember watching Montana Fouts pitch in the World Series when she threw the perfect game. That moment of me when I was eight years old watching it on the TV, man, I really want to do that.”

Alabama junior ace Jocelyn Briski shut down the UCLA batting order the first time through, but the Bruins bats wouldn’t stay down for long. UCLA rallied for three runs on four hits, including two home runs, in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.

She did not allow another run to the potent UCLA offense over the next four innings. Briski finished with nine strikeouts against a team that does not strike out much.

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“You could see they hit two home runs, we hit two home runs, but the ability to come up with those timely hits with runners on obviously makes a difference,” UCLA coach Kelly Inoyue-Perez said after the game.

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Coming into the matchup, Alabama knew UCLA would score. It just wanted to limit the damage, and Briski was able to do that.

Jena Young set the tone for the offense at the top of the lineup, reaching base four times with three hits. She scored in the first inning on an RBI-single from Alabama’s senior captain Marlie Giles, Pupillo’s home run and on the Wells’ home run in the sixth inning.

Alabama (55-7) will face the winner of Thursday night’s game between No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 Arkansas on Saturday. Winning the first game sets the tone for the rest of the series and makes the path a lot smoother. Around 90 percent of previous college softball national champions win their opening game at the WCWS.

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Alabama vs UCLA Live Stream: How to Watch College Softball

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Alabama vs UCLA Live Stream: How to Watch College Softball


Alabama plays UCLA on Thursday night in the third first-round game of the Women’s College World Series

The Alabama Crimson Tide battles the UCLA Bruins on Thursday night in a first-round game of the Women’s College World Series. The Crimson Tide comes into the World Series on a five-game winning streak after sweeping through the regionals and super regional. They fell short in the SEC Tournament, as they lost to Texas 7-1, but they have been great in the postseason. They have given up just one combined run in the five postseason games and have easily moved on to the World Series. They beat USC Upstate twice and Belmont once in the regional by a combined 20-0 score. They then swept rival LSU in the super regional by a combined 11-1 score. They now sit at 54-7 on the season and are one of the favorites to win the National Championship.

How to Watch Alabama vs UCLA College Softball Today:

Game Date: Thursday, May 28, 2026

Game Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

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LIVE SPORTS & TV WITHOUT CABLE

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TV: ESPN2

Location: Devon Park, Oklahoma City, OK

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The Bruins, though, are looking to knock off the Crimson Tide and pick up a huge first-round upset on Thursday night.

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The Bruins also swept through the regional and super regional and come into the World Series 52-8 on the season.

The Bruins also came up short in their conference tournament, as they lost to Nebraska, but, like the Crimson Tide, have been good in the postseason. They got tested by Cal Baptist in the first game of the regional, but since that game, they have outscored their opponents 55-8.

What Time Is Alabama vs UCLA College Softball Game?

Game 3: Alabama vs UCLA will take place on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tune in and catch some great College Softball action.

What Channel Is Alabama vs UCLA College Softball Game?

Looking to watch this game? Fans can tune into ESPN2 to see the action. Make sure you subscribe to Fubo now to watch this matchup, as well as numerous other sports leagues.

Live stream Alabama vs UCLA College Softball on Fubo: Start watching now!

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