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Experts expect fireworks when No. 2 seed Alabama meets No. 6 BYU on Thursday. Both are elite offensive teams capable of racing to 90 points.

The winner will likely be the team that makes its 3s at a higher rate than the other. The transition game will also be key. Defense will be on short supply but the team that can find more stops could prove the difference.

Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”

Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football’s 1984 National Championship season.

At this stage of the season, win or lose, head coach Kevin Young deserves a ton of credit. A year ago he got the job, had to recruit the roster left by Mark Pope, got key players like Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall to return, and went out and got two future NBA players in Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings to join transfers Mawot Mag and Keba Keita. His development of players, in particular Mag and Trey Stewart as defensive forces, propelled his team to nine straight wins and a third-place finish in the tough Big 12.

At 26-9, in this league? Give Young a parade.

Young’s tenure has ushered BYU into the NIL era, and so far, he’s earned high grades for his ability to use those resources and investment and excel.

Now, after dispatching VCU and Wisconsin, BYU is in the Sweet 16 for the third time in school history in the modern era, and that is the definition of a historic season.

This week’s question: BYU and Alabama have elite offenses but not so elite defenses; which team will prevail when they meet in the Sweet 16 in New Jersey on Thursday? Give a brief preview commentary and prediction.

Jay Drew: In boxing, they say that contrasting styles make great fights. In basketball, I’ve learned over the years that similar styles produce high-level, high-flying, high-scoring and highly entertaining games. I think that is what will happen Thursday in New Jersey — one of the most fun-to-watch games in the tournament.

Let’s just hope the referees don’t get involved as much as they did in the BYU-Wisconsin game. That was borderline absurd.

I think the Sweet 16 matchup will come down to two simple things: rebounding and shotmaking. I don’t think either team will be able to slow down the other.

For BYU, it simply has to make shots, and when I say shots, I mostly mean 3-pointers. The Cougars can win this game if they can make more than a dozen triples — which is how they were able to beat Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

I know Alabama is better than a shorthanded Cyclones team, but I also think there’s something really special about Kevin Young’s crew. Alabama is the logical choice here as a four-point favorite, but I’m thinking Young and company will find a way.

Prediction: BYU 85, Alabama 81

Dick Harmon: Alabama is favored to beat BYU on Thursday, but only by about three or four points. In a game where two elite offenses are running, gunning and bombing away, it’s almost a tossup, because we’re talking about one more 3 wins the game.

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

No. 6 seed BYU (26-9) vs. No. 2 seed Alabama (27-8)

• Thursday, 5:05 p.m. MDT
• At Prudential Center
• TV: CBS
• Radio: BYU Radio 107.9 FM / BYURadio.org / BYU Radio app

No doubt this is billed as a potential made-for-TV Sweet 16 game because of the potential firepower involved. This puts a premium on defensive stops, which could make the difference. Another factor that could come into play is how this game is called. We saw firsthand how a BYU lead over Wisconsin by 12 points became a game that went down to the final play because of key calls that went against BYU in the final seven minutes.

There does seem to be something about Kevin Young’s team, its chemistry, confidence and momentum, that lends to the belief that his Cougars could pull off a win. BYU ranks 11th and Alabama 20th in percent of field goals made per game. The Cougars rank sixth and Alabama 14th in effective field goal percentage and BYU is 12th and ‘Bama 16th on average points per game.

I’m encouraged by how BYU has made pressure free throws in NCAA Tournament play and I think if senior Trevin Knell can make four from distance and Richie Saunders scores more than 24, the Cougars have every chance to advance to the Elite Eight. Win the rebound battle and limit turnovers, and they should be in position to win.

Prediction: BYU 89, Alabama 87

Alabama Crimson Tide basketball head coach Nate Oats speaks during a press conference about Alabama’s upcoming NCAA Sweet 16 basketball game against BYU at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10), Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) and Alabama Crimson Tide forward Aiden Sherrell (22) speak during a press conference about Alabama’s upcoming NCAA Sweet 16 basketball game against BYU at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) speaks during a press conference about Alabama’s upcoming NCAA Sweet 16 basketball game against BYU at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Alabama Crimson Tide forward Aiden Sherrell (22) speaks during a press conference about Alabama’s upcoming NCAA Sweet 16 basketball game against BYU at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) speaks during a press conference about Alabama’s upcoming NCAA Sweet 16 basketball game against BYU at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Cougar tales

Here is a list of our stories of BYU’s march to the Sweet 16:

• BYU rekindles Mile High City magic to advance (Jay Drew)
• Dawson Baker reaction from locker room (Ryan McDonald)
• Belief: “There are no limits” in BYU momentum (Jay Drew)
• Surprising matchup with SEC scoring machine (Jay Drew)
• What Alabama coach said about facing BYU (Jackson Payne)
• Is BYU the best underdog story in NCAA tourney? (Jackson Payne)

From the archives

Jimmer’s advice for BYU as Cougars return to the Sweet 16

From the X-verse

Extra points

Fanalysts

Comments from Deseret News readers:

The Final Four or bust, that should be the standard shouted out by BYU fans. So many years the Cougars would have been there save that talented players were not gathered at the same time due to church mission interruptions. While the missions have priority, it is very frustrating to longtime fans. All those priorities that come before winning games are appropriate and constant at BYU: living the honor code, remembering “The Glory of God is Intelligence,” true student-athletes who first and foremost come to learn and “go forth to serve.”

Dick Nemelka of the 1960s BYU teams comes to mind, as he was a legitimate All-American basketball player, was drafted to the NBA, but first went to serve a full-time mission. In his case, he did his four years of school and sports eligibility first, mission second, then the NBA. In the great year of 1981’s Great Eight appearance with Danny Ainge, the addition of Devin Durrant could also have meant a trip to the Final Four, but he had left to serve a mission. Then came Shawn Bradley, who left after his first year to serve a mission and then went to the NBA, and later the Jimmer year of Sweet 16, but we lost our starting center due to honor code violation. Now we try again, GO COUGARS!!

— EPoint

Getting to the Sweet 16 is a great accomplishment for this team, and has proven the wisdom in hiring Kevin Young. He was hired to develop kids and you can see that in the way the team has progressed through the season and you can particularly see it in kids like Saunders, Stewart, and Demin. My guess is that AJ Dybantsa is feeling really good about his choice of school. Getting to the Elite Eight and beyond, if it happens, is all gravy at this point.

I can see a path to beating Alabama, but the team will have to play well. Alabama is not a pressure defense. This will likely be a race to 90.

— WhenTheWildWindBlows

Up next

• March 26-29 | Track and field | Texas Relays | @ Austin, Texas
• March 27-29 | Track and field | Bobcat Invitational | @ San Marcos, Texas
• March 27 | 8 a.m. | Men’s golf | The Goodwin | @ Stanford, California
• March 27 | 5:09 p.m. | Men’s basketball | Alabama | East Regional | @ Newark, New Jersey