NCAA Tournament First Round Game Thread: #1 Alabama v #16 Texas A&M CC

ADDENDUM: We have a complete Round One television schedule, point spread grid, and open thread for you folks over here:

https://www.rollbamaroll.com/2023/3/16/23642977/2023-ncaa-tournament-round-one-point-spreads-television-schedule-and-open-thread#comments

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It’s finally Opening Day of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, and your top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide will be opening up play relatively early in the day. The twice-over SEC champs will have the benefit of beginning their March journey with a match-up with the 16th seeded Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Islanders, who do shoot the ball quite well from the arc and the line. Regardless, Alabama is favored by 24-points in this one, so the Tide should roll into the Second Round quite easily. But again, the Islanders - who already have a win in this year’s event - are surprisingly strong in a couple of key areas of the game.

Either way, this amazing season will draw to its conclusion over the course of the next few weeks, so take some time to enjoy this one today - you might not get to see that much more of this historic squad. The game will be played in Birmingham today, and ticket prices aren’t cheap. If you will be among the lucky thousands in Legacy Arena this afternoon, make sure to bring the noise and support these guys. We need it to be a raucous home atmosphere for the Tide all weekend.

The game should tip-off about 30 minutes after the conclusion of Maryland and West Virginia, or about 1:45 CDT. CBS will carry the television broadcast. It’s time to put up or shut up for Tide Hoops. Let’s get it!