Alabama vs. Hofstra prediction, odds, spread, time: 2026 NCAA Tournament picks from proven model

Coach Nate Oats and the No. 4 seed Alabama Crimson Tide (23-9, 13-5 SEC) will look for another deep March Madness run when they open their 2026 NCAA Tournament run Friday against No. 13 Hofstra (24-10, 12-6 CAA). Alabama has reached the NCAA Tournament in five straight seasons and reached at least the Sweet 16 in four of those appearances. The Tide’s first opponent, Hofstra, won the CAA tournament and has lost just one game since Jan. 29. Alabama is preparing to play without second-leading scorer Aden Holloway, according to coach Nate Oats, following Holloway’s arrest earlier this week.

Tip-off from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida will take place at 3:15 p.m. ET. The Tide are 11.5-point favorites in the latest Alabama vs. Hofstra odds, while the over/under is 158.5. Before making any Hofstra vs. Alabama picks, check out men’s college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. He entered the 2026 NCAA Tournament on a torrid 11-1 streak on his highest-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-22 streak on the CBB’s highest-rated side picks. Anyone who followed his college basketball betting tips on sportsbooks and betting apps could have seen solid returns.

Today, the model has simulated Alabama vs. Hofstra 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted men’s college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can now head over to SportsLine to see the model’s choices. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for Hofstra vs. Alabama:

Best Alabama vs. Hofstra Predictions

After 10,000 simulations of Hofstra vs. Alabama, SportsLine’s model is exceeding the total (158.5 points). Alabama ranks first nationally in scoring offense at 91.7 points per game, and the Tide has plenty of offensive options even without Holloway as Labaron Philon Jr. averages 21.7 points per game and Latrell Wrightsell averages 12.8 points.

Hofstra, on the other hand, is more defensively oriented, but the Pride has a few high-level scorers in the backcourt in Cruz Davis and Preston Edmead. Davis leads the team with 20.2 points per game, while Edmead averages 15.9. Both are shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point territory, so the Pride are equipped to score in bunches if they have to compete against a powerhouse Alabama team. The model projects 160 points, which places the excess on the value side.

How to make Hofstra vs. Alabama picks

The model also indicates that one side of the gap hits almost 60% of the time. You can only see this pick on SportsLine.

So who does Alabama win against Hofstra, and which side of the spread reaches nearly 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to be on, all from the advanced model that has simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.