South Carolina vs Alabama Prediction 1/8/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the South Carolina Gamecocks meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Colonial Life Arena. Here’s a South Carolina vs Alabama prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best South Carolina vs Alabama pick.

Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Preview

The Crimson Tide were able to take wins in their first three games of the season, dispatching UNC Asheville, Arkansas State, and McNeese State in that time. Alabama lost to Purdue in game four, then took wins in their next three over Illinois, Houston, and Rutgers. Alabama would lose their November 30 matchup versus Oregon, but they’ve since hit another winning streak. Those victories came courtesy of North Carolina, Creighton, North Dakota, Kent State, South Dakota State, and Oklahoma for a 12-2 overall record so far this season.

Matched up against Oklahoma in their Saturday game, the Tide came out of the break with a 48-29 advantage and were looking pretty good. Alabama hit a 59-50 run the rest of the way in an eventual win 107-79 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Mark Sears with 22 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, and three steals for a double-double. Labaron Philon added 16 points with five assists and four rebounds, and Grant Nelson was also able to double up in the victory on 12 points and 11 boards. Leading the bench scorers was Derrion Reed with 11 points and three rebounds. Aden Holloway also chipped in 10 points in 19 minutes.

South Carolina Gamecocks Betting Preview

Over on the Gamecocks’ side, they got off to a middling start this season but have found their stride since then. South Carolina posted a rough 3-3 run in their first six starts (against some tough competition, falling to North Florida, Indiana, and Xavier alongside wins versus South Carolina State, Towson, and Mercer. A winning streak ensued afterward featuring victories over Virginia Tech, Boston College, East Carolina, South Carolina Upstate, Clemson, Radford, and Presbyterian. The Gamecocks lost their most recent outing versus Mississippi State, though.

In the Mississippi State game over the weekend, the Gamecocks were blasted 43-18 in the first half and had very little hope of coming back. South Carolina fell even further behind the rest of the way on a 42-32 run and took the loss in the end 85-50. The only player on the team to finish in double-figures was Zachary Davis, who came off the bench to provide 22 points and three rebounds in 24 minutes on the court. Leading the starters was Nick Pringle with his eight points and three rebounds, while Jamarii Thomas added six points and six assists.

Why the South Carolina Gamecocks will win

• South Carolina has won each of its last eight games at Colonial Life Arena.
• Alabama has lost each of its last three night games against the Southeastern Conference.
• South Carolina has won the first half in 16 of its last 18 night games at Colonial Life Arena.

Why the Alabama Crimson Tide will win

• Alabama has won each of its last nine games against South Carolina.
• South Carolina has lost 21 of its last 25 games against AP-ranked opponents.
• South Carolina has lost the first half in 16 of its last 18 games against Top 5 AP-ranked opponents.

South Carolina vs Alabama Prediction

I’ll stay with the Tide here. Alabama dismantled a very good Oklahoma team in their last outing, posting 50 percent shooting from the field with a dominant effort on the boards 51-26 (22-8 offensive). The Tide committed just nine turnovers but did miss eight of their 30 attempts from the line (73.3 percent) which could have been better. That said, Alabama has been on a tear during this six-game win streak. They’ve scored 81 or more points in all six games, with 94 or more in four of them. I’d expect another big total here as well, even on the road.

As for South Carolina, they hit the wall against a talented Mississippi State squad over the weekend, posting a measly 29.1 percent shooting and 10.5 percent (2-of-19) from outside. The 40-32 rebounding deficit and 14 turnovers for 15 Bulldogs points didn’t help either. The defeat broke a seven-game win streak that featured a nice 69 or more points in each outing. South Carolina is up for another tough matchup here (which will be followed by yet another difficult game versus Auburn on Saturday) and I don’t think they’ll keep a cover pace.