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Former Coach Avery Johnson Predicting Major NCAA Tournament Upset

Originally posted on The Spun | By Kameron Duncan | Last updated Mar 19, 2025 11:43 PM ET

The field of 64 will be determined after Wednesday's final two play-in games, and the NCAA Tournament will truly begin on Thursday.

Fans and analysts around the country are finalizing their brackets, and one former head coach believes that a top team will not advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Former Alabama head coach Avery Johnson picked St. Mary's to upset the No. 2-seeded Crimson Tide in the Round of 32.

Johnson, now working as an analyst for CBS Sports, chose the Gaels to take down Alabama in the second game of the tournament, preventing the Tide from making it to the second weekend.

Former @AlabamaMBB coach and current @CBSSportsHQ analyst Avery Johnson (@CoachAvery6) picks Saint Mary’s to upset the No. 2-seeded Crimson Tide in the round-of-32. pic.twitter.com/FKviAoZ9ax
— Michael Southern (@msouthern17) March 20, 2025

Alabama lost to Florida in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday, and they lost forward Grant Nelson to an injury. Nelson, the team's second-leading scorer behind Mark Sears, suffered a leg injury in the loss to the Gators.

“We need to get him healthy,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said on his "Hey Coach" radio show ahead of the first round.

“Not sure he’ll be ready by Friday. We’re hoping, at a minimum, he’d be ready by Sunday with the possibility of Friday… We dodged one. It wasn’t anything too serious with his knee but will for sure be questionable for that first game on Friday.”

The Crimson Tide will play No. 15 seed Robert Morris in the East Region on Friday afternoon. Saint Mary's will also face an SEC opponent in No. 10 seed Vanderbilt, as the Gaels look to make it to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2010.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 30: Head coach Nate Oats of the Alabama Crimson Tide smiles while cutting down the net as West Regional champions after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the Elite Eight round of the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Crypto.com Arena on March 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)Ben Solomon/Getty Images

Johnson coached at Alabama from 2015 through 2019, making one appearance in the NCAA Tournament with the Crimson Tide. He recruited future NBA stars like Collin Sexton and Herbert Jones, but the team was unable to find success collectively during his tenure.

Oats succeeded Johnson in 2019, and the Crimson Tide have been to two Sweet Sixteens and a Final Four under his guidance. Alabama is looking to get back to the Final Four for the second time in program history, but they face potential games against Duke and Wisconsin in the East region.

Fans can tune into Alabama's first game against Robert Morris on Friday at 12:40 ET, while Saint Mary's will meet Vanderbilt at 3:15 PM ET.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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