The Arkansas State Red Wolves will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to face the 23^rd-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at the Coleman Coliseum on Monday night with the game scheduled to start at 8:00 PM ET and will air on the SEC Network.

Arkansas State enters this game with a record of 2-6  and is on a two-game losing streak following a 66-77 loss on the road against the Little Rock Trojans on Friday. The Red Wolves have struggled this season as they have only faced two Power-5 teams which resulted in double-digit losses on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 76-105 and on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 74-88. The Arkansas State Red Wolves have been one of the worst defensive teams in college basketball this season as they are allowing an average of 79.88 points per game and have faced mid-majors in six of their eight games this season. The Red Wolves will look to play a close game on the road against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Monday night.

The Alabama Crimson Tide enter this game ranked 23^rd in the AP Poll and 20^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 5-2 following a 77-85 loss at home against the Clemson Tigers on Tuesday and have lost two of their last three games with the other loss coming against the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 81-92. The Crimson Tide have been one of the strongest teams offensively this season as they lead the country in points per game with an average of 94.86 points per game, however, they have been a below-average team defensively as they are allowing an average of 76.29 points per game which is more than the national average of 71.3 points per game. Mark Sears has played a pivotal role in the success that the Crimson Tide has had on offense as he leads the team in scoring and assists with an average of 20.7 points and 4 assists per game. Alabama will look to bounce back following their loss against the Clemson Tigers when they play against one of the worst defensive teams in college basketball this season when they host the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

BookMaker has the Alabama Crimson Tide listed as 22.5-point favorites at home against the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Monday night. These teams have only played one other time which occurred in the 2016-17 college basketball season and resulted in a 67-52 win for the Alabama Crimson Tide at home while covering the 6.5-point spread as a favorite. The Arkansas State Red Wolves are 3-5 ATS overall, 1-3 ATS on the road, and 1-3 ATS as an underdog this season while the Alabama Crimson Tide are 4-3 ATS overall, 4-1 ATS at home, and 4-3 ATS as a favorite on the year.

Alabama is one of the better teams in college basketball this season and has been the highest-scoring team this season while the Arkansas State Red Wolves have been one of the worst defensive teams. The Crimson Tide have also been the better team at covering the spread this season as they are 4-3 ATS overall and 4-1 ATS at home while the Red Wolves are 3-5 ATS overall and 1-3 ATS on the road which is why I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the Alabama Crimson Tide when they host the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Monday night.