Charles Barkley Picks Alabama to Win NCAA Tournament: ‘It’s Painful’

Everyone is making their national championship picks before the start of March Madness this week, including the analysts covering the tournament. On Tuesday, Charles Barkley, who will be part of CBS and Turner’s coverage of the tournament, made his pick.

Barkley’s choice is a pretty obvious one, but it is also surprising considering where he went to school. The analyst is going with Alabama to cut down the nets.

“I’m picking, and this is painful for me to say, Roll Tide, National Champions,” Barkley said on The Next Round.

Barkley is Auburn basketball’s most famous alum, so picking rival Alabama to win it all is almost sacrilegious. The rivalry between the Tigers and Crimson Tide is one of the biggest and fiercest in college sports.

However, Alabama is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, so the Crimson Tide will likely be the most popular pick in brackets this week. Additionally, Auburn is just a No. 9 seed and is probably unlikely to make a Final Four run.