Surprising BYU will face a high-scoring SEC team Thursday in a Sweet 16 matchup in New Jersey

A pair of schools mostly known for their football prowess will get together Thursday in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game in Newark, New Jersey.

Surprising sixth-seed BYU (26-9) learned Sunday it will face the SEC’s Alabama (27-8), the East Region’s No. 2 seed, at Prudential Center in the first Sweet Sixteen game of the week.

That was determined when the Crimson Tide drubbed BYU’s former WCC foe Saint Mary’s 80-66 on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.

BYU advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 2011 with a 91-89 win over Wisconsin Saturday night in Denver.

Shortly after his club trounced Saint Mary’s, Alabama coach Nate Oats said he has kept a fairly close eye on BYU all season because of first-year Cougars coach Kevin Young.

“Shoot, I mean, Kevin has done an unbelievable job this year. They have played an NBA style. They space the floor. We are going to have to really guard. They are good,” Oats said on the television broadcast.

“I have watched them a little bit because I was interested to see what he did in college, but I gotta get locked in and watch a lot more.”

Alabama and BYU have a few common opponents this year. The Tide edged Houston 85-80 on Nov. 26 at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas; Houston smoked BYU twice, once at Fertitta Center and once in the Big 12 semifinals in Kansas City.

Additionally, Alabama lost at home to Ole Miss 74-64 on Jan. 14; BYU lost to Ole Miss 96-85 in overtime in San Diego on Thanksgiving Day.

Kenpom.com gives Bama, which is No. 6 in its rankings, a 66% chance to beat BYU, predicting an 89-84 win for the team from Tuscaloosa.

BYU’s Kenpom.com ranking is 22.

Alabama’s balance was on full display against SMC, as six players reached double figures, scoring between 10 and 13 points. The Tide became the first team to score 80 points on coach Randy Bennett’s team all season.

Guard Chris Youngblood led the way with 13 points and was 3 of 3 from the 3-point line. Alabama was 7 of 17 from beyond the arc.

It will be only the third matchup all-time on the hardwoods between the schools some 1,800 miles apart. Television commentators predicted a “track meet” on Thursday, as Bama and BYU are two of the highest-scoring teams in the country.

Alabama won the previous two meetings, 77-74 in 1957-58 in Tuscaloosa and 71-59 in 2017-18 in Brooklyn, New York.