Count Zep Jasper among those cheering for Alabama when the No. 1 overall seed Crimson Tide takes the floor Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Never mind, of course, Jasper plays for Auburn.

Talk about your March Madness.

On Wednesday, the 6-foot-1 guard explained why he is cheering for Nate Oats’ club, which happens to be his team’s biggest rival.

“I’m actually cheering for Alabama,” he said. “I want to see them win. I want to see them have success because they’re another team from Alabama.”

Jasper goes on to explain he’s also cheering for the Tide’s biggest star.

“Brandon Miller’s a guy that reminds me of Paul Georgia,” he explained. “I’m pretty excited for him. This is his opportunity to show why he is one of the best players in college basketball.

“Nate Oats is having a great year with coaching. I’m rooting for them. I don’t know if they’ll be rooting for us, but, a guy like me, I like to root for people to have success.”

Both teams play first-round games in Birmingham on Thursday.

Alabama meets Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 1:45 p.m. (2:45 p.m. ET). The game will be live streamed on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. It will also be available for live stream on Paramount+, which offers a 7-day free trial. Alabama and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will be broadcast on CBS.

Auburn faces Iowa at 5:50 p.m. (6:50 p.m. ET). The game will be live streamed on SlingTV, which offers half off the first month. TNT will broadcast the game.

Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.