The wait is finally over. The most highly anticipated Alabama basketball season kicks off today at 5:30 CT against Memphis on the Naval Academy base in Annapolis, MD. This will be a challenging game for Alabama due to having four scholarship players unavailable for the game, but one they should win. If Alabama is wanting to be a consistent power in basketball, these are the games where it will show. You have the odds stacked against you, being down nearly half your team and facing a team you should beat. Let's preview the Memphis Tigers:
Memphis Tigers:
Memphis finished 19-9 last season, but this is an entirely new squad from that year. There has been turmoil between now former players and new head coach Tubby Smith, Memphis only returns three players from last season and their returning leading scorer only averaged 10 points a game last season. They're going to have to find a way to replace 45 points a game that is not coming back. They have eight new scholarship players (5 JUCO, 3 freshmen), so it's really difficult to preview a team when nobody truly knows what to expect. Two players to keep an eye on are Jeremiah Martin and Kareem Brewton Jr. Martin is a 6'3 G who is their leader in points, assists, and steals coming back. Brewton Jr. was a first team All-American at Eastern Florida St CC who averaged 20 PPG.
X Factors:
Memphis:
They key for Memphis is controlling the paint. They are a big team with seven players who are over 6'7, so they have to win the rebuilding battle in order to win. They lost a lot of outside shooting and figures to struggle in that aspect this season. Which makes producing in the paint that much more important. You'll see if these freshmen and JUCO players are ready for the culture shock of competing with grown men like Daniel Giddens and Donta Hall.
Alabama:
I'm taking the opposite key factor Alabama and saying its outside shooting is the key to their victory. They did not shoot from 3 well at all against UAH, but I will credit that to coming out flat because of the Sexton news prior to the game. Now that they know the ruling and he will play after this game, look for them to come out and play loose. Petty, Herbert, and Ingram all should be 35%+ 3 point shooters this season, and I believe you'll see that on display today.
Closing thoughts:
This is a game Alabama should win, and has to win if they want to make it in the big dance. The NCAA committee will take into consideration they were down four players, but it will look even more impressive if they win without them. If you're a good team, you beat teams you're supposed to no matter the circumstances. Watch the first 10 minutes closely. It will give you a quick determination on who is more ready to play and take this game.
Prediction:
Alabama 74 Memphis 66
Memphis Tigers:
Memphis finished 19-9 last season, but this is an entirely new squad from that year. There has been turmoil between now former players and new head coach Tubby Smith, Memphis only returns three players from last season and their returning leading scorer only averaged 10 points a game last season. They're going to have to find a way to replace 45 points a game that is not coming back. They have eight new scholarship players (5 JUCO, 3 freshmen), so it's really difficult to preview a team when nobody truly knows what to expect. Two players to keep an eye on are Jeremiah Martin and Kareem Brewton Jr. Martin is a 6'3 G who is their leader in points, assists, and steals coming back. Brewton Jr. was a first team All-American at Eastern Florida St CC who averaged 20 PPG.
X Factors:
Memphis:
They key for Memphis is controlling the paint. They are a big team with seven players who are over 6'7, so they have to win the rebuilding battle in order to win. They lost a lot of outside shooting and figures to struggle in that aspect this season. Which makes producing in the paint that much more important. You'll see if these freshmen and JUCO players are ready for the culture shock of competing with grown men like Daniel Giddens and Donta Hall.
Alabama:
I'm taking the opposite key factor Alabama and saying its outside shooting is the key to their victory. They did not shoot from 3 well at all against UAH, but I will credit that to coming out flat because of the Sexton news prior to the game. Now that they know the ruling and he will play after this game, look for them to come out and play loose. Petty, Herbert, and Ingram all should be 35%+ 3 point shooters this season, and I believe you'll see that on display today.
Closing thoughts:
This is a game Alabama should win, and has to win if they want to make it in the big dance. The NCAA committee will take into consideration they were down four players, but it will look even more impressive if they win without them. If you're a good team, you beat teams you're supposed to no matter the circumstances. Watch the first 10 minutes closely. It will give you a quick determination on who is more ready to play and take this game.
Prediction:
Alabama 74 Memphis 66
