The 1986-87 basketball team will be honored tonight as Alabama faces the struggling Missouri Tigers tonight. Missouri has lost 8 in a row while Bama has won 6 of their last 8. A chance to go 4-1 in conference as well. Let's meet the opponent the Missouri Tigers:
Missouri Tigers 5-11 (0-4)
Offense: 70 ppg
Defense: 70 ppg
Last 5 games (0-5)
L @ Arkansas 92-77
L Auburn 77-72
L @ UGA 71-66
L LSU 88-77
L Lipscomb 81-76
Leading scorer: Jordan Barnett 12 ppg
Leading rebounder: Jordan Barnett 7 rpg
Lead assist man: Terrence Phillips 4 apg
Missouri is in dead last in the SEC at 0-4, but that record can be slightly deceiving. They have been playing of late as they took UGA and AU to the wire recently. They are the 2nd best rebounding team in the conference, but 13th in scoring offense, only ahead of Alabama. Jordan Barnett, a Texas transfer, is their best player. He is their leading scorer and rebounder and they go as he goes. Terrence Phillips is their do-it-all player averaging 9 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists a game as a PG which is impressive.
Notable SEC statistical rankings
Scoring:
Missouri 13th at 70 ppg
Bama 14th at 68 ppg
Rebounding:
Missouri 2nd at 40 rpg
Bama 6th at 39 rpg
3 point FG %:
Missouri 14th at 26%
Bama 12th at 31%
As you can tell, this will be a low scoring game.
X Factors
Missouri:
Rebounding. They are the 2nd best rebounding team in the conference and they will need that production tonight. They cannot let Bama get 20+ 2nd chance points tonight. Bama crashes the offensive glass better than any team in the conference I've seen besides U.K. Making Alabama shoot jump shots instead of putback dunks or layups will be huge.
Alabama:
Outside shooting. Alabama went on a 3 point shooting run in the 2nd half, and when I say Alabama I mean Collins and Norris. Can they match that performance? No. However we need more 3 point production from guys not named Collins and Norris. We cannot shoot 28 threes every game and expect to win like last game, but if they are open, we need to shoot them and convert at a good rate. It'll be interesting if we can stay hot.
Prediction:
This will be a slow, potentially miserable game with the two worst offenses in the SEC. Whoever wins the battle of the boards will win this game, and even though Missouri is a top 2 rebounding team, they haven't faced a team as long and physical as Bama yet. I say Bama wins the battle of the boards and ultimately the game.
Bama 72 Missouri 61
Missouri Tigers 5-11 (0-4)
Offense: 70 ppg
Defense: 70 ppg
Last 5 games (0-5)
L @ Arkansas 92-77
L Auburn 77-72
L @ UGA 71-66
L LSU 88-77
L Lipscomb 81-76
Leading scorer: Jordan Barnett 12 ppg
Leading rebounder: Jordan Barnett 7 rpg
Lead assist man: Terrence Phillips 4 apg
Missouri is in dead last in the SEC at 0-4, but that record can be slightly deceiving. They have been playing of late as they took UGA and AU to the wire recently. They are the 2nd best rebounding team in the conference, but 13th in scoring offense, only ahead of Alabama. Jordan Barnett, a Texas transfer, is their best player. He is their leading scorer and rebounder and they go as he goes. Terrence Phillips is their do-it-all player averaging 9 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists a game as a PG which is impressive.
Notable SEC statistical rankings
Scoring:
Missouri 13th at 70 ppg
Bama 14th at 68 ppg
Rebounding:
Missouri 2nd at 40 rpg
Bama 6th at 39 rpg
3 point FG %:
Missouri 14th at 26%
Bama 12th at 31%
As you can tell, this will be a low scoring game.
X Factors
Missouri:
Rebounding. They are the 2nd best rebounding team in the conference and they will need that production tonight. They cannot let Bama get 20+ 2nd chance points tonight. Bama crashes the offensive glass better than any team in the conference I've seen besides U.K. Making Alabama shoot jump shots instead of putback dunks or layups will be huge.
Alabama:
Outside shooting. Alabama went on a 3 point shooting run in the 2nd half, and when I say Alabama I mean Collins and Norris. Can they match that performance? No. However we need more 3 point production from guys not named Collins and Norris. We cannot shoot 28 threes every game and expect to win like last game, but if they are open, we need to shoot them and convert at a good rate. It'll be interesting if we can stay hot.
Prediction:
This will be a slow, potentially miserable game with the two worst offenses in the SEC. Whoever wins the battle of the boards will win this game, and even though Missouri is a top 2 rebounding team, they haven't faced a team as long and physical as Bama yet. I say Bama wins the battle of the boards and ultimately the game.
Bama 72 Missouri 61
