Jump to content

Alabama - Preview


JwgreDeux

Recommended Posts

This one should be fun, let's jump right in. This is not the bama team of Grant or Avery, this one likes to get up and down and get into shoot-outs. They also, don't like to play much defense and this looks to be . a pretty high scoring matchup. Bama leads the SEC in team scoring at 83 per game, and we are right behind them at 81 per game. Offensively, these teams are very evenly matched with bama getting more outside scoring and AU doing more damage from 2. However, we have an advantage in the turnover area that could prove to be the difference. We average 12.9 turnovers per game, and bama averages 15.5, we need to win this battle within the game as much as any other area. Both teams are solid rebounding teams and it will be important for us to keep this battle tight as well. 

Where the stats start to show some separation is on the defensive end. Bama allows opponents to score 78.7 pts a game, while AU is at 66.3 per game. Alabama has allowed two teams to score 100+ on them (one in OT). They allow 12+ assist per game (AU allows 10), they allow their opponents to shoot 42% (AU is at 40%), and this trend continues across the board. bama isn't in the top 100 in almost any defensive statistic, while AU is in the top 100 in many areas. 

 

Petty and Lewis lead them in most categories, including scoring, rebounding, assists, minutes, steals. Those two are the key to this bama team. Shackelford can score and Jones is a good contributor as well, but bama will not beat us if we hold Petty and Lewis both in check. Between the two of them they score and generate offense for the rest of the group, but they also each have some turnover issues at times. I am optimistic our guards and wings will be able to pressure them into some turnovers, and limit Petty's ability to get open jumpshots, but Lewis is my biggest concern. He can drive the ball and create disruption. If he gets going we could be in trouble. I don't think Samir is quick enough to handle him so McCormick will need one of his better defensive efforts. It will be interesting how we approach these two. I think Lewis is the more difficult matchup. 

Bama doesn't block a lot of shots and dont have the rim protectors they have had in the past. I honestly don't think we will have much trouble scoring unless we are careless with the ball or we settle too much for outside shots. I expect us to continue driving the ball, drawing fouls and getting second chance points. 

This will be a tough test, but if we are able to to keep up our defensive intensity, the bama team has shown some mental lapses and folded in a few games. I expect a tight game, but I also think there is an outside chance we could open this one up if bama isn't making outside shots. 

 

War Eagle!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites





We are 2.5 pt favorites and the over/under is 160. So many expect a close high scoring game tonight. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keys to the game:

  • +3 or better in turnover battle
  • even or better in rebounding battle
  • force the ball out of Lewis's hands with pressure
  • force Petty to shoot contested shots (don't help off him)
  • most importantly play under control. Don't let the rivalry aspect force us into trying to do too much. This is a factor I'm worried about with some of the pre-game chatter.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can tell by all the talk that our toughness  Will be what will be tested most tonight at T-town.  Oates referred to Anthony’s comments  made at the beginning of the year of he got most pleasure of beating Bama.  He said “ we will see”. I am sure that he has used that to pump up his players. 
So it will be can Au get past Bama emotionally 1st then wear them down

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we defend the 3, play like we did vs the leghumpers, it will be a win. Any conference win on the road is tough, and this one definitely will be. And I must add that we better be ready to be screwed over by the refs all game long. That's the only certainty going into the game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Might be a very very physical game if Oates has been encouraging the rivalry point

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The amped up energy can help or work against both teams. Unlike football a change in possession doesn’t give a player a chance to come off the field and settle down. Players will have to adjust in-game and our seniors have been through it all. I hope they handle it well. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This UAt team is going to be like every other team that we play.  AU is on top right now and they want to be the team that knocks us off.  And we have to be...

 

Image result for bring it  the rock gif"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mustache eagle said:

What is their bench like vs ours?

They go with an old church style, cheap laminated shiny ‘70’s crap that someone’s Grandma got second hand from the flea market. We go with thick cushioned, high quality folded chairs. Appropriate lumbar support, stylish yet practical. Preferably with the AU logo. :) 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reveiw:

Well there isn't a whole lot to say other than we got caught up in the rivalry aspect of this game and didn't play our game. We didn't move the ball, we did move well on defense, we didn't make open shots, we didn't make free throws, we turned the ball over at a high rate (something I was concerned about), and we didn't play with composure. 

I was at the game, and we had multiple players engaging with the student section, gesturing at the crowd during the game and time outs. Purifoy and Doughty were both engaging with the crowd during periods of warm-ups and it is what it is. 

We laid and egg, got our lunch handed to us and now we need to learn and move on. 

Credit to bama, even with our terrible play, we cut it to 2 or 3 in the second half before Lewis took over and put it away. With McCormick in foul trouble and Samir playing the worst game I have seen him play, we had nobody to initiate the offense. Biggest take away and disappointment for me is we let the rivalry get to us mentally. I expected our seniors to handle it better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, JwgreDeux said:

I expected our seniors to handle it better.

This is disappointing...especially that is was the two who are supposed to be leaders. Both Samir and Danjel needed to be humbled.

What are your thoughts on our inability to finish near the basket? It looked to me that Bama decided they were better off fouling us and forcing FT's than letting us finish lay ups or dunks. It seems like our guys should expect to be fouled going up for a dunk or layup, yet they do it so softly. Cambridge's disrupted breakaway dunk really frustrated me, but perhaps that's just harder to do than it looks. Wiley often looks like he should be able to finish dunks only to get them knocked out of his hand in the last second.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, AUTigersfan89 said:

This is disappointing...especially that is was the two who are supposed to be leaders. Both Samir and Danjel needed to be humbled.

What are your thoughts on our inability to finish near the basket? It looked to me that Bama decided they were better off fouling us and forcing FT's than letting us finish lay ups or dunks. It seems like our guys should expect to be fouled going up for a dunk or layup, yet they do it so softly. Cambridge's disrupted breakaway dunk really frustrated me, but perhaps that's just harder to do than it looks. Wiley often looks like he should be able to finish dunks only to get them knocked out of his hand in the last second.

At this point, it was one game so I'm not sure we should over react to it. However, we did miss several good looks from close in. We simply didn't finish or make good decisions with the ball. We got penetration several times and committed charges, we had several offensive rebound put backs that didn't fall, and we didn't have anyone step up. Okoro had 1 point in the second half, it wasn't just Samir and Doughty, McCormick had a poor night as well. 

We didn't play with the movement, energy and intensity that has been the identity of this team so far.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...