Alabama may have won its season opener against Memphis last Friday, but the offseason’s most anticipated event—the debut of McDonald’s All-American point guard Collin Sexton—won’t happen until Tuesday night against Lipscomb.
Sexton, the prize of Alabama’s top 10 recruiting class, served a one game suspension for a violation of NCAA rules.
However, the return of Sexton doesn’t mean that the Crimson Tide will be at full strength.
Braxton Key and Ar’Mond Davis will remain out of the lineup. Senior forward Riley Norris’s status for the Lipscomb matchup is uncertain, but the word on Friday was that he participated fully with the team in practice at Annapolis.
The Crimson Tide will matchup with a quality Lipscomb team that already has two wins under its belt—a season-opening 98-83 win versus Division II’s Emory University, and a 77-70 victory over Morehead State.
The Bisons finished the 2016-2017 season with 20 wins, and they were picked second in this year’s Atlantic Sun preseason poll behind Florida Gulf Coast.
Players to Watch
Garrison Mathews (Lipscomb)
To say that Lipscomb’s offense runs through Mathews would be an understatement.
Undoubtedly, the 6’5 junior guard likes the number 31: he has put up 31 field goal attempts and 31 free throw attempts on his way to averaging exactly 31 points per game.
Matthews, the ASUN’s leading returning scorer, has been lighting it up from three as well, shooting 53 percent from deep so far.
Rob Marberry (Lipscomb)
Marberry is a 6’7 forward who is averaging a double-double of 15 points and 11.5 rebounds so far this season.
Marberry isn’t a stretch 4 like is popular in today’s game. He hasn’t attempted a 3-pointer this season, but he does a nice job of protecting the rim with three blocks in each game.
Collin Sexton (Alabama)
Who else? All eyes, including those of NBA scouts, are going to be on Sexton in his collegiate debut.
Sexton’s speed on the court will be a game changer for Alabama, a team that was one of the slowest in the NCAA a year ago.
Sexton was a wildly entertaining player in high school, often responding to the crowd and to his opponents. Avery Johnson has commented many times that he doesn’t plan on changing Sexton’s personality.
He wants the fire to remain and possibly infect some other Crimson Tide players.
Daniel Giddens (Alabama)
How did Giddens follow up an impressive exhibition in which he was the leading scorer (17 points) and rebounder (11 rebounds) for Alabama?
He grabbed a single rebound against Memphis. Yes, he had one rebound, and no other notable statistics despite starting the game.
Giddens played a total of five minutes and accumulated four fouls.
I expect his impact on the team to be much greater than that throughout the year. He’s too big, strong, and skilled.
If he stays out of foul trouble against Lipscomb, his stat line will look more like it did in the exhibition.
How Lipscomb Can Win
The Bisons will have to overcome Alabama’s size advantage by extending the Crimson Tide on defense. Lipscomb is currently shooting 40 percent from deep on the year and will need to remain near that clip if it wishes to knock off the Tide.
On defense, the Bisons will have to try and stay in front of Alabama’s long guards, who can get into the lane in multiple ways.
The Tide can blow past defenders with speed from Sexton and Avery Johnson Jr., or with power from bigger guards Dazon Ingram and John Petty.
If Lipscomb wants to win, they’ll have to make Alabama shoot from outside and hope the Tide doesn’t shoot as well as it did against Memphis.
How Alabama Can Win
Alabama needs to speed up the pace of the game and use its athletic advantage, especially with Sexton now in the lineup.
Lipscomb is giving up 77 points a game so far and it’s safe to say the competition hasn’t been SEC-level. If Alabama runs and shoots 40 percent from deep again, then the Tide could reach 100 points.
Fouls and free-throws kept Memphis in the game against Alabama on Friday. If the Tide can keep their players on the floor and out of foul trouble against Lipscomb, then they should be able to lock the Bisons down defensively.
It will also be imperative that Alabama use the length of guards like Ingram and Herbert Jones to close out on the perimeter and keep Lipscomb from shooting themselves into the game.
Prediction
Sexton will turn it over more than Avery Johnson will like, but will score more than 20 points in his debut.
The Crimson Tide will come out of the gate playing faster than fans are accustomed to seeing them play. It will be a back and forth game with both teams hurrying up and down the floor throughout the first half.
Eventually, Alabama’s superior athleticism and length will help them extend a second-half lead and the Tide will win a high-scoring game comfortably.
Phil’s Pick: Alabama 90, Lipscomb 74
Who wins on November 14?
- Alabama (93%, 50 Votes)
- Lipscomb (7%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 54
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