Alabama scored early and often in cruising to a 14-67 victory over Alabama A&M at Coleman Coliseum.
The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 51-22 lead at halftime and never looked back in scoring their third straight win to start the season.
Of course, it was how Alabama scored that was most impressive.
Freshman guard John Petty scored 30 points and connected on 10 of 13 shots from the 3-point line to set a program record.
Every game there's something new at @AlabamaMBB. Tonight John Petty sets a school record with ? 3-PT field goals. Grab a seat because this is going to be an awesome ride! #BuckleUp pic.twitter.com/RDwlEFBxwY
— Alabama Athletics (@UA_Athletics) November 18, 2017
As if that wasn’t enough, fellow freshman Collin Sexton poured in 25 points and added five assists and four rebounds.
Amari Goulbourne paced Alabama A&M with 17 points.
Alabama shot 63 percent for the game and knocked down 16 3-pointers on the night.
Lovell’s Analysis
Sure, Alabama A&M isn’t exactly Kentucky, but this was still quite the display from the Crimson Tide’s young studs.
It was clear this summer that Avery Johnson was going to have a hard time keeping Petty off the floor due to his tremendous shooting ability, and this game was evidence of that.
And then there’s Sexton, who once again made everything go offensively.
His presence on the court makes things so much easier for everyone, and if you don’t believe me, just ask Petty. It’s Sexton’s incredible court vision and awareness that allows him to create opportunities for everyone else, and that will continue to be the main theme of this offense throughout the year.
Of course, it also doesn’t hurt when he’s wowing the crowd with shots like this:
#SCtop10 'Nuff said. ?#RollTide #BuckleUphttps://t.co/nEQYQSLWAg
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 18, 2017
Elsewhere on the freshman front, I thought both Alex Reese and Herbert Jones had nice outings. Reese scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds in 23 minutes, while Jones added seven points and eight rebounds.
A game like this doesn’t tell us much in terms of Alabama’s potential ability to win an SEC title this season, but it does give us more proof that this young group of talent has a chance to be pretty special.
Sexton is the game-changer that we all thought he’d be, and Petty’s outside shooting will be a huge asset going forward.
And once the Tide get important contributors like Braxton Key and Riley Norris back on the floor, it’ll make this team even more dangerous.
Free throws are still a concern – the Tide followed up a 12 of 32 performance against Lipscomb by going 8 of 15 from the line in this game – but the positives certainly outweigh the negatives.
The competition takes a big step up next week when Alabama hosts a very good UT Arlington squad before heading to Brooklyn for the Barclays Classic.
That group of teams will present some challenges that the Crimson Tide haven’t seen thus far, but Johnson’s well-balanced team looks ready to take on all comers at this point.