Technically, Alabama has already secured two wins in the Barclays Center Classic.
In regional play in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide used a record-setting night from John Petty to cruise by Alabama A&M before narrowly escaping a very talented UT-Arlington team with a last second defensive stop from Collin Sexton and Herbert Jones.
Now, Alabama heads to Brooklyn to face two formidable opponents, BYU and No. 14 Minnesota. The winner of the first game does not dictate the matchup in the second game since the matchups have been predetermined.
The Tide’s first opponent, BYU, is 3-1 including a decent road win at Princeton. The Cougars lone loss was last Saturday at home against UT-Arlington 89-75 but judging by the way that UTA challenged Alabama, BYU’s loss was nothing of which to be ashamed of.
Alabama will need to make use of its slogan and buckle up, because Dave Rose’s Cougars play extremely fast.
BYU had the fourth fastest offensive tempo in the country last season and already rank in the top 30 this season.
Game Details
Date: November 23 at LIU-Brooklyn (Steinberg Wellness Center)
Time: 2:30 PM EST
TV: Facebook Live
Players to Watch
John Petty (Alabama)
After putting on a shooting display never before seen in Coleman Coliseum last Friday, Petty disappointed in the following game against UTA, going only 2 of 10 from deep and 3 of 11 from the field.
He also was loose with the ball when passing at times which created some turnovers and several other near-turnovers. However, Avery Johnson had a lot of faith him, playing him 32 minutes in spite of his periodic struggles.
The best part of Petty’s outing on Tuesday however was that he never lost confidence. He continued to play aggressively on offense and looked for opportunities to score.
That’s why he is a great candidate for a bounce back game in an up-and-down affair against BYU.
Elijah Bryant (BYU)
Bryant, a former Elon transfer, has drastically improved his numbers this year after a solid sophomore campaign.
He’s currently shooting 44 percent from 3-point range after only shooting 27 percent last season.
In addition, he’s shooting an impressive 89 percent from the free-throw line, which is even better because he’s getting to the line often (35 attempts through only four games).
BYU’s offense runs through the 6’5 guard who takes 28 percent of the Cougars’ shot attempts.
Alabama will have to be careful to show their hands defensively to avoid fouls and keep Bryant out of the lane.
How Alabama Can Win
In years past, this would have been a battle of contrasting styles—BYU’s up-tempo attack versus Alabama’s slow, defensive-minded crawl. This year’s Alabama squad is different, though.
With the new freshmen involved, Alabama has shown early this year that they can win in a myriad of ways. They can run the floor and play fast or settle down and lock-in on defense.
The Tide need to take what BYU gives them. Alabama should be able to play at the break-neck speed of the Cougars and have success, but if not, then there’s no reason to panic.
Johnson will need to appraise the situation after about the first 10 minutes of the game and see how his team is handling the pace of the game. If the game isn’t going well, he’ll slow it down to a pace that’s more comfortable for his veteran players and try to grind out a win.
How BYU Can Win
BYU needs to shoot the ball well. The team’s 3-point percentage of 38 percent is solid, but the Cougars will likely need an even more stellar night from deep to stretch out the Tide and combat Alabama’s overall length.
The Cougars also need to get after the boards. In their two toughest games this season, BYU has been beaten soundly in rebounding margin. Yoeli Childs averages 7.8 rebounds per game and Bryant averages 5.5 but no one else averages more than five a game for the Cougars.
By contrast, Alabama has four guys that average at least 5.5 rebounds per game.
BYU will have to fight for what Avery Johnson has dubbed “dirty rebounds” if it wants to pull out a victory.
Prediction
This game will play faster than what long-time Alabama fans expect.
It will be an up-and-down shootout but Alabama will use big games from their two freshmen scorers—Sexton and Petty—to outrace the Cougars to victory.
Alabama will move to 5-0 before its top 25 showdown with Minnesota on Saturday.
Phil’s Prediction: Alabama 92, BYU 74