One of the most intriguing matchups of the Big 12/SEC Challenge will have No. 12 Oklahoma traveling to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama.
College basketball fans have had this one circled on their calendars for a while because of the matchup between two of the nation’s best point guards in Oklahoma’s Trae Young and Alabama’s Collin Sexton.
The clash between the two freshman should be special since both are currently projected to be lottery picks in June’s NBA draft. Naturally, both of them will want to show the country that they are worthy of being the first point guard selected.
Young leads the country in both scoring (30.3 ppg) and assists (9.6 apg), while Sexton is the third in the SEC in scoring (18.5 ppg).
Fans will be expecting a show from the point guards, but Avery Johnson will be more concerned with earning a season-altering win against a ranked opponent.
The roof isn’t caving in on Alabama’s NCAA Tournament hopes just yet, but the Tide can’t afford too many losses. Such is life when your team is hanging around near the tournament bubble.
If Alabama can manage a win against the Sooners, it’ll own wins against both the best team in the SEC (Auburn) and quite possibly the best team in the Big 12.
That will go a long way on Selection Sunday.
Here’s how Alabama can manage to earn the win against Lon Kruger’s squad.
Sell out defending the 3-pointer
Alabama has the length on the perimeter to slow down teams that primarily shoot the three, and it has to be the focus of its defense.
Some of the Crimson Tide’s best games defending the 3-point shot have come against teams that were specifically great at shooting them, such as Auburn and BYU.
Some of their worst games defending the 3-point shot have come against teams that weren’t great at shooting them, such as Vanderbilt and Georgia.
The point is, if Alabama game plans around stopping the three, it has generally been more successful.
This must be the case against Oklahoma.
Of course Young will be the focal point of the defense, but the Sooners have five players that shoot better than 40 percent from the 3-point line.
To drive home how impressive that is, Alabama only has one.
Almost 40 percent of Oklahoma’s scoring comes from beyond the arc, so the Tide will need to lower that percentage to have a shot to win.
Slow the game down
If you’ve watched Oklahoma this year, then you know that Kruger’s team plays fast.
In fact, the Sooners have the third shortest possession length average in the country. They currently shoot in less than 14 seconds per possession.
Meanwhile, Alabama’s possessions have been slower lately. With Sexton injured (and let’s face it, playing poorly in the games before and since the injury), the Tide has reverted to a slower pace, averaging over 17 seconds each possession in SEC play.
The good news is that the team has found success at that pace as well.
Alabama doesn’t need to try to outrun one of the fastest teams in the country. If it tries to do that, Young’s statistics will look similar to how they’ve looked all season, which will likely result in a loss for the Tide.
Let the big dogs eat
Sexton and Donta Hall played less than half the game against Ole Miss on Wednesday, and neither of them started after coming off injury.
Sexton didn’t have a great game, finishing just 2 of 13 from the field, but it could have been used as a time to let the most talented player on the team work through his struggles.
He also only got to the line a single time, which is a rarity for the star freshman. Unfortunately, it might not get any better this game since Oklahoma garners the sixth least number of foul calls in the country.
To be fair, five big 12 teams are in the top 50 in this category while the SEC has zero teams in the top 50. Clearly, there are more fouls called in the SEC.
Meanwhile, Hall had his greatest stretch of minutes of the year against Ole Miss. If his performance was extrapolated over the full 40-minute game, he would have posted career highs in points (33) and rebounds (16).
Clearly, he’ll never get 40 minutes as a big man, but those numbers show his potential impact with increased playing time.
For Alabama to reach their maximum potential in this type of game, it’ll need its best players to be on the floor.