Alabama will tip off the 2018-19 season on Tuesday against Southern at Coleman Coliseum.
Avery Johnson obviously has familiarity with the opposition having played at the school from 1986 to 1988.
The Jaguars feature a new head coach in Sean Woods, who served as an assistant at Stetson last season after resigning as head coach of Morehead State in 2016.
Let’s run through the players to watch and key stats entering this matchup.
Game Details
- Southern at Alabama
- Location: Coleman Coliseum – Tuscaloosa, AL
- Game Date: Nov. 6
- Game Time: 8.p.m. EST
- Watch: SEC Network+
Players to Watch
John Petty (Alabama)
Petty will undoubtedly be the focal point of Alabama’s offense this season, as the sophomore has the tools to provide a consistent scoring threat.
He averaged 10.2 points and knocked down 90 3-pointers as a freshman while playing 28.5 minutes per game.
Petty’s biggest struggles last season came on the road, where he shot just 18.5 percent from long range in SEC away games.
That shouldn’t be an issue in this particular game, but if he wants to become one of the better scorers in the conference, he’ll need to continue adding more elements to his offensive repertoire.
Tevin Mack (Alabama)
The Texas transfer is now eligible after sitting out last season, and like Petty, he’s expected to be a big part of the offense.
Mack averaged 14.8 points and shot 39.1 percent from long distance for the Longhorns during the ’16-17 season, and that outside threat should be welcomed on a team that finished 292nd nationally in 3-point shooting last year.
He played 20 minutes in the Crimson Tide’s exhibition win over Montevallo and contributed seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Key Stats
Woods’ first order of business with his new team will likely be significantly improving the offense after Southern finished 339th nationally in field-goal percentage (40.3 percent).
Meanwhile, Alabama fans would love to see the Tide make progress from the charity stripe after another 300+ ranking nationally in that category (67.0 percent).
Game Outlook
- KenPom Projection: Alabama, 99 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Alabama, 96.1 percent chance to win
Alabama was one of the nation’s most efficient defensive teams last year, and that should bode well against a SWAC side that struggled mightily on offense.
Johnson and his staff should be able to try out some different rotations while seeing how newcomers like Mack and 5-star freshman Kira Lewis fit into the equation in a real game setting.
For more SEC basketball coverage, follow me on Twitter @theblakelovell.