Alabama looks to keep its momentum going in Charleston when it takes on Wichita State on Sunday afternoon.
The Crimson Tide bounced back from their loss to Northeastern with a convincing 79-61 victory over Ball State.
Meanwhile, the Shockers have wins over Providence and Appalachian State this season while suffering losses to Louisiana Tech and Davidson.
Let’s run through what to watch for in this intriguing matchup.
Game Details
- Alabama (3-1) vs. Wichita State (2-2)
- Location: TD Arena – Charleston, SC (Charleston Classic)
- Game Date: Nov. 18
- Game Time: 1:30 p.m. EST
- Watch: ESPNU
Players to Watch
Tevin Mack (Alabama)
The Texas transfer had his first breakout performance for the Tide in the win over Ball State, scoring 20 points and knocking down 5 of 9 attempts from 3-point range.
Mack scored in double figures in 11 of the 15 games that he played during the ’17-18 season with the Longhorns, and he could certainly develop into one of Alabama’s top scorers this year.
John Petty (Alabama)
Petty had just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting against the Cardinals after going for 17 points in the loss to Northeastern.
There’s no doubt that the 6-5 sophomore has the tools necessary to be a huge scoring threat once again, but he has to find more consistency in away games to reach that elite elite level (18.5 percent from long range in SEC road games in ’17-18).
Markis McDuffie (Wichita State)
It was inevitable that McDuffie would be Wichita State’s top offensive option this season after losing so many major contributors from last year’s squad.
He’s averaging 20.5 points per game thus far while shooting 51.9 percent from beyond the arc (14 of 27 attempts).
McDuffie went off for 32 points in the win over Providence and most recently had a 24-point outing in the victory against Appalachian State.
Key Stats
There are a couple of areas that each team will likely look to take advantage of.
Wichita State is shooting 37.1 percent from 3-point land (99th nationally), which is a promising statistic when going up against an Alabama team that is allowing opponents to shoot 39.3 from long range (288th nationally).
As for the Tide, they should be able to use their size advantage to attack the glass once again, with Avery Johnson’s squad earning a 36.4 percent offensive rebounding percentage to this point.
And believe it or not, Alabama also has the edge here in free-throw shooting.
The Tide shoot just 65.3 percent from the charity stripe, but the Shockers have been significantly worse at 57.1 percent.
Game Outlook
- Spread: Alabama – 3.5
- Over/Under: 141
- KenPom Projection: Alabama, 57 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Alabama, 75.2 percent chance to win
I’m fairly certain that Alabama has been favored by around three in every game of this tournament, with one result being a blowout loss and the other being a blowout win.
That should tell you something about where things stand with the Tide right now.
If Alabama plays with the energy it did against Ball State, it should result in a victory. If it plays with the energy it did against Northeastern, it will almost certainly result in a loss.
The last three games between these two teams have been decided by five points or less, and I’d expect no different here.
I liked what I saw from Alabama in responding to the ugly Northeastern loss, and statistically, there are some glaring weaknesses for the Shockers.
But for some reason, this feels like a good setup for Gregg Marshall’s group with the extra day of preparation.
However, this is a less than confident pick in a game that should once again be decided by only a few points.
Season Prediction Record (straight up): 35-5
Game Prediction: Wichita State 73, Alabama 70
For more SEC basketball coverage, follow me on Twitter @theblakelovell.