Alabama is playing its first “true” road game of the year, although some would argue that the game in Seattle, WA was a true road game for the Crimson Tide as they took on and defeated No. 5 Gonzaga.
This time, they’re playing a good team on their campus. Memphis comes in at No. 39 in the KenPom rankings, and the building is alive tonight as Alabama tries to extend their record to 9-1 against a tough team on the road.
The Tigers are currently leading 37-32, handing the Crimson Tide its biggest deficit at halftime of the season.
Alabama is shooting 44.8% from the floor, including just 25% from three. Only three 3PT shots have fallen for the Tide on 12 attempts. They’ve done well at the foul line, while not doing a great job of getting there. They’ve hit on 3-of-5.
Alabama needs to do a much better job of taking care of the ball in the second half. They turned the ball over 11 times in the first half.
This time around, the Tide has cleaned up the boards a lot better, allowing just five offensive boards while collecting six themselves.
The Crimson Tide is led in scoring by both Darius Miles and Keon Ellis, who each have six points. Tonight’s rebounding leader for Alabama so far is Jahvon Quinerly, surprisingly, with five boards.
Freshman guard JD Davison has done a phenomenal job dishing the rock in this game, he’s recorded seven assists, and while he has just two points on the night so far, expect Oats to plan to secure him some opportunities in the second half.
Defensively, Alabama is allowing 50% shooting from the floor. The Tigers are shooting 35% from beyond the arc and 66.7% from the free-throw line. They’ve gotten to the charity stripe even more sparingly than the Crimson Tide, booking just three shots from the foul line.
Landers Nolley II leads Memphis in scoring with 11 points. He’s also recorded a couple of assists.
Expect the Crimson Tide to jump off quickly in the second half. Nate Oats is not shy in making adjustments.
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