Bama Basketball Breakdown: South Carolina

After a dominant second half performance on the road in Oxford earlier this week, the Alabama Crimson Tide return to the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum Saturday night looking to extend their current SEC win streak to four games. Nate Oats’ squad has gotten a lot healthier in recent weeks (although TBB is out again tonight) and is starting to stack wins and create some real momentum at the right time, as we are just two weeks out from March. With only a single NCAA Tournament-quality team on the schedule in the next four conference games, there’s a great chance the Tide will keep things rolling here.

At the very least, the Tide will look good attempting to do so:

That’s right, the 2024 Throwbacks are back, with a slight variation of Basketball Al on the right short leg. Not going to lie, these are beautiful. Excited to see the fellas rocking these threads Saturday night.

How to Watch

What: South Carolina Gamecocks (11-13, 2-9 SEC) at Alabama Crimson Tide (17-7, 7-4 SEC)

Where: The Hanger, Tuscaloosa, AL

When: 7:30 PM CST

TV: SEC Network

Line: Alabama -16.5

There’s really no gentle way of saying it – South Carolina is the worst team in the SEC. Lamont Paris may not be coaching in Columbia for much longer. In their last nine games, the Gamecocks have only won once – a home victory over the team they are tied in last with, the Oklahoma Sooners. It’s just not a very talented basketball team. Guard Meechie Johnson and Forward Elijah Strong can both be dangerous at times, but if they aren’t making an impact, it’s tough sledding for the ‘Cocks. And they certainly don’t make up for it on defense or the glass.

Three Keys to Victory

• Keep it Hot from Three. After a dreadful 2/18 start from the three-point line against the Rebels the other night, Alabama got scalding hot and finished 17/45. For the math wizards in the room, that means the Tide ended the game shooting 15/27, or 55.6%. Latrell Wrightsell – in particular – went nuclear, finishing 7/13 for the game after a similarly rough start. The one thing South Carolina actually does well defensively is defend the arc. They are 54th in the country in 3P% allowed and 32nd in 3PA/FGA. So, this obviously becomes a major inflection point – if the Gamecocks can chase the Tide off of the line, they’ve got a shot. If they can’t…well…it becomes difficult to envision a scenario where they emerge victorious in Tuscaloosa.
• Own the Paint and the Glass. We got ourselves a rare situation where Alabama is actually the superior team on the boards. South Carolina is about as bad of a rebounding team as there is in the SEC – 276th in OREB% and 235th in OREB% allowed. They have decent size across the board but don’t play any true big men. This also shows up in their blocked shots stats, where they are 337th in BLK% defensively and 334th in that same metric when they have the ball. In other words, they are about as soft of a team as you’ll find in the frontcourt.
• Take Care of Business. I’m truly struggling to find ways that South Carolina can win this game. It would require Alabama playing like total trash for the full length of the game – turnovers, missed free throws, etc. Or multiple Gamecocks having career nights. Or both. Sure, they are a high major opponent, which means they have a certain level of talent and athleticism that can keep them competitive, but as long as Alabama brings an average form of their usual game, this should be as comfortable of a win as the Tide will experience in conference play this year.

Alabama has owned the series with South Carolina all time, and I really just don’t see a whole lot of reason to believe that will change tonight. It’s basketball and anything can happen, but a loss tonight would be a major disaster. Hopefully, the new threads will get the guys amped up and ready to keep that win streak rolling ahead of a potential ranked showdown with Arkansas in Coleman on Wednesday.