The Crimson Tide will host South Carolina on Tuesday night in its penultimate home tilt of the season. The last time the two teams met, Alabama fell 68-66 in Columbia, South Carolina when senior guard Levi Randolph’s last-ditch 3-pointer fell short.
“South Carolina is a team we faced earlier in the year,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. “They’re a physical team, extremely tough defensively. The way they pressure makes it difficult for you to run offense. For us, we better make sure we have a good understanding of taking care of the basketball, running offense and getting good shots. On the other side, they’re a team that plays really well in transition. They really try to attack. Their defense creates good offense [when] they attack you. So we’ve got to do a good job from a defensive standpoint of getting back and making sure we don’t give them easy baskets.”
When Alabama fell to the Gamecocks Jan. 13, junior guard Ricky Tarrant led the scoring with 15 points. This time, Tarrant will be unavailable, out for the eighth straight game with a leg injury. Grant said despite the loss of Tarrant, the team is in a better position to succeed on Tuesday night.
“Last time we played them, a couple of things stood out,” Grant said. “The rebounding, [but] I think we have become a better rebounding team. That will be a challenge, that we make sure we rebound the basketball. [Our] decision making against the pressure. We better do a good job in those two areas. We’re looking forward to the game tomorrow. I think our guys are ready after coming off a tough loss. Our guys are excited about a chance to get back on the floor.”
With Tarrant out, The Crimson Tide has been looking to freshman forward Riley Norris to shoulder more and more of the burden. Since Tarrant’s injury, Norris has scored in double digits twice, including a career-high 14-point performance against Georgia on Saturday.
“It’s hard to pick a point, but I’d have to say at the LSU game, from then on, I felt like I was gaining more trust for my teammates,” Norris said. “They’ve found me all year. That’s how I get most of my points. My teammates make the game easy for me. From then on, I gained more confidence, they got me more confidence for myself and it all got easier.”
Alabama (16-11, 6-8 SEC) will tip off against the Gamecocks (13-13, 4-10) at 6 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum. Attendees are encouraged to wear blue to support “Blue Out for Diabetes.” The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
