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By Brett Hudson
Senior Sports Reporter
@Brett_Hudson
Last season, head coach Anthony Grant transformed his team into a completely new beast at the beginning of Southeastern Conference play, following a mediocre non-conference schedule with a 12-4 SEC record, including a perfect 8-0 at home.
With the expectations raised this season, Alabama has one of the most difficult schedules in the SEC. The Tide has to go to Lexington to face Kentucky and play in several marquee home games.
The Home Game of the Year: Florida, Feb. 14
Last season, Alabama traveled to Gainesville and suffered a 71-58 loss to the Gators, struggling to match up with seniors Chandler Parsons and Alex Tyus. The firepower Tyus and Parsons brought to the Gators has been adequately replaced, and possibly improved upon, by Kenny Boynton and true freshman Bradley Beal.
Boynton is averaging 18.9 points per game, whereas Beal is at 14.3 after making four of six three-point attempts in his last outing against Georgia.
The matchup with the Gators could be the proverbial meeting of the unstoppable force and the immovable object. Florida’s offense is sixth in the nation in scoring, averaging more than 82 points per game, while Grant’s philosophy has the Tide allowing less than 56 points per game.
The Close Runner-Up: Vanderbilt, Jan. 19
The Commodores will make a return trip to Tuscaloosa to give the Tide a chance to avenge last season’s controversial loss, which ended with a late out-of-bounds call on JaMychal Green.
Vanderbilt has had a season much like Alabama’s. The Commodores did well in nonconference play overall, netting a 10-4 record, but hit a cold streak, losing to Xavier, Louisville and Indiana State, as well as barely beating Davidson in a 20-day stretch.
The Commodores righted the ship behind the play of John Jenkins, averaging 19.9 points per game. His presence makes the game against Vanderbilt a difficult one for the Tide, forcing Alabama to take its young backcourt and guard one of the best guards in the SEC.
Honorable Mentions: Mississippi State and Tennessee
The Alabama-Tennessee basketball rivalry is a heated one, and should be another fun game to watch this season after Alabama’s overtime victory in Knoxville last season. At a quick glance, Tennessee’s nonconference season looks like a disappointing one.
What the 7-7 record does not show, though, is a team that battled with then-No. 6 Duke to the end of the game and forced a then-No. 8 Memphis team to double overtime. The Volunteers also suffered tight losses to then-No. 17 Pittsburgh, as well as a consistent conference champion and NCAA tournament team, Oakland.
Tennessee’s true merit showed in its SEC opener, hosting the then-No. 14 Florida Gators and winning, 67-56. Tennessee will prove to be a unique test, in that the Volunteers do not have one or two primary scorers that Alabama can key in on.
Tennessee scores by committee, with three players averaging more than 10 points a game, and another at 9.5, but no players over 15 points per game.
Mississippi State has been the surprise of the SEC this season after getting hot with a win in the Coaches for Cancer Classic. The Bulldogs have climbed up to No. 20 in the most recent polls, after 11 straight nonconference wins and a tough loss to No. 7 Baylor at the final buzzer.
Mississippi State’s inside-outside game could wreak havoc on Alabama’s defense, with Arnett Moultrie as a threat on the post and Dee Bost as a first-team All-SEC selection.
Moultrie is averaging a double-double this season, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Bost also averages 16 points per game and adds in three rebounds, four assists and two steals per game.
