No time to celebrate last night’s huge 85-80 win over the No. 4 Houston Cougars. The Tide will have to rediscover their skills and shooting touch once again when they face Big Cliff’s old team, preseason Top 25 Rutgers. Because you just thought you were done with Big 10 basketball…

This is a little shortened: a tight turnaround and so on.

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History of the tape: Rutgers (4-1) vs. No. 6 Alabama (5-1)

Spread (Total): Alabama -10.5 (O/U 161.5)

Opponent KenPom: 78 (83 Attack, 85 Defense, 122 Speed)
Opponent Evan Miya: 78 (95 Attack, 73 Defense, 115 Speed)
Opponent Bart Torvik: 45 (45 Attack, 56 Defense, 149 Speed)
Opponent NET: Q2
Opponent’s best win: Notre Dame (No. 72)
Opponent’s worst loss: #167 Kennesaw State (Antoine Pettway!)

Alabama KenPom: 6 (3 offense, 37 defense, 14 pace)
Alabama Evan Miya: 8 (2 Attacks, 30 Defenses, 6 Speed)
Alabama Bart Torvik: 7 (3 Attacks, 26 Defenses, 12 Speed)
NET ranking: N/A
Best win: No. 4 Houston
Worst loss: No. 15 Purdue, as if that was “bad.”

With no time to pat themselves on the back, the Crimson Tide face another team ranked in the preseason top 25, this time with some personal stakes as ‘Bama faces Big Cliff’s old squad, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. starts.

Last season’s Rutgers looks almost nothing like this year’s version.

While the 2024 unit was strong at the position and played a more deliberate style of basketball, the 2025 Scarlet Knights start in the backcourt with projected No. 2 and No. 3 lottery picks in the next NBA Draft, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper . The two newcomers each play well over 30 minutes per game and are responsible for almost half of the Scarlet Knights’ 78 points per game. They are a slightly faster team (well above average), but no one will mistake them for a fast squad.

Dylan Harper in particular was fantastic, both as a leading scorer (22 PPG) and with 5.5 assists per game. At this rate, he and Philon will be fighting to be the first point guard off the field. The guards are (once again) the engine that drives this train: eight of them see more than 10 minutes on the floor and they account for almost 70% of all Rutgers’ hits. Jeremiah Williams, PJ Hayes and Jordan Derkack also contribute 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 21 points per night.

But what particularly impresses you is the activity of the entire team in chasing loose balls. Three guards average over 5 boards per night and six of them have 3+. Indeed, their leadership Rebounders is SG Jordan Derkack. However, despite all of that, it is a very traditional looking offense with a real center, real PF, etc. In fact, Rutgers has done that three They rotate heavily at centers, with Zach Martini being the top offensive option (he can also go outside and snap the ball from three-pointers), and Lathan Somerville being the hitter – he leads teams in blocks and is second in rebounds .

Nevertheless, the children are the heart of this team, and it shows. Rutgers is turning it around a lotabout 18% of their holdings. And as a team, they are soft defenders who don’t put much pressure on the ball. They’re among the worst in the Big 10 at forcing TOs, and as a result have given up a lot of good looks – a lot of points – from the outside.

It’s also not a very good shooting team (this also applies to the free throw line, where only three guys are above 75%), although it is a fairly balanced offense. Rutgers needs to get there with volume and they are putting in a lot of effort to get to 80 points per contest. Rutgers is shooting just 39.4% from the field and is a pitiful 32% from the three-point line. Any issues Alabama’s backfield had guarding opponents should be ironed out here. The Knights don’t shoot well, so there’s no reason to allow them to do so by playing softly.

The key, however, will be stopping the point and not letting Ace Bailey get going at the two spot – he’s easily the best shooter, shooting 53% from the floor and 44% from deep. But like Harper, so are the Scarlet Knights, and almost any of those guys can get hot (pay particular attention to the dangerous PJ Hayes, who comes off the bench as a screen-and-three shooter).

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Conclusion:

Rutgers has always faced growing pains as a team looking to reestablish its identity with a freshman backcourt, but so far Dylan and Ace have looked good – even in their two-point loss to Antoine Pettway’s Kennesaw State Owls. This pair has great two-man chemistry and especially thrives in the pick-and-roll for penetration. Good communication will be key as the Tide defenders will need to make smart substitutions.

However, for the first time in a long time, the Tide’s shooters should have some space on the floor. Rutgers is a solid team, but it is the worst defensive team Alabama has faced since UNC-Asheville. Specifically, the Knights struggle to defend the perimeter (ranking just 244th in effective 3PT defense), with teams shooting an adjusted 40.6% from distance. The has Being music to the Tide’s ears after three straight weeks of pressure defense and intense swarming of the arc.

Last night, however, it seemed like both teams had found their way.

For the Scarlet Knights, that identity was joining the Lottery Duo in an overtime win against the Fighting Irish. For the Tide, it was about relying on a role player’s depth and worker identity while also being smart about letting the offense come to them – they were pressured, but they didn’t apply pressure. The Tide’s shooting decline isn’t fully resolved yet and it would be nice to see Cliff finally eat, but I suspect this is the game where we see a few more pieces come together. Especially look for Labaron to bounce back after a tough night against the hardest-playing team in America.

Do that second-The strongest playing team in America: Alabama secured the title last night.

How to watch:

It’s late tonight, folks: Game Tips at 9:00 Central on TBS. Both Alabama and Rutgers are coming off grueling overtime contests, so you can bet the extra break will be welcome.

Forecast:

We’d say a motivated Cliff and Philon, a backcourt that shoots its way out of an early slump, and plenty of depth and talent will help the Tide win and cover. This game is all about maintaining focus, maintaining intensity and managing expectations. All these tough competitions in November and December are aimed at one goal: success in March. So tonight’s biggest challenge will be keeping the ego, puffed-out chest and entitlement attitude in check. It’s a test the football team failed, and a test basketball can’t fail if it wants to cut down all the nets.

Alabama 91 – Rutgers 75

Hope for the best.
Roll Tide.