How to watch: No. 6 Alabama vs. South Dakota State basketball
Alabama basketball has one non-conference game remaining before starting SEC play against Oklahoma on January 4. The Crimson Tide (10-2) will look to end 2024 on a high note when they take on South Dakota State on Sunday at Coleman Coliseum. Alabama is 3-0 against the Jackrabbits, with the most recent game taking place in 2022.
The Tide struggled with another Summit League team in the Dakotas, escaping with a 97-90 road victory over North Dakota in a homecoming comeback for the forward. Grant Nelson on December 18. Alabama bounced back from its scare up north with a blowout 81-54 win over Kent State in its final game. The victory secured Alabama’s seventh victory in its previous eight outings.
The Tide has maintained a strong record through non-conference games, but coach Nate Avoine is still looking for his team to address the turnover issues that have emerged over its first 12 games and reduce the Tide’s deep rotation. Alabama’s final non-conference game should provide it with another good opportunity to build positive momentum before the challenge of SEC play begins.
Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s game.
How to watch
WHO: No. 6 Alabama (10-2) vs. South Dakota State (9-5)
When: 2 p.m. CT, Sunday, December 29
Or: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Watch: SEC Network+ (Play-By-Play: Roger Hoover, Analyst: Richard Hendrix, Sideline: Nathan Brown)
Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network | SIRIUS/XM 134/201 (play-by-play: Chris Stewart, analyst: Bryan Passink)
Alabama’s projected starters
Marc Sears: 6 feet 1 inch, 190 pounds, graduate
Stats: 17.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.9 ppg, 40.4% FG, 32.9% 3pt
Laban Philon: 6 feet 4 inches, 177 pounds, freshman
Stats: 11.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.8 apg, 53.3% FG, 26.5% 3-pt
Jarin Stevenson: 6 feet 11 inches, 215 pounds, sophomore
Stats: 4.6 ppg, 3.5 ppg, 1.0 ppg, 35.6% FG, 22.9% 3pt
Grant Nelson: 6 feet 11 inches, 230 pounds, graduate
Stats: 12.8 ppg, 8.7 RPG, 1.8 apg, 54.5% FG, 23.5% 3-pointers
Clifford Omoruyi: 6 feet 11 inches, 250 pounds, graduate
Stats: 7.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.8 apg, 70.2 FG%
South Dakota State’s projected starters
Owen Larson: 6 feet 2 inches, 195 pounds
Stats: 7.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 33.6% FG, 31.3% 3-pt
Joe Sayler: 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, redshirt freshman
Stats: 13.3 points per game, 2.3 role plays, 1.7 points per game, 42.5% FG, 38.5% 3-pointers
Kalen Garry: 6 feet 3 inches, 200 pounds, sophomore
Stats: 10.2 points per game, 3.9 role plays, 2.6 points per game, 38.1 FG%, 35.4% 3-pointers
Matthew Mors: 6 feet 7 inches, 215 pounds, junior
Stats: 9.2 ppg, 3.0 RPG, 1.4 apg, 48.4% FG, 35.0% 3-pointers
Oscar Cluff: 6 feet 11 inches, 260 pounds, Senior
Stats: 16.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 71.4% FG
Potential range variety
Stevenson started at small forward for a fourth straight game against Kent State, but Oats started the second half with Derrion Reid in the lineup at the three while Stevenson replaced Nelson at the four.
Reid finished the game with nine points, six rebounds and two steals in 19 minutes. His halftime introduction showcased a lineup that could potentially start games with Reid joining Sears, Philon, Nelson and Omoruyi while Stevenson provides frontcourt relief off the bench. Reid started Alabama’s first two games of the season when Nelson was on a minutes restriction while recovering from an injury and replaced Philon in the starting lineup against North Dakota.
Alabama’s final non-conference game allows Oats to possibly reintroduce Reid or cobble together a fifth different player into the starting five. South Florida Transfer Chris Youngblood played a game-high 21 minutes against Kent State and has continued to play a larger role in the lineup since his debut against Creighton. Oats tinkered with three-guard lineups throughout non-conference games, including against Kent State where Youngblood, Aden Holloway And Houston Briefcase were together all over the court to help spark some offensive life after a slow start.
Sunday will likely be the last opportunity for meaningful roster experimentation before Oats narrows things down and solidifies his core for the future. Balanced minutes will also help players find some consistency as their role in the rotation becomes clearer.
“I think every game brings us a little bit more to understand what we’re trying to do,” Oats said. “I think maybe that helps solidify it. I mean, there are a few guys whose rotation we just can’t eliminate – they’re just playing too well, but I think we can get it down to nine or 10 pretty quickly. We have one more game before the SEC game, and we’re going to try to figure it out.
Bearing problems
Alabama came within just one giveaway of tying its record for turnovers against Kent State. The Tide had 20 turnovers against Rutgers on November 27 and 19 giveaways against the Golden Flashes last Sunday. Despite a strong game defensively, Alabama continued some concerning trends of playing sloppy the basketball and giving possessions away. Alabama started the Kent State game with four turnovers before scoring a point.
“There were just too many turnovers,” Oats said. “Thirteen in the first half. We did the same thing two games in a row. We only had one in the second half against North Dakota. We ended up with six in the second half here. So we need to do a better job of getting turnovers. I don’t have an answer to free throw problems, but the only way to solve this problem is to go to the gym and work.
The start of SEC play will be the real litmus test for how much work Alabama did during its short break to cut down on turnovers. The Tide currently ranks 15th out of 16 conference teams with 13.3 turnovers per game.
Alabama has a good opportunity to limit the giveaways on Sunday. South Dakota State ranks 320th in Division I in opponent turnovers per game with 10.1. That mark ranks only above Creighton among Alabama’s opponents this season. Alabama was better, but still helped the Blue Jays to that extent with 11 turnovers in their 83-75 victory.
While that won’t move if Alabama stays under 10 turnovers considering the opponent, a better performance in the turnover department than that against Creighton and Kent State will show that Alabama can make adjustments to limit gifts. Alabama hasn’t had fewer than 10 turnovers in a game since its Nov. 20 win over Illinois.
Game notes
Alabama looks to win 11 games during its non-conference schedule for the first time under head coach Nate Oats and for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Grant Nelson recorded three straight games with double-digit rebounding for the first time since becoming a member of the Crimson Tide
Over the last five seasons, Alabama is 21-2 at Coleman Coliseum against non-conference opponents
Alabama has faced eight opponents, including six in the top 50, who are currently ranked in KenPom’s top 100, tied for first in the nation (Purdue)
The Crimson Tide’s three AP Top-25 victories are tied for the most wins in non-conference games under head coach Nate Oats, which matches the 2022-23 season.
Alabama is one of five Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the top 10 in the Associated Press, marking the first time the SEC has had five teams ranked in the top 10 in the AP poll.
Alabama looks to win four straight AP Top 25 games for the first time since the 2017-18 season (won five in a row)
Coach Oats has 21 AP Top 25 wins during his tenure at UA, which ranks third all-time in program history behind Mark Gottfried (22 wins) and Wimp Sanderson ( 25 victories).
Alabama has scored 100 or more points in 91 games in program history, with Coach Oats’ teams accounting for 25% of that number (23 games)
Coach Oats’ 117 wins in his first five seasons at Alabama is the most wins in five years.
program history
Mark Sears is one of two active players (Hunter Dickinson of Kansas) to score 20 or more points in at least seven career games against an AP Top 10 opponent.
Mouhamed Dioubaté is the only player in the country this year to have recorded 16 rebounds and three blocks this season against an AP Top 10 opponent (#6 Houston)
