After its first marquee win of the season on a neutral floor, Alabama basketball looks to carry its momentum in a battle versus the Scarlet Knights in Las Vegas.
Alabama and Rutgers are matched up in the Players Era Festival, and it’s a familiar foe for Clifford Omoruyi. He spent his last four seasons as the Rutgers big man and is one of the best all-time Scarlet Knights. This is the first matchup between the two teams, and we will see how both teams respond after overtime victories last night.
“They’re super talented, and coach Pickell has done a tremendous job there,” said head coach Nate Oats on Rutgers.
General Information:
Teams: Alabama (5-1) and Rutgers (5-1)
Tip time: 10 p.m. EST
Watch: TBS
Listen: Tide 100.9
What to know about Rutgers:
The Scarlet Knights are coming into the season with very high expectations. They have brought in two of the top recruits and projected draft picks for 2025 in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, who both have been the dynamic duo and leading scorers so far. Bailey is averaging 16.8 PPG, while Harper is averaging 22.5 PPG.
In its last game, Rutgers defeated Notre Dame in overtime 85-84. It was the Harper show, as he scored 36 points on 12-22 from the field, with six rebounds, and six assists.
Rutgers is shooting 46.9% from the field as a team and 35.2% from the three-point line. By the metrics, Rutgers’s defense is sitting outside of the top 80, so the Tide should be able to put up some points.
Latest on Alabama basketball:
Alabama is coming off its biggest win of the season, 85-80 against Houston in overtime. It was a big bounce-back game for Mark Sears with 24 points. Alabama’s defense came up big when it needed to most, and with this game being a quick turnaround for both teams, Alabama can rely on its deep bench to get more minutes if needed.
The key for Alabama to win this game is to slow down the dynamic duo of Bailey and Harper. They will probably get theirs, but making the other three guys on the court to make shots will be crucial. Another game where the offense needs to continue to get to the rim and draw fouls. Do not allow Rutgers to get easy buckets off turnovers.
Alabama needs to continue to find minutes for guys like Aden Holloway and Mo Dioubate. Both guys continue to make an impact on both ends of the floor, whether that is knocking down threes and quickness to the rim for Holloway, or making the blue-collar plays, grabbing boards, and blocking shots for Dioubate.
The analytics for Alabama show that the team is scoring 88.8 PPG and shooting 31.8% from three. Defensively, the team ranks just below the top 40 in defensive efficiency.
Alabama dropped one spot this week in the AP poll to number nine.