re: UA Basketball (16-15, 8-10)

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11. Alabama finishes third in the SEC

The SEC is a two-team race for the league title as both Kentucky and Florida are both much better than the rest of the teams within the league. That leaves the race for third wide open for the taking and while many people think LSU is the team to slide into that third spot I think it’s Nate Oats and Alabama. Oats’ system will fit in well with the current crop of players headlined by guard Kira Lewis Jr.

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22. The SEC gets the most NCAA Tournament bids

As mentioned earlier the SEC is really a giant cluster after Florida and Kentucky which is a good thing for the league as there are some good teams up and down the league. I think what happens is that the league gets 8 teams in the NCAA Tournament just because everyone is going to have a bunch of quality wins from the league beating up on each other.

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The SEC had been known as a football conference that Kentucky dominates every year, but it has become much more than that recently. It has become a deep conference filled with talent both on the sidelines and on the court. Teams outside of Kentucky have been very good recently, as evidenced by South Carolina and Auburn making Final Four runs within the last three years. The middle of the conference this year is incredibly close, as teams 3-11 or even 3-12 could end up separated by just a few games. Let me know your thoughts on the conference on Twitter @ThreeManWeave, and let's talk some SEC basketball.

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Alabama
Starting 5: Kira Lewis, James Bolden, John Petty, Herb Jones, Galin Smith

Why They'll Be Good: New head coach Nate Oats is coming from a successful career at Buffalo, and I think he's going to make this team a lot better. They have some guys that fit the style he likes to play, and I expect the Crimson Tide to be getting up and down the court. They have a bevy of guards, led by Kira Lewis. As a 17 year old freshman last year, he was very impressive and will look to take another step this year to a potentially elite level. He's a blur in transition, which as I mentioned is how Oats likes to play, and can shoot it from deep. John Petty also returns, and if you look up "streaky" in the dictionary, it's just a picture of him. When he's hitting his threes, he's hard to guard. Just ask Tennsee, who he dropped 30 against when he got hot. When he isn't making shots, he's basically a non-factor. If he can become a more consistent shooter, then watch out. James "Beetle" Bolden arrives from West Virginia, and he should be better this year. He had to do a lot of shot creation and ball handling for the Mountaineers, but he's better as a pure scorer. He can hit shots from deep like nobody's business, and he will add more scoring punch to an already prolific backcourt. Freshmen Jaylen Forbes and Jaden Schackleford, both four stars, should add even more scoring, as both of them can shoot as well. Shackleford offers more on ball skills, while Forbes is better on the defensive end, but both of them are wired to score. Those five should get buckets all year long, and they make Alabama a dangerous offensive team. Herb Jones should start as well, and while he doesn't offer as much offensively, he's an absolute lockdown defender. He has great size and length, and he'll be dispatched on the opposing team's best player most nights. Galin Smith, Alex Reese, and freshman Raymond Hawkins will split time up front. Reese is a good shooter and could see some time at the four as well thanks to his shooting ability, while Smith and Hawkins will have to be good rebounders, given the loss of Donta Hall.

Why They Won't: Speaking of Hall, he is sneakily one of the biggest losses in the country. He graduated, and the Tide don't have an easy answer. Smith has averaged 12.7 points a game in his college career, and he needs to prove he can play significant minutes, while Hawkins is more of a long term project who is just inside of the top 200. Reese offers little outside of his shooting, and I don't think those two can replicate Hall's ability on the glass and as a shot blocker. They could have relied on Juwan Gary and James Rojas two bigger wings who likely would have seen a lot of time at the four, for help on the glass, but both suffered season ending injuries in the preseason. Their losses will be felt as they hurt the depth, which is especially bad in a system like Oats' where there is a lot of running and players get tired more easily. It could show on the defensive end, where Oats relies on a high pressure, man to man system and players legs could be gone later in games and they lower their effort levels. They will have to address those concerns to reach their full ceiling this year.

X-Factor: There may not be a streakier player in the country than John Petty. As I mentioned earlier, the junior guard can get hot in a hurry. He made five or more threes four times last year, and averaged 23 points in those games. However, he also failed to make a three in ten contests, and scored only 5 points on average in those games. He will need to become much more consistent this year, as he will be one of the key scoring options on Alabama. Nate Oats will be relying on him to be a consistent option from deep, and he can't be an effective floor spacer when throwing up bricks for roughly a third of the Tide's games. If he can finally be a more consistent player, then Alabama could even push up towards the Top 25 this year.

Final Verdict: I'm very optimistic Alabama will be good this year. Their backcourt has the potential to be one of the best in the country, and I think Kira Lewis is on the verge of being known nationally. As long as Petty and Beetle Bolden provide the shooting they are expected to, then the offense should be able to get points. I do worry about the lack of size and depth, but I think the Crimson Tide have enough firepower to make an appearance in the tournament.

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First Team All SEC
G: Anthony Edwards, Georgia
G: Kira Lewis, Alabama
G: Isaiah Joe, Arkansas
F: Reggie Perry, Mississippi State
F: Kerry Blackshear, Florida

Second Team All SEC
G: Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky
G: Andrew Nembhard, Florida
G: Jordan Bowden, Tennessee
G: Breein Tyree, Mississippi
F: Scottie Lewis, Florida

Third Team All SEC
G: AJ Lawson, South Carolina
G: Aaron Nesmith, Vanderbilt
G: Javonte Smart, LSU
F: EJ Montgomery, Kentucky
F: Isaac Okoro, Auburn

SEC All Freshman Team
G: Anthony Edwards, Georgia
G: Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky
F: Isaac Okoro, Auburn
F: Scottie Lewis, Florida
F: Trendon Watford, LSU

SEC Player of the Year: Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
SEC Freshman of the Year: Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia

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Every time I have tried to stream a game it turns into more trouble than it's worth. The quality of the stream changes constantly, usually for the worse, and it always fricks up during timeouts.

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On a night that features four National Title contenders slugging it out to gain early season glory in the Champions Classic, there are plenty of other great games that should not be overlooked. This matchup between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Penn Quakers is certainly one of them, and it is not getting the attention it deserves.

This game could honestly end up being one of the best ones of the night. This Alabama team has lots of doubt surrounding them, so the Tide will be out trying to prove they are capable of accomplishing great things. On the other hand, this Penn team has collected some hype and is projected to be the second-best team in the Ivy League behind Harvard.

Last season, both teams were left disappointed as they watched the NCAA Tournament from home. Alabama and Penn both competed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament but were out rather early. This year, they are now looking to take steps toward getting back and the victor of this matchup will have its resume greatly benefited.

This game is intriguing because Penn returns lots of depth and despite the fact that Alabama has returned some key players, they have lost a few key pieces due to transfers and injury. They also have a new Head Coach in Nate Oats.

On Tuesday, Penn will come in with fire and attempt to leave Alabama with a huge road win. Alabama will try to answer questions regarding their depth and ability to play in close games under Nate Oats.

Alabama vs. Penn is one of the most intriguing non-conference games of 2019-20. It will be a war, and it will go down to the wire. Now, let’s take a look at the notable storylines for this great and highly underrated matchup.

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Penn has great senior leadership

Compared to Alabama, Penn seems to be the more experienced team all around. Penn is senior-heavy and every position has a great Senior that can step up and give good minutes. What’s crazy is that this group of Penn guys has made up much of the depth the past 3 seasons. A lot of them were on the team that lost to Kansas in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. They were also there when the Quakers took out Villanova last season.

Senior forward AJ Brodeur led Penn in scoring a season ago, averaging 17.6 ppg while also contributing 8.3 rpg. The Alabama forwards will struggle with a hungry and talented senior like Brodeur. He may even have the advantage against them.

Senior guard Devon Goodman was second on the team in scoring last year. Goodman averaged 13.9 ppg and established himself as one of the better guards in the Ivy League. Goodman is quick and is a very experienced leader who will be needed to step up and help get this team to where they need to be.

Against a team in Bama that will not have many Seniors to call upon to lead them to victory when things get tough, having experienced Seniors could be the difference that allows Bama to make this game very interesting.

These two guys are the heart and soul of this Penn team. Their mindset will have a huge effect on how the rest of the guys on their team approach this game Tuesday night. They will be ready for the opportunity to send a message when playing a younger Alabama squad that is said to be more talented.

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Some of the early lines for other games are out. Here are a couple of lines.

St. Mary’s -1 vs. Wisconsin
NC State -8.5 vs. Georgia Tech
Louisville -7 at Miami
Clemson -3.5 vs Virginia Tech
Alabama -7 vs. Penn
Nevada -6.5 vs. Utah
Pepperdine -2.5 at California

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