Alabama Basketball: Tide opens season with 82-70 win over Memphis
By Ronald Evans
Alabama basketball opened the 2017-18 season with an 82-70 win over Memphis in Annapolis, Maryland. Five Tide players scored in double figures.
No Collin Sexton, no problem for Alabama basketball who outlasted the Memphis Tigers on the campus of the Naval Academy. Shorthanded from injuries to Braxton Key, Riley Norris, Armond Davis and the one-game NCAA suspension for Collin Sexton, Alabama basketball struggled early against Memphis.
Memphis head coach, Tubby Smith is trying to rebuild his squad after a 19 win and transfer-plagued season. Smith added five JUCO players and three freshmen to join one returning starter. One of those freshmen is Jamal Johnson, son of former Crimson Tide great Buck Johnson.
The Tide led at halftime 38-36 despite an explosion of fouls. In the first half, the Crimson Tide could do little on defense except foul. By the end of the half, the Tide had 20 personal fouls to only nine for Memphis. Avery Johnson had to play zone to stop the foul damage and fortunately for the Tide, the zone caused trouble for Memphis.
The foul burden and cold shooting from John Petty led to little offensive rhythm in the first half. Dazon Ingram became the stabilizing presence for the Tide, scoring 12 first-half points.
Big turnaround in the second half
The second half was a different game. Ingram continued to lead, while Petty and Herbert Jones added offense. In the second half, Alabama basketball shot 50 percent from three range and 12-for-16 from the foul line to pull away from the Tigers. Ingram led all Tide scores with 20 points, followed by Avery Johnson Jr. with 13, Herbert Jones with 12, Petty and Dont’a Hall with 11 points.
Hall had 11 rebounds to go along with nine boards from Alex Reese. Ingram’s full stats in 33 minutes of play were 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Tide only committed 10 fouls in the second half and while three players finished with four fouls, only Galin Smith fouled out.
What about the freshmen?
Even without Collin Sexton the Tide’s freshmen class is impressive. Herbert Jones is already one of the team’s top defenders. Both he and John Petty are explosive offensively. Alex Reese can shoot, pass, defend and rebound. The rawest of the group is Galin Smith but he looks to have considerable upside.
With Sexton, Key and Norris added to the lineup, Alabama basketball has the talent to battle any team in the SEC. Building on-court chemistry while establishing player rotations will be a challenge for Avery Johnson. Not that this Tide team appears unwilling to find the open man. The problem will be minutes. Nine guys played against Memphis and all contributed. Depending on Armond Davis’ knee problem, they will be three or four more guys whose games warrant playing time.
It is a good problem to have and one Alabama basketball has not had for a very long time, maybe ever.
Here is a boxscore provided by the NCAA.
Next: All the Game Info to follow the Tide and the Bulldogs
Alabama basketball takes on Lipscomb, Tuesday, November 14th in Tuscaloosa. The Tide has three home games before traveling to Brooklyn, NY, Thanksgiving weekend to face BYU and Minnesota.