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Alabama Basketball: Tide to take on Bisons in Collin Sexton debut

By Ronald Evans

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 04: Game balls are seen on the court before the start of the round five NBL match between the Cairns Taipans and the New Zealand Breakers at Cairns Convention Centre on November 4, 2017 in Cairns, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 04: Game balls are seen on the court before the start of the round five NBL match between the Cairns Taipans and the New Zealand Breakers at Cairns Convention Centre on November 4, 2017 in Cairns, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images) /
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The long-anticipated Alabama basketball debut of Collin Sexton is Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa as the Tide take on the Lipscomb Bisons.

Alabama basketball has its home opener Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum. The Tide will play the Lipscomb Bisons from the Atlantic Sun conference. The Bison are 2-0 on the season with wins against Emory and Morehead State.

The Bison finished No. 2 in the Atlantic Sun last season with a 20-13 record. Alabama basketball fans will be interested to know that Wimp Sanderson’s son, Scott was the head coach for the Bisons for 11 seasons, through 2013.

Alabama Crimson Tide Football
Alabama Crimson Tide Football /

Alabama Crimson Tide Football

Lipscomb returns four starters and nine of its top ten scorers from last season. In the 2016-17 college basketball season, Lipscomb was No. 9 in the nation for scoring average at 85 points-per-game. The Bison were also No. 6 in the nation for made, 3pt-FG’s.

Lipscomb is led in scoring by junior guard, Garrison Matthews who has averaged 31 points in the first two games. In the Bisons last outing against Morehead, they won by seven, despite 21 turnovers.

Alabama basketball is ranked No. 25 in the latest USA Today/Coaches poll. Lipscomb has never beaten a ranked team. Early RPI rankings are almost meaningless, but according to the excellent source live-rpi.com, Alabama basketball is No. 71 and Lipscomb is No. 119.

Avery Johnson comments on Monday

Speaking about the opening game win, Avery said,

"We were very fortunate to win against Memphis … we are a long way away from being a finished product."

When asked his thoughts about the Tide getting 20 personal fouls in the first half against Memphis,

"We played like a poorly coached team … looked like we had never done a defensive drill in our life."

Avery also complimented the play of Donta Hall, Herbert Jones, Dazon Ingram and Alex Reese against Memphis. When asked about Collin Sexton, Avery somewhat reluctantly disclosed that Collin Sexton will start on Tuesday night.

Avery said Sexton has handled the eligibility distraction well with a positive attitude. He quickly added that Collin does not need to do more than play his role on the team.  Avery said Riley Norris will not play on Tuesday but might start regular practice activity later in the week. Armond Davis is recovering more slowly from his injury with no clear timetable for a return.

Alabama Women’s Basketball

The Tide women won on Monday, beating Utah 65-60.

Next: Collin Sexton is one Jamming-Dunking Future Superstar

Tuesday night’s game can be seen at 7:00 PM CST. on the SEC Network. After the Bisons., the next Alabama basketball game is Friday, Nov. 17 in Tuscaloosa against Alabama A&M.

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