Alabama Basketball vs. Liberty: How to watch tonight, betting info and score prediction
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Basketball opened the season with a 75-54 win over Longwood. The Crimson Tide got the 21-point win despite disappointing shooting from outside the arc. In the exhibition game against Southern Illinois, the Tide’s 3-point shooting was 3-for-22. Against Longwood, Alabama’s perimeter shooters were worse; at 3-for-28.
It is usually difficult to win games when missing 25 threes, but Alabama dominated the glass, outrebounding Longwood, 67-38.
Freshmen Brandon Miller and Rylan Griffen led the Crimson Tide in scoring in the opener, with 14 points each. Transfer Mark Sears had 12 points and freshman, Jaden Bradley scored 11 points. Another Alabama basketball freshman, 6’10” Noah Clowney had a good game with nine points and 11 rebounds. The leading rebounders for the Crimson Tide were Brandon Miller with 13 boards and Charles Bediako with 12.
Friday night’s opponent, the Liberty Flames will be a challenging game for the Crimson Tide. Liberty was the preseason pick to win the ASUN and is led by an outstanding guard, Darius McGhee. McGhee is a two-time ASUN Player of the Year, who averaged 24.6 points last season while making threes at 39%.
McGhee is 5’9″ and Liberty has only two players taller than 6’7”, giving Alabama a significant length advantage. The Crimson Tide was aggressive on defense against Longwood and a similar level of intensity will impact Liberty’s ability to get uncontested shots.
According to FanDuel, Alabama is a 9.5-point favorite. The Moneyline is Alabama -530, with Liberty +390. The over/under is 145.5 points.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change
Alabama Basketball vs. Liberty Info
Tonight’s contest is at 7:00 PM CST. For the Alabama basketball fans who cannot make it to Coleman, the game will be broadcast on SEC Network+, with Roger Hoover and Mikhail Torrance as the television team. Chris Stewart and Bryan Passink will have the radio call on the Crimson Tide Sports Network. The game will also be streamed through the ESPN App and on fuboTV.
Except for Jahvon Quinerly and transfer Dom Welch, Alabama should have a full roster available. Darius Miles and Noah Gurley are still recovering from minor injuries, but both got some minutes against Longwood.
Alabama Basketball Game Prediction
If Alabama shoots threes poorly again, it might not cover the spread, but the Tide’s size advantage gives it a big edge. Liberty is predicted to win well over 20 games this season, but the Flames will not beat the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Alabama 81 – Liberty 67
Note: Liberty stats were provided by Sports Reference.
Complete Alabama Basketball Game Notes are available here.