Before conference play begins in January, Alabama basketball is looking to answer some questions in the last two games of its non-conference slate.
An inconsistent Crimson Tide offense will meet a test in a Kent State team that coach Nate Oats says averages an upset against a high-major team every year. No. 7 UA (9-2) narrowly outran an upset from a 4-9 North Dakota team on Wednesday.
“They don’t have one yet,” Oats said of Rob Senderoff’s crew. “We have to make sure we’re ready to go.”
Here are three things to know before Sunday’s game.
Rotations ahead of meeting with Kent State Golden Flashes
It seems like four starters are sealed for Alabama, but the fifth spot remains in the air after Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was ruled out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Mark Sears, UA’s starting five at North Dakota Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson, Derrion Reid and Cliff Omoruyi.
Oats knows that he has to cut down the rotation and said he wants to start playing the guys who have a “sense of urgency.”
“I know that the 4-person lineup analysis with Mark, Labaron, Grant and Cliff is really high on both sides of the ball,” Oats said on Friday.
Kent State listed its projected starters as guards Cian Medley, Mike Bekelja and Marquis Barnett, forward VonCameron Davis and center Cli’Ron Hornbreak. Davis, a senior, arrives to Tuscaloosa just seven points shy of 1,000 at Kent State.
“Some guys that don’t wanna guard just aren’t gonna play very much anymore,” Oats said.
Another Crimson Tide game to take note of turnovers
Entering the contest averaging 12.8 turnovers per game, Alabama runs into a challenge with an aggressive Kent State defense. The Golden Flashes are averaging 10.3 turnovers through 10 games, but they’re forcing opponents to 14.1 per contest. In the first half alone at North Dakota, Alabama turned the ball over 13 times.
Which NFL star helped Kent State eliminate Alabama from March Madness in last meeting?
Alabama and Kent State’s last meeting was tense. In Greenville, S.C., the teams faced off in the second-round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. En route to a historic Elite 8 appearance, the Golden Flashes bounced UA from contention with a 71-58 defeat forged by Trevor Huffman, John Edwards and Antonio Gates, who went on to play 15 years in the NFL as a tight end for the now-Los Angeles Chargers.
Gates was first enrolled at Michigan State University, not just wanting to play basketball for Tom Izzo, but football for then-coach Nick Saban.
Coleman Coliseum will welcome fans for a noon tipoff as UA and Kent State meet for the third time in series history.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
