Alabama basketball looking to tame another giant-slayer in Penn State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball has yet to beat a top-5 team this season, but it’s looking for its second straight win over an opponent that has. The Crimson Tide will open up a three-game stretch away from Coleman Coliseum as it travels to State College, Pa., to take on Penn State on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.

Alabama is in the midst of its first winning streak of the season, entering Saturday’s matchup off back-to-back wins over Southern Miss and Stephen F. Austin. The latter of those two victories came against an SFA team that had recently upset then-ranked No. 1 Duke.

This week, Alabama (4-4) faces a similar situation as it goes up against a Penn State team coming off one of its most notable wins in years. The Nittany Lions (8-2, 1-1 in the Big Ten) upset No. 4 Maryland on Tuesday night, defeating the previously unbeaten Terrapins 76-69 inside of Bryce Jordan Center, the same place Penn State will host the Crimson Tide on Saturday.

So what does that mean for Alabama? Thursday, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats was asked whether or not it was easier or more difficult to play a team that is coming off a signature win.

“It all depends on them, to be honest,” he said. “I’d rather not play them off a loss, then they’re a little hungrier. But you know, do they have their confidence rolling? Are they even better? You know, I hope it’s more they’re overlooking us, but I don’t really know their team that well. It seems like they’ve been playing pretty well.

“I think the older they get, the less likely it is that they are going to be overconfident from a previous win. They’re an older group that’s got some experience, so I would guess we’re going to have to play them playing their best basketball.”

Alabama forward Javian Davis said he’s been watching film on Penn State since Sunday night. He and a few teammates went out to eat Tuesday night and caught some of Penn State’s victory over Maryland on television.

“It was a good, competitive game," Davis said. "I mean, it was two good bigs. The big from Maryland (Jalen Smith) is good. He’s like a projected first-round pick. So it was a good matchup team and individual wise.”

As Davis pointed out, the upset win featured a battle of bigs as Maryland forward Jalen Smith and Penn State forwards Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins all recorded double-doubles.

Stevens, a preseason All-Big Ten selection figures to be an especially tough challenge for Alabama on Saturday. The 6-foot-8, 225-pounder leads the Nittany Lions averaging 16.6 points and ranks second on the team recording 7.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

“Stevens is a load,” Oats said. “He hit two 3s last game, so that hasn’t really been his game, but he’s definitely more than capable of making them. He’s kind of that mid-post catch it anywhere from 10 to 17 (feet), face you up, blow by you. He’s strong, post you, drive you.

“So we kind of toy with do you put him on one of your bigger wings? Do you put a traditional big on him? He kind of plays the four for them. He can also play the three. He can also play the five. There’s a reason he’s projected first-team All-Big Ten. I mean, he’s been really tough. He’s so strong and athletic, too. He’s going to be tough.”

The other thing Alabama will have to watch for is Penn State’s ability to create turnovers. The Nittany Lions enter the matchup ranked No. 18 in the nation, averaging 9.7 steals per game. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide ranks No. 347 out of 350 NCAA Division I teams, averaging 18.5 turnovers.

Alabama is coming off of a win against an SFA team that leads the nation forcing 25.33 turnovers a game. While the Crimson Tide was able to hold the Lumberjacks under their average, it still gave away the ball 20 times during last week's game.

By the time it takes the floor Saturday, Alabama will be eight days removed from that win. Oats said the extended layoff allowed his team to both heal up as well as focus on improving its turnover problem.

“I feel like the big thing is guards going in to get rebounds. That (makes it) easier to get into our offense,” guard Jaden Shackelford said. “Now we don’t have bigs making the wrong pass which leads to a turnover. Sometimes (Oats) wants us to go fast but not fast and like playing not smart.”

Saturday will serve as Alabama’s second true road game of the season. The Crimson Tide’s only other appearance on an opponents' campus resulted in a 93-79 loss to Rhode Island, a game where it committed 22 turnovers and shot just 22.7 percent from beyond the arc.

“I feel like we trust each other way more as a team now,” Shackelford said. “We’ve been on the road, we’ve been to Atlantis. I feel like this road test is going to be different. We’re playing a good team, so we just got to stick together and we’ll be fine.”

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