How to watch: Alabama basketball returns home to face Jacksonville State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — With a star-studded showcase coming up next week, No. 18 Alabama basketball will look to maintain its early-season momentum Friday night as it hosts Jacksonville State inside Coleman Coliseum.

The matchup marks the third straight year the two teams have squared off as the Crimson Tide defeated the Gamecocks 65-59 last season after beating them 81-57 to begin the 2020-21 campaign. This year, Jacksonville State is off to a 1-1 start, opening its season with a 111-48 victory over Shorter before falling 67-60 at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Following Friday night’s game, Alabama will take part in the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore. The Crimson Tide begins play in the showcase with a Thanksgiving matchup against Michigan State. Other teams in the invitational include No. 1 North Carolina, No. 25 UConn, Iowa State, Oregon Portland and Villanova.

First though, here’s everything you need to know about Friday’s matchup between Alabama and Jacksonville State.

Who: No. 18 Alabama (3-0) vs. Jacksonville State (1-1)

When: 8 p.m. CT, Friday, Nov. 18

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Watch: SEC Network (play-by-play: Kevin Fitzgerald; analyst: Jon Sundvold)

Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network (play-by-play: Chris Stewart; analyst: Bryan Passink; engineer Tom Stipe)

Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, junior

Stats: 14.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 40.6% FG, 42.9% 3-pt

Nimari Burnett: 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 6.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 25.0% FG, 10.0% 3-pt

Brandon Miller: 6-foot-9, 200 pounds, freshman

Stats: 17.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 42.1% FG, 40.0% 3-pt

Noah Clowney: 6-foot-10, 210 pounds, freshman

Stats: 6.3 ppg, 10.7, rpg, 0.3 apg, 44.4% FG, 12.5% 3-pt

Charles Bediako: 7-foot, 225 pounds, freshman

Stats: 5.7 ppg, 8.0, rpg, 0.7 apg, 53.8% FG

Skyelar Potter: 6-foot-3, 198 pounds, senior

Stats: 16.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 66.7% FG, 63.6% 3-pt

Demaree King: 6-foot, 180 pounds, senior

Stats: 12.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 43.5% FG, 38.5% 3-pt

Cam McDowell: 6-foot-5, 185 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 8.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 54.5% FG, 50.0% 3-pt

Juwan Perdue: 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, junior

Stats: 2.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.0% FG, 0.0% 3-pt

Amanze Ngumezi: 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, junior

Stats: 13.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.0 apg, 42.3% FG, 25.0% 3-pt

Jahvon Quinerly made his season debut for Alabama during Tuesday night’s win over South Alabama, playing for the first time since tearing his ACL during the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18. Moving forward, Nate Oats said he plans to bring the senior off the bench and keep him on a minutes restriction until he returns to full health.

“We were just trying to get his feet wet a little bit against South,” Oats said. “We’re not gonna just throw him in there. He’s been cleared by the doctor for a couple weeks. His knee’s close to being 100%, but mentally, you’ve gotta be able to trust it, too. The mental side of the game is a big deal, particularly with him, so we wanna get him some confidence.”

Quinerly entered the game against South Alabama late in the second half after Alabama had already put the score out of reach. He logged four minutes, recording a rebound while turning the ball over twice.

“He didn’t play particularly well, but I didn’t expect him to in his first game out against South,” Oats said. “He’s gotta get back, he’s gotta get game reps back under him. I just wanted to get him some game reps and get him some feeling in a real game. We’ll do a little bit more than that Friday. Once he gets to where he’s back and he feels good, then we’re gonna have to figure that out.”

Quinerly started 27 games over 33 appearances last season, averaging 13.8 points and 4.2 assists. He played primarily off the bench during the 2020-21 season when he averaged 12.9 points and 3.2 assists while earning the SEC Tournament MVP award.

“I can’t even put it in words,” forward Noah Gurley said. “First off, because he’s a leader and then secondly, just because of how good of a player he is, talented. He’s the point guard. He’s a veteran. He knows how the offense works. But even since he’s been out, he’s still been vocal. But we’ve all been seeing him work so hard in his recovery on the daily, whether it’s the training room or in the weight room or even in practice. It was a blessing to see him out there.”

Jacksonville State has started the season hot from beyond the arc, making 41.2% of its 3-point attempts. Leading the way has been Morehead State transfer Skyelar Potter, who is 7 of 11 (63.6%) from deep through the first two games. Along with Potter, the Gamecocks feature a few other sharpshooters in Demaree King (5 of 13, 38.5%), Wichita State transfer Clarence Jackson (3 of 5, 60%) and Vanderbilt transfer Peyton Daniels (2 of 4, 50%).

While Jacksonville State doesn’t return any starters from last year’s team, Oats said he and his players won’t be taking the Gamecocks lightly Friday night.

“I would say that’s probably deceiving, to be honest with you,” Oats said. “They’ve got some guys who have played starter minutes in the past, got some transfers who starter at other schools in their league. So they’re talented, and Ray [Harper] really does a great job of bringing transfers in.”

Alabama will likely be without forward Darius Miles and guard Dom Welch for at least another game. Oats listed both players as doubtful against Jacksonville State, stating neither took part in live drills during Thursday’s practice.

“It’s just kind of day-to-day,” Oats said. “They did a lot individually, just nothing live, so we’re going to see how it goes in the morning. If they can make it through the gameday shootaround at pretty full speed, we’ll see what they have for us. But they’re day-to-day. Neither one of them are out for a long time, but we’re not going to rush them back either.”

Miles has missed Alabama’s last two games after playing in just seven minutes during the season opener against Longwood on Nov. 7. Welch, a St. Bonaventure transfer, has yet to make his Alabama debut.

Miles averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds over 17.2 minutes per game in 30 appearances for Alabama last season. Welch averaged 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 37.4 percent from beyond the arc for St. Bonaventure.