By Chris DePew
TideFans.com Staff
Dec. 4, 2018
Where to watch: Georgia State (5-3 – #113 Pomeroy Rating) at Alabama (5-2 – #59) – Today 7 p.m. Central, Coleman Coliseum, SEC Network-Plus (online only)
Who to watch: Dazon Ingram. The junior seems locked in to a sixth-man role, but once again should see plenty of minutes against another mid major school with a high-scoring point guard. Just over a week after Murray State’s Ja Morant scored 38 at Coleman Coliseum, D’Marcus Simonds comes to Tuscaloosa averaging 21.6 points and 3.5 assists per game for the Panthers, who already have a 20-point blowout of Georgia to their credit this year as they seek to repeat as Sun Belt champions. A 6-foot-3 junior, Simonds figures to be another bad defensive matchup for Kira Lewis, so expect Ingram to be counted on to slow him down, as well as for rebounds and secondary scoring.
What to watch for: Has Galin Smith played his way out of the starting five? Avery Johnson has broken character by going with the same starting lineup each game this year, but Smith’s lack of production sticks out like a sore thumb. He doesn’t have the quickness to keep up with faster paced teams, yet gets easily shut down against bigger lineups (such as last Thursday at UCF, where he had one point and one rebound). Alex Reese runs hot and cold, but he shows more promise as a stretch four, assuming Johnson is determined to start two big men.
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