By Chris DePew
TideFans.com Staff
Feb. 16, 2019
Where to watch: Florida (13-11, 5-6 SEC – #38 Pomeroy Rating) at Alabama (15-9, 6-5 – #48) – Today 1 p.m. Central, Coleman Coliseum, ESPNU
Who to watch: John Petty. The sophomore from Huntsville has become the unofficial ink blot test for Crimson Tide fans, who can see practically anything they want in him. Optimists can point out that his scoring, shooting percentage and rebounding have all gone up while his turnovers have gone down compared to last season. Pessimists can point to the all too frequent games where he effectively disappears, including Tuesday’s scoreless dud at Mississippi State. Avery Johnson will doubtless point out to him that he scored just three points combined in two meetings with the Gators last year and that more is needed from him for Bama to win today and shore up its NCAA tournament positioning.
What to watch for: Will Bama lose patience fighting through the Gators defense? Florida is one of the country’s stingiest teams, allowing just 63.5 points per game, and plays at a maddeningly slow pace. That means Alabama can expect fewer possessions and has to make them count. But some bad shooting habits have been creeping back in, with multiple players guilty of attempting standstill 3-pointers early in the shot clock instead of moving the ball around and cutting towards the basket. Kira Lewis in particular has been guilty of this, probably because he can make just enough of them to tempt him into taking more. He’s in danger of becoming an inefficient high-volume shooter susceptible to turnovers in the mold of Tevin Mack.
Follow Chris DePew on Twitter @TideFansChris
You must be logged in to post a comment.