Where to watch: Alabama (2-3, #78 KenPom Rating) vs. Iowa State (3-2, #43) – Today 5:30 p.m. Central, Imperial Arena (Nassau, The Bahamas), ESPN2
Who to watch: Kira Lewis. One day after being matched up against North Carolina superstar freshman Cole Anthony, Lewis faces another potential future NBA point guard in Tyrese Halliburton. The Cyclones sophomore, who was Lewis’ teammate on the USA U-19 team this summer, is averaging better than 10 points and 10 assists per game, and scored 25 in a first-round Battle 4 Atlantis loss to Michigan. Lewis will be looking for a bounceback game after holding Anthony mostly in check but struggling to find his own shot. He started 3-for-12 from the floor before battling back to finish with 20 points as Alabama hung around with the Tar Heels but never truly threatened them.
What to watch for: Can the Crimson Tide come close to matching ISU’s ball movement? Right after getting crushed on the boards by the nation’s top rebounding team, Bama has to face off against the squad leading Division 1 basketball in assists per game. Iowa State averages 20 assists and is second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. Furthermore the Cyclones are goading opponents into nearly 18 turnovers per game. And even though it beat ISU, Michigan turned it over 22 times. It is certainly an ominous sign given the way the Crimson Tide struggles to protect the ball.
Follow Chris DePew on Twitter @TideFansChris
The starting 5⃣ tonight against Iowa State.#RollTide pic.twitter.com/ieW5EBt2uS
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) November 28, 2019