Where to watch: Richmond (10-2 – #81 KenPom Rating) at Alabama (6-5 – #63) – Today 5:30 p.m. Central, Coleman Coliseum, SEC Network
Who to watch: Javian Davis. This is the last opportunity for Bama’s freshman post man to tune up before the moment of truth arrives with the start of SEC play. But against the Spiders it will be less about how well he can protect the rim and more about how well he can keep up with switches and defending away from the basket against Richmond’s motion offense. There should be opportunities for Davis to shine on both ends of the floor. He’s already averaging 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and the undersized Spiders are below average at best on the glass. This is an important chance to build his confidence ahead of road trips to Gainesville and Lexington over the next two weekends.
What to watch for: Taming the turnover epidemic. Richmond is a top-10 team nationally in total assists (17.2 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Crimson Tide has half the formula down, averaging a healthy 14.9 assists per game, something that would have seemed like a pipe dream much of the last decade or so. But careless mistakes still leave Bama underwater on assist-to-turnover ratio, with the Tide coughing it up 16.6 times per game. Even accounting for its breakneck tempo, Alabama is turning it over on 18.2 percent of its possessions. That kind of sloppiness plays right into the hands of Richmond, which already has wins over Wisconsin, Boston College and Vanderbilt this season.
Follow Chris DePew on Twitter @TideFansChris