Alabama Set for Final Test before SEC Play

The Crimson Tide managed to find another opponent at the last minute to schedule for the C.M. Newton Classic in Birmingham.

After some uncertainty whether this game would be able to take place or not and a last-minute opponent replacement, No. 10 Alabama basketball is set to face Davidson Tuesday night in the C.M. Newton Classic in Birmingham. 

It will be the fifth time in the last seven seasons that the Crimson Tide has played a non-conference game in the state's most populated city.

Both the Crimson Tide and Wildcats had their previously scheduled opponents for Tuesday have to cancel because of COVID issues within those programs, so Davidson became a late addition to the Alabama schedule. 

Alabama head coach Nate Oats thanked the Wildcats on Monday for volunteering to make the trip at the last second. It's not quite the same caliber opponent that Alabama was set to face in undefeated and No. 25 Colorado State, but Davidson will still be a good test for Alabama, especially on the defensive end. 

"They’re a good team— fourth in the country in three-point percentage right now," Oats said. "They’re going to test our defense. We’re going to have to play a lot better. Really looking forward to playing in Birmingham.”

This is the same program that helped to develop current NBA star Steph Curry under coach Bob McKillop. Just this past week, Curry broke the NBA record for most three-pointers made at nearly 3,000. The currently Wildcats roster shoots 41.6% beyond the arc. For comparison, Alabama makes threes at a 33.8% clip. 

Even though it was a late change to the schedule, Oats said that since the team learned about the new opponent before they had even played the Jacksonville State game on Saturday that it didn't really affect their preparation that much. It was more of an issue for staff members who scout teams ahead of time. 

"We had this game done before we played Jacksonville State, so really the pressure was on the staff that works ahead," Oats said. "They’d already worked ahead and got Colorado State done, so some of that work’s out the window, and they had to quickly work Saturday morning.”

This will be the final game in the non-conference portion of the schedule and the last game before the team will get a few days off for a holiday break before SEC play begins with Tennessee on Dec. 29. 

Oats feels like his team is in a much better position resumé-wise than they were at this point in the season last year, but he doesn't like the way his team has been playing over the last two game, and this game against Davidson is the last chance to get things right before conference play starts. 

"We’ve got some signature wins— really good, quality signature wins on our resumé before conference play started," Oats said. "Where I don't think we had that last year, but we really picked our stuff up going into SEC play last year. 

"We’re going to have to pick our level of play up. We’re not playing at the level we need to be. We’re not playing at the level we were two weeks ago. So our defense has to get better, it hasn’t been great these last three games, but I do feel like we've got the capability of going on a run come SEC play."

The hot-shooting guards Hyunjung Lee and Foster Lee of Davidson will definitely give the Alabama defense the chance to prove if they've gotten better or not. The Crimson Tide offense is coming off its lowest scoring and one of the worst shooting performances of the season, and also will be looking to get back on track. 

The Crimson Tide should be getting a boost on both ends of the floor with the return of freshman guard JD Davison, who Oats expects to play after leaving the Jacksonville State game with an injury. Alabama and Davidson will tip off at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Legacy Arena.