It doesn’t cost anything to play defense. Not playing defense, however, can be very costly. That’s part of the message Alabama Basketball Coach Nate Oats delivered Thursday as the Crimson Tide prepares for its second home game in the four-game stretch to open the season in Coleman Coliseum. Bama is hosting Indiana State at 7 p.m. CST Friday.
Both teams are 1-0 with 24th ranked Alabama having defeated Morehead State, 105-73, Monday, while the Sycamores were 90-60 winners over St. Mary of the Woods on Wednesday.
This is the first meeting between the two teams.
Oats said he considers Indiana State Coach Josh Schertz, now in his 18th season (third with the Sycamores), “one of the best coaches in the nation.” He pointed out that the Sycamores led the nation in two-point shooting percentage last year because they work the ball for good shots. “If you aren’t locked in on defense, miss a switch or make the wrong switch, they’ll make you pay,” Oats said.
He said Bama played well in its win over Morehead, but that Indiana State is more physical, making the comparison to Tennessee. And, he said, scheduling a team like Indiana State helps prepare Bama for SEC competition.
Against Morehead, Oats said, Alabama “didn’t do a good job of putting enough pressure on the ball. We’ve got to contest the three-point shots better, do better on pick and rolls. “There’s no Bediako back there to protect the rim,” he said, referencing last year’s inside rim protector Charles Bediako. He called Bama’s first half rebounding “horrible,” but was pleased when the Tide which was behind by 17-14 on boards in the first half finished with a 40-29 advantage.
Alabama had a predictable starting lineup for the first game, the three returning starters – guards Mark Sears and Rylan Griffith and Nick Pringle at forward – and two highly-regarded newcomers — forward Grant Nelson and guard Aaron Estrada. Nelson led the Tide with 24 points and 9 rebounds with Estrada chipping in with 16, Sears 13, and freshman guard Jarin Stevenson adding 12.
Oats mentioned Stevenson, who would have been a high school senior this year had he not reclassified, as “good enough to start. He’s going to get starter minutes.” That was evident in the opener with Grant playing 24:47, Sears 23:49, Estrada 22:51, Stevenson 21:21, and Griffen 20:35. Another newcomer, 6-3 guard Latrell Whitesell, played 19:40.
Eleven scholarshipped Alabama players saw action in the opener, all but freshman guard Kris Parker who was out with injury. He returned to practice Thursday.
Alabama has a 16-game winning streak in Coleman Coliseum, seventh longest home winning streak in Division I basketball (winning by an average of 25 points per game). The Tide has also won 15 consecutive non-conference games on its home court.
Indiana State, known in part as the school where NBA star Larry Bird played collegiately, had three players in double figures in the opener, Isaiah Swope (26), Ryan Conwell (25), and Jayson Kent (14). Xavier Bledson had 11 assists, best in the nation in opening games. All are guards, as is Julian Larry, which completes the projected starting lineup.
Indiana State placed three men on the Missouri Valley Conference pre-season teams, 6-10 center Robbie Avila and Larry on the second team, Swope third team.