Alabama Basketball: Breaking down the 2018 non-conference matchups for the Tide
By Dakota Cox
Road games for Alabama
Nov. 15th-18th: Charleston Classic
Alabama will be playing in the Charleston Classic this season. They will open against Northeastern and will then play either Ball State or Virginia Tech. Tide fans will be hoping for an NCAA Tournament rematch against Tech. After these games, ‘Bama will play one more. All four options are valid competition, the most prominent being Wichita State and Purdue.
Nov. 29th: UCF
UCF and Alabama have a new rivalry that stems from the Golden Knights inaccurately claiming that they are the champions of college football. Alabama did not have an answer on how to defend Tacko Fall and company last year when they lost by 3, but they will be hungry to redeem themselves in Orlando. Although UCF might claim that they are champions of this game despite the outcome, expect Alabama to prove that they are the true winners in this one. Hopefully, UCF won’t take a trip to Disney World after this game.
Dec. 18th: Liberty
The Rocket City Classic is a great chance for Alabama fans to see the Tide play outside of Coleman Coliseum. This will be a practical home game for the team. Liberty under-performed in the regular season last year, but they were three points away from going dancing. The Tide only won by one point last year in Huntsville when they played Mercer, but all players should be better prepared for this game after playing in the VBC last year.
Dec 30th: Stephen F. Austin
The Lumberjacks have one of the greatest home-court advantages in college basketball. This will be a test for the Tide to see if they have improved on the road as opposed to last year. If John Petty manages to score 20+ against SF Austin, it will bode well for how they do the entire season.
Related Story. Alabama schedules SF Austin for upcoming season. light
Jan. 26th: Baylor
The Big 10/SEC Challenge put Alabama on the map last year after they defeated Trae Young and Oklahoma. Baylor will be a contender to make the tournament next year, but they are not a lock by any means. If Alabama can bring home a W against the Bears, they will be in great position to get where they did last year.
Floor record: 2-5
Ceiling record: 6-1
Projected record: 5-2
Next. 5 steps for Alabama to go dancing again in 2019. dark
In order to make it back to the Tournament, I’d suggest that the Tide would have to win somewhere between 10 and 12 of these games. If they take care of business when they need to and pull out more than half of their 50-50 games, they will be in a great position to go dancing next season.