Belmont @ Alabama preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 19, 2007 ) Belmont 85, Alabama 83

Alabama hasn't shown much consistency this season, winning back-to-back games once, but will have a chance to do so again Saturday against visiting Belmont. The Crimson Tide hopped on Samford early and rode John Petty to an easy win, but should expect much more resistance from the Bruins, winners of four straight games.

Petty, a junior who scored a career-high 39 points against Samford, has epitomized Alabama's season, producing a pair of 30-point games but also posting four games in single digits. The 6-5 guard has managed to increase his scoring output in three straight games once this season, but his first 30-point contest was followed by a dramatic drop of 24 points in the next game. "Incredible performance from Petty," coach Nate Oats told the media of the native of Huntsville, Ala., where the Crimson Tide are playing the last of three games in the Rocket City Classic. "We got some tough kids that are brought in to win. We've just got to do a little better job staying focused on the defensive end for the full 40 minutes from here on out." The Bruins, who are in the midst of the second four-game win streak, have a pair of sophomores in Adam Kunkel and Nick Muszynski that are capable of putting up a big number as the duo has combined for seven 20-point games and two 30-point games this season.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT BELMONT (8-3): Kunkel has enjoyed the most dramatic increase in scoring output in the country this season, going from 2.3 points per game as a freshman to averaging 19.1 this season. The 6-3 guard leads the Ohio Valley Conference in 3-pointers per game (3.5) and is second in scoring, trailing only Austin Peay's Terry Taylor (23.8). Kunkel has mostly taken advantage of a weak schedule as the Bruins have played three teams with a winning record as of Thursday, losing two of those games, and have feasted on Carson Newman and Kennesaw State by a combined 88 points in their last two contests.

ABOUT ALABAMA (5-5): Alex Reese is said to be dealing with a nagging injury, but has looked healthy in the last three games after closing November with four straight poor outings. The junior forward was a combined 7-of-25 from the field and 3-of-17 from beyond the arc in those four games and scored a total of 17 points, but is averaging 14.3 points since while shooting better than 45 percent from the field and 3-point territory. Herbert Jones also isn't 100 percent healthy, but it hasn't stopped him from doing a little bit of everything for the Crimson Tide, including averaging 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

TIP-INS

1. Petty, who is 118 points shy of 1,000 for his career, had 10 3-pointers against Samford, tying his own school record and giving him four career games with seven or more treys - the most in school history.

2. The Bruins, who possessed the No. 17 scoring offense in Division I entering Friday at 82.4 points per game, have taken two straight games against SEC teams, beating Vanderbilt and Georgia in 2017.

3. The 105 points scored by Alabama against Samford were the most in program history for a true road game, topping the 101 points against Charlotte in 2004.

PREDICTION: Belmont 93, Alabama 89