Texas-Arlington @ Alabama preview
Coleman Coliseum
Sensational freshmen face off against seasoned veterans when Alabama hosts UT Arlington on Tuesday in a Barclays Center Classic matchup of undefeated teams. The Crimson Tide are led by one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, while the Mavericks are a rarity in today’s college game as they start five seniors.
Alabama has rolled through its first three games, winning by an average of 23.7 points, but they won’t face a pushover in UT Arlington. The Mavericks are the favorites to repeat as Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions after recording a school-record 27 victories last campaign. They’ve opened the season with wins over Loyola Marymount (85-80) and at BYU (89-75) behind reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year Kevin Hervey. After posting a hard-fought, season-opening 82-70 triumph over Memphis without freshman guard Collin Sexton, who was serving a one-game NCAA suspension, Alabama has routed Lipscomb (86-64) and Alabama A&M (104-67) in its last two contests.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network
ABOUT UT ARLINGTON (2-0): The Mavericks like to run the offense through Hervey (25.5 points, 8.5 rebounds), but point guard Erick Neal (17.5 points, 10.5 assists) can score and spread the ball around. Hervey creates matchup problems at 6-9 because he can step out and hit the 3-pointer – he is 6-for-15 – while Johnny Hamilton, a 7-foot graduate transfer from Virginia Tech, gives the Mavericks another post option. Guard Kaelon Wilson (11.5 points) also averages double digits in points.
ABOUT ALABAMA (3-0): The seven players who average at least 20 minutes also score at least seven points per game. Freshmen Sexton (23.5 points, five assists) and John Petty (18.3 points) lead the way, while sophomore Dazon Ingram (14.3, six rebounds, 4.7 assists) also is off to a great start. Petty made a school-record 10 3-pointers in Friday’s win over Alabama A&M and is 15-for-30 from beyond the arc.
TIP-INS
1. Alabama has not started 4-0 since winning its first six games in 2012-13.
2. The Crimson Tide’s 272 points are their most through three games since posting the same total in the first three contests in 2004-05, which also was the last time they topped 80 in each of their first four games.
3. The Mavericks ranked second in the nation in 3-point percentage (51.1) through Sunday.
PREDICTION: Alabama 88, UT Arlington 79