South Carolina @ Alabama preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 10, 2017 ) Alabama 64, South Carolina 53

With the college football season finally coming to a close Monday, the focus on Alabama's campus shifts to men's basketball - yet another reason why the Crimson Tide need to clean things up heading into Tuesday's encounter with visiting South Carolina. Alabama's dismal showing from beyond the arc led to a 19-point loss to Georgia last time out, the Crimson Tide's third loss in the past four games.

Freshman phenom Collin Sexton scored 23 of Alabama's 46 points in the setback to the Bulldogs, as the Crimson Tide connected on just four of their 23 attempts from beyond the arc in their worst offensive showing of the season. "We just didn't make any backside 3s," coach Avery Johnson told reporters after the game. "Then there were times that we had backside 3s that we pump faked and drove when we were wide open." Up next: Alabama's only meeting of the season with a South Carolina team that opened SEC play with losses to Ole Miss and Missouri before defeating Vanderbilt 71-60. Chris Silva erupted for a collegiate-high 27 points and eight rebounds while Wesley Myers scored all 17 of his points after halftime.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (10-5, 1-2 SEC): The Gamecocks face long odds to return to the Final Four, thanks in large part to a sputtering offense that ranks 286th nationally in shooting percentage (42.2), 253rd in 3-point success rate (33.2 percent) and 296th in free-throw percentage (66.5). Silva's 14.6 points and 8.1 rebounds pace the team, and he has connected on 13-of-21 shots over his previous two games. Frank Booker (10.9) is the only other South Carolina player averaging double figures in points and has a combined nine points on 1-of-9 shooting over his past two outings.

ABOUT ALABAMA (9-6, 1-2): Sexton has sufficiently recovered from a Texas-sized shooting slump in which he went just 7-for-24 against the Longhorns and Aggies after averaging 23.5 points on 56.7 percent shooting over his previous two games. But his long-range game has all but disappeared for the past month, with the Georgia native having connected on just 3-of-15 attempts over his past five contests. Second-year guard Dazon Ingram (11.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg) missed the loss to Georgia with the flu and is questionable for Tuesday's encounter with the Gamecocks.

TIP-INS

1. Alabama prevailed 90-86 in quadruple overtime in last year's only regular-season meeting.

2. Sexton has committed multiple turnovers in 10 of his last 11 games.

3. Silva averaged just 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two encounters with the Crimson Tide last season.

PREDICTION: South Carolina 76, Alabama 70