Alabama @ South Carolina preview

Alabama at South Carolina

Last Meeting ( Jan 9, 2018 ) South Carolina 62, Alabama 76

Alabama hopes to overcome its recent road woes and bolster its NCAA Tournament resume when it visits South Carolina on Tuesday for an SEC. The Gamecocks are tied for fourth in the conference standings, while the Crimson Tide are two games behind South Carolina and tied for eighth.

The Crimson Tide snapped an untimely three-game skid with a 68-61 home win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, but they’ve lost six of their last eight road contests. It won’t be easy to buck that trend at Colonial Life Arena, where the Gamecocks have won seven of their last eight - with the lone defeat coming against No. 7 Tennessee. South Carolina is coming off a 76-61 setback at Mississippi State on Saturday after squandering a 16-point, first-half lead. Alabama has won three straight in the all-time series, including a 76-62 home victory last season and a 90-86 triumph in quadruple overtime in its last trip to South Carolina in 2017.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT ALABAMA (16-11, 7-7 SEC): The Crimson Tide count on a deep bench, with 10 players averaging double digits in minutes and eight scoring at least 5.5 points per game. Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. (14.2 points) is the team’s top scorer and is coming off a 19-point effort against Vanderbilt. Donta Hall (10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds) leads the SEC with 11 double-doubles while 3-point specialist John Petty Jr. (10.6 points) averages double digits in points.

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (14-13, 9-5): The Gamecocks had an offensive outage in the second half against Mississippi State, but they possess plenty of weapons about which to worry. Chris Silva (14 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.1 blocks) has put up 15.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in SEC play while freshman A.J. Lawson (14 points) has had the hot hand of late, averaging 17.8 points and shooting 61.5 percent from 3-point range over his last five contests. Hassani Gravett (11.1 points) is a dangerous 3-point shooter coming off the bench, hitting 42.5 percent from long range.

TIP-INS

1. Alabama is 15-3 when scoring 70 or more points and 1-8 when failing to reach that mark.

2. South Carolina has shot 53.2 percent from 3-point range over its last five games.

3. After outrebounding 17 of its first 18 opponents, Alabama has lost the battle of the boards in eight of its last nine contests.

PREDICTION: South Carolina 73, Alabama 72