Illinois Basketball: Previewing the marquee matchup vs Alabama

Illinois basketball will have a quad-one game this Wednesday, November 20th. The Illini will travel down to Birmingham, Alabama to play the Alabama Crimson Tide at 8 pm CST. It is certainly a strong opportunity for Illinois to see where they are and how far they have developed after a tough exhibition loss vs Ole Miss. The Illini have looked far more cohesive through three games, however, it was against lesser competition. The Crimson Tide was the number two-ranked team in the country in last week’s AP Top 25. They return an all-American guard in Mark Sears and have some old, experienced college basketball players such as Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi.

From a numbers point of view, both teams want to get out, run and shoot the ball.

Illinois Basketball’s Kenpom and Bartorvik numbers

Illinois basketball ranks 33rd in Kenpom’s offensive efficiency numbers and 41st on Bart Torvik. Those numbers were probably affected by the rough offensive night vs Oakland The Illini only scored 66 points and struggled with turnovers. With freshman Kasparas Jakucionis likely matching up with fifth-year all-American guard, Mark Sears, keep an eye on how well Illinois takes care of the ball. On top of that, Tomislav Ivisic has absolutely feasted on lower competition so far. However, he will face fifth-year center, Cliff Omoruyi, who is a proven shot-blocker. Both Jakucionis and Ivisic need to have big games if the Illini want to pull this one out.

On the defensive side of the ball, Illinois ranks 21st on KenPom and 11th on BartTorvik. So far on the defensive side of the ball, the Illini seem more athletically equipped than last year. Having a true center in Ivisic play the five and Morez Johnson off the bench has been huge.

Alabama’s Kenpom and Bartorvik numbers.

On Offensive efficiency, Alabama ranks 5th on Kenpom and 4th on BartTorvik. That is no surprise given the track record of Nate Oats. The team is quite similar to how Illinois was built last year. There are a lot of old, seasoned veterans on the team along with some bright young talent coming off the bench such as Labaron Philon. Four out of the five starters at Alabama are fifth-year players who were also on last year’s final four teams. Defensively, Alabama does have some holes. Sears and backcourt mate, Latrell Wrightsell, are smaller guards. Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi are long shot-blockers, however, they leave some to be desired on the glass.

Overall, get ready for high-octane offense and some creative shot-making.

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