Bama-Clemson Basketball Breakdown And Open Thread

Clemson's main strength this season is their starting frontcourt. Between Grantham, Blossomgame (who is in the running for the country's best player name), and Nnoko, the Tigers average 4.2 BPG and 6'9 height. On top of that, their combined 5.9 APG is pretty strong for their size, and none of them average 3.0 or more fouls per game, meaning they play strong defense without getting themselves in trouble. Nnoko is more of a physical presence than anything else, as his offensive and rebounding skills are a bit lacking, but Grantham is a solid scorer (42.9% FG%, 35.7% 3P%, 86.7% FT%) and rebounder. Blossomgame has been awesome though. He's shooting 59.6% from the field, and even though most of those attempts come from around the basket, he's also shooting 42.3% from three and 70.5% from the line.

Roper is a quality guard for Clemson. His 3.9 APG and 1.0 SPG is impressive enough without mentioning that he's only turning the ball over 0.4 times per game. He's a pretty solid shooter in his own right too (42.6% FG%, 39.4% 3P%, 75.0% FT%). Holmes rounds out the starting line-up at the point. His 44.7% 3P% makes him a serious threat, and the Tide will need to make sure he can't find space.

• G Gabe DeVoe (5.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG)
• G Ty Hudson (4.1 PPG, 0.9 APG)
• F Josh Smith (2.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG)
• C Sidy Djitte (4.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.5 BPG)

What To Watch For

• Who Steps Up for Dazon? With star freshman Dazon Ingram suffering a broken foot in practice this week, Alabama is now in a bad spot. The main goal for this year has always been focusing on getting this program moving in the right direction, but the overwhelmingly successful trip to Orlando for the AdvoCare Invitational got many Alabama fans thinking that the program could contend this season. That was a bit of a stretch already, but now with Ingram, one of the best all-around players on the team, done for the year, the outlook for the rest of the season just got pretty murky. Avery Johnson's truly got his work cut out for him now. Justin Coleman will obviously be the first guy this team turns to at this point, as he is the only other true point guard on the roster. Coleman has struggled a bit this season, as he has never really developed into the star many thought he could be coming out of high school, but he's got the ability to lead this team. Behind him though, there isn't much depth. Retin Obasohan will likely be tasked with running the point much more than he intended to this season.
• What Does the Offense Look Like? No more Dazon means a number of things offensively. First of all, the lovely advantage of having your primary ball-carrier be 6'5 is out the window. Coleman and Obasohan, are, well, not tall. Not only that, but Ingram was leading the team in assists and rebounds. Coleman's a nice distributor of the basketball, but he doesn't see the court as well as Ingram, who could also use his height to create dribble-penetration and force the defense to rotate. In transition, Ingram had the ability to grab a defensive board and immediately push the Tide up the court. Expect the Alabama fastbreak game to take a bit of a hit. Again, Avery Johnson's really going to earn his paycheck this season.

Three Keys to Victory

1. Defend the Paint. Clemson's done really well this year when they get the ball inside. They are currently ranked 78th in the country with a 52.9% 2P%, mostly  because they attack the basket with authority. Blossomgame in particular is adept in this area, so Alabama will need someone with the ability to prevent dribble-penetration from the wing to step up. Shannon Hale could be the Tide's most important defender Sunday night.
2. Quick Rotations. The Tigers' offensive identity this year has been working the defense inside-out, using their ability to attack the basket to open up shots from the perimeter. Alabama will need to be ready to rotate over quickly to close out on strong shooters like Holmes and Roper.
3. Ramp Up the Speed. Clemson runs a very efficient, deliberate offense. It would behoove the Tide to try to make them uncomfortable by picking up the pace of the game. Alabama is at their best offensively when they can get out in transition, which is the opposite of what Clemson's trying to do. If the Tide can force some turnovers and speed up the pace of play, they will have a good chance of coming out of Greenville with another quality victory.