Alabama basketball vs. Vanderbilt: Score prediction, scouting report

Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News
·3 min read

Alabama basketball had a wake-up call against Oklahoma in the blowout loss. Now it has a chance to start showing how it will answer that call starting with a matchup with Vanderbilt.

The No. 5 Crimson Tide won the first matchup two weeks ago in Nashville. Brandon Miller scored 30 in Alabama's 78-66 victory. Now the Crimson Tide will look to get the sweep against the Commodores and remain undefeated in SEC play.

Vanderbilt has wins over South Carolina, Arkansas and Georgia but has lost SEC games to Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Texas A&M. A loss to the Crimson Tide on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., SEC Network) would mark a third consecutive loss for the Commodores.

Here's a look at Vanderbilt (10-11, 3-5 SEC) and how it stacks up with the Crimson Tide (18-3, 8-0 SEC).

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Projected starting lineup for Vanderbilt

Guard Ezra Manjon (senior): 6-foot, 170 pounds. Averages: 8.7 points, 3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1 steal, 0.1 blocks, 1.4 turnovers.

Guard Tyrin Lawrence (junior): 6-foot-4, 200 pounds. Averages: 10.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1 steal, 0.1 blocks, 1.6 turnovers.

Forward Jordan Wright (senior): 6-foot-6, 220 pounds. Averages: 10.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks, 1.7 turnovers.

Forward Myles Stute (junior): 6-foot-7, 215 pounds. Averages: 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.1 blocks, 1.8 turnovers.

Center Quentin Millora-Brown (senior): 6-foot-10, 245 pounds. Averages: 3.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.4 blocks, 0.7 turnovers.

Vanderbilt's rotation

The Commodores have 10 players who have averaged 10 minutes or more, but players such as Paul Lewis and Malik Dia also are close to averaging 10 minutes a game. Liam Robbins, who had been averaging 22.1 minutes, is out with an injury. He had been leading the Commodores in scoring with 13.2 points per game. He also missed the first matchup against Alabama. Trey Thomas (23.9 ppg) and Colin Smith (14.8 ppg) should also see a fair amount of playing time even if they're not in the starting lineup.

How Vanderbilt stacks up with Alabama in scoring, defense and tempo

KenPom tracks adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, which are points scored and allowed per 100 possessions. Vanderbilt is better offensively than defensively, but it's not elite at either.

As far as tempo goes, Vanderbilt doesn't play as slow as Alabama's last two opponents, but the Commodores are still on the slower end. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide is second-fastest in the country. KenPom measures the adjusted tempo statistic based on the number of possessions per 40 minutes.

Adjusted offensive efficiency:

Vanderbilt: 111.8 (52nd nationally)

Alabama: 115.3 (23rd)

Adjusted defensive efficiency:

Vanderbilt: 104.1 (164th nationally)

Alabama: 90.2 (6th)

Tempo

Vanderbilt: 65.7 (256th)

Alabama: 73.7 (2nd)

Score prediction

Alabama 86, Vanderbilt 65: The Crimson Tide got its wake-up call against Oklahoma. In a return to Coleman Coliseum, Alabama wins and wins big against the Commodores.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball vs. Vanderbilt: Score prediction, scouting report