Second-ranked Alabama might be tempted to look past its home game against McNeese State on Sunday, especially with a clash against No. 14 Purdue looming later this week.
But coach Will Wade and the reigning Southland Conference champion McNeese State have proved they aren’t a team to sleep on.
McNeese State became one of the mid-major darlings of college basketball last season, going 30-3 in the regular season and conference tournament. They made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 22 years, losing to Gonzaga 86-65 in the first round.
McNeese State (1-1) started this season on a down note as it fell to South Dakota State 80-73 in their season opener.
“We’ve got to get better with our attention to detail, especially with the scouting report,” Wade said after the opener. “We’ve got to get better with our movement on offense and create double gaps. And we’ve got to get better at driving and playing through contact.”
It’s likely McNeese State worked through some of those issues as it rebounded with a 111-57 win over the College Of Biblical Studies, who play in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association.
Guard Javohn Garcia is averaging 18 points for the Cowboys on 60.9 percent shooting from the field. Providence transfer Alyn Breed scored 18 points in the season opener but missed their second game for precautionary reasons. He is expected to play against Alabama.
“His knee had some swelling after our practices (Wednesday),” Wade said Thursday. “We had a couple practices (Wednesday), one in the afternoon and one at night, and he had a little swelling after that, so we decided not to risk it. He could have played today, but we got to be smart about that.”
The Crimson Tide (2-0) entered the season ranked second in the Associated Press Top 25. They backed up their ranking with a resounding 56-point win over UNC Asheville in the season opener before beating Arkansas State 88-79 in a much tighter affair in their second game.
Mark Sears, the Southeastern Conference preseason player of the year, has been leading the charge for Alabama over the first two games with an average of 19.5 points per game. Guard Labaron Philon leads the team with an average of 6 assists per game in addition to 11 points per game. Philon was one assist shy of a double-double in his collegiate debut.
“He’s a great two-way player,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said about Philon, a freshman. “He plays really hard on both sides of the ball. … He’s got size and athleticism and he’s been playing the right way, really, since he stepped on campus.”
Big man Clifford Omoruyi also has been a difference maker for the Crimson Tide. The 6-foot-11 center from Nigeria is averaging 14 points per game and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 91.7 percent (11-for-12) from the field. Only four players with at least 10 field goal attempts on the young season have a better field goal percentage than Omoruyi.
–Field Level Media
