The non-conference college basketball season is in full swing, and Friday's games are packed with high-profile games.
Here are two of my favorite plays on Friday's slate.
alabama at purdue
With Zach Eady joining the NBA, Purdue will lean more toward Braden Smith's ball-screen-centered offense.
Given Mark Sears' dominant presence in Bama's ball-screen coverage unit, expect the Boilermakers to score a lot of points in the pick-and-roll.
In three games against UNC Asheville, Arkansas State, and McNeese State, the Tide has allowed 0.82 pick-and-roll points per possession (34th percentile), so Purdue will be a significant step up in the competition.
On the other side of the court, Purdue's rim defense will likely regress without Eadie.
Last season, the Boilermakers allowed 28 paint points per game (77th percentile) before allowing 38 paint points to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Northern Kentucky and Yale. Alabama will be a significant step up in competition.
Alabama is a rim-and-three oriented offense, and the Tide should obliterate the rim behind a versatile frontcourt with huge size in 6-foot-11 Grant Nelson and 6-foot-11 Clifford Omoruyi.
That should force Purdue's defense into the paint, where Sears can unleash a thermonuclear attack from deep (since the start of last season, Sears has shot 43 percent from 3-point range). ).
I'm also concerned about Purdue's transition defense. He's allowing 1.05 PPP (38th percentile) against three mid-major opponents.
Alabama is one of the more up-tempo, transition-dependent offenses in college hoops, and will exploit any vulnerability.
I'm looking forward to a high scoring barn burner.
Recommended: 164 or higher (-110, ESPN BET).
Ohio State University Texas A&M
Resuming production always plays a big role early in the season.
In November and December, teams with more roster continuity, chemistry, and cohesion perform better than teams with less.
Texas A&M has the most returning players of any team in the power conference, returning 72% of last year's minutes, including four star players and superstar point guard Wade Taylor IV.
For the second consecutive offseason, no one transferred from Buzz Williams' program.
Meanwhile, Ohio State has initiated four transfers, led by returning Bully Ball point guard Bruce Thornton. I think it will take some time for Jake Diebler to put the pieces together.
In their respective season openers, Ohio State defeated Texas and Texas A&M lost to UCF, but those two had shaky results.
The Buckeyes needed 14-of-28 (50%) 3-point shooting for the upset victory, but the Aggies took a double-digit lead with six minutes left.
So I think Texas A&M is a little undervalued and Ohio State is a little overvalued.
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From an on-court schematic standpoint, I'm concerned about Ohio State's frontcourt rebounding corps.
The Buckeyes allowed 29 offensive rebounds in the first two games (223rd nationally in defensive rebounding percentage), which doesn't bode well against the Aggies, who are arguably the best offensive rebounding team in the country.
Additionally, it remains to be seen if the Buckeyes have enough space to keep lanes open for Thornton's ball screen sets.
The Aggies switch everything up and play a compact defense, interweaving zone looks and generally forcing their opponents to win on top.
Granted, Ohio State is shooting close to 50% from three in the young season, but that's always a setback and probably doesn't indicate the team's true shooting talent.
Recommended: Texas A&M -4 (-115, Bet365).
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Tanner McGrath has been a professional sports handicapper since 2018. He specializes in college sports and baseball and is an avid fan of the Vermont Catamounts, Miami Marlins, and any team that loses at home. He was put on the wrong foot in the Miami Miracle in 2018, but redeemed himself four years later by hitting Sandy Alcantara with a 40/1 long shot to win the National League Cy Young Award.
