>The Alabama Crimson Tide have a forecast 57% chance to win against The Memphis Tigers with a spread of -4.5/4.5 and an over/under of 134.5. The Alabama Crimson Tide are 0 – 0 against The Memphis Tigers in the 2021-22 Season.
— Tuesday, December 14th Alabama Crimson Tide @ Memphis Tigers
Coming off one of the more impressive weeks in college basketball, the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide head up the road to Tennessee Tuesday night to face the struggling Memphis Tigers. On the last two Saturdays, the Tide have knocked off a pair of reigning Final Four teams in Gonzaga and Houston to jump into the top 10. Tuesday’s contest tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
These teams have met eight times in their history, with Memphis leading the series 5-3. They last played in November 2017, with Alabama winning by 12. The Tide have taken three of the last four matchups, but the teams have only played three times since 2000.
Tide Offense is Sizzling
Alabama has won four games in a row since a surprise loss to Iona in the first round of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando. They are 6-3 ATS this season, and the over is 6-3 in their nine games. Since the Gonzaga game was played in Seattle, this will technically be the Tide’s first road game of the season.
Alabama ranks seventh in the nation at 88 ppg, and they shoot 48.1 percent as a team. They put 91 on Gonzaga, 96 on Miami, and have topped 90 two other times. The only time they were held under 70 this season was in the 72-68 loss to Iona.
Alabama has three players in double figures this season, led by Jaden Shackelford at 19.1 ppg. The junior is shooting 45.6 percent from 3-point range on the season, 50 percent on the road. He scored 28 points in the win at Gonzaga and 18 points against Houston while averaging 8.5 rebounds in those games and making 11 3-pointers.
Junior Jahvon Quinerly is averaging 15.1 ppg and 4.3 apg. He has scored 17 points in each of the last two games while averaging seven assists. The third double-digit scorer is Keon Ellis at 11.2ppg and 6.4 RPG.
Memphis Streaking the Wrong Way
This was supposed to be a special season for the Tigers and coach Penny Hardaway. They had a renowned recruiting class and started the season ranked No. 12 and were a lot of experts’ dark horse pick for the Final Four. But after a 5-0 start and a top 10 ranking, the season has unraveled with losses to Iowa State, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Murray State.
To top that off, there were multiple articles from national publications in the last week about internal issues in the program and Hardaway’s promising lineup changes. The coach even called the Murray State loss the lowest point of his basketball life, outside of his knee surgeries. But the beauty of sports is there’s always the next game, and this is a big week for the Tigers with No. 6 Alabama on Tuesday and No. 18 Tennessee on Saturday in Nashville.
Freshman Emoni Bates leads Memphis in scoring at 11.2 ppg, but the 6-foot-9 forward is shooting just 38 percent from the field. Freshman center Jalen Duren leads the team at 6.8 rpg to go with his 10.4 ppg, and he’s shooting 66 percent from the field while also blocking 3.1 shots per game.
The third double-digit scorer for the Tigers is senior DeAndre Williams at 10.2 ppg. Tyler Harris is the only player in the Tigers’ top eight players who shoots better than 35 percent from 3-point range, and the senior is at 47.8 percent.
Betting Analysis
- Alabama Crimson Tide -5.5 (-105) Money Line -280
- Memphis Tigers +5.5 (-115) Money Line +170
- Total Points: 155. Over -105, Under -115
Alabama will have to keep Memphis off the line as the Tigers lead the nation at 25.8 attempts per game, but they shoot under 67 percent. That number is part of the reason why Memphis ranks 188th in scoring at 68.2 ppg. The Tigers will have to keep Alabama from heating up beyond the arc as they make 9.8 3-pointers per game.
Betting Pick: Alabama -5.5 (-105)
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