Vanderbilt on the road to face Bama as Regular Season draws to a close

The Vanderbilt Commodores will face the Alabama Crimson Tide for the second time this season, this time in Tuscaloosa as the two teams will meet inside Coleman Coliseum in a 7:30 pm tipoff on the SEC Network.

The Tide took the first meeting in Nashville back in January but a final of 77-62 where John Petty turned in a double-double, dropping 23 points and collecting 10 rebounds for the Tide.

Petty could miss this one with a right arm injury suffered last week that sidelined him in Saturday's Alabama home win over South Carolina. The junior from Huntsville, Ala. was wearing a sling on his right arm during that game and while there is a chance he could return to face the Commodores, it is more likely that he will sit and look to be ready for the weekend and the start of the SEC Tournament next week in Nashville where the Tide need wins to bolster the NCAA tournament hopes that currently seem on the outside looking in.

Offensively the Tide can score the basketball, as they average 83.2 ppg, good for third nationally. Their problem is defensively where they allow opponents to score 79.1 ppg against them.

Like the Commodores, Tide head coach Nate Oats is in his first season at the helm for Alabama, but his team has played better than the Commodores and while Petty is possibly out for this one, they have had better luck on the injury front.

The Tide also have their leading scorer in Kira Lewis Jr. still on the floor, as the sophomore guard lead Bama at 18.1 ppg while averaging 37.5 minutes per game.

Petty and fellow guard Jaden Shackleford each average 15.0 ppg as the only other Tide players in double-figures for the season.

Foward Herbert Jones is still the Tide's best defender despite having played the last few games with a cast on his left hand that has caused the left-hander to have to totally alter his game. He is averaging 8.4 ppg but is a presence inside that alters opponents' shots in the paint.

Alex Reese, James Bolden, Javian Davis, Gailen Smith, and Jaylen Forbes round out the Tide bench that all average more than ten minutes per game for Oats squad.

It will be a tall task for the Commodores to win this one against a Bama team, even without Petty that still has much to play for and are at home, but that's why they play the games.

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