Jacksonville State at Alabama 11/25/20 - NCAA Basketball Picks & Predictions

Last Updated: 11/24/2020 at 12:11 PM ET

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks visit Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Wednesday to play the Alabama Crimson Tide in the opening game of the college basketball regular season for both. Jacksonville State finished 13-19 overall and 8-10 during the 2019-20 season. Jacksonville State will be characterized by new faces as 11 new players are on this year's roster. The only returning starter from last season is Kanye Henry, while Martin Roub, Juwan Perdue, and Maros Zeliznakare the only other returning players from a year ago.

Of the 11 new faces playing for the Gamecocks, three are transfers from schools in Division 1 including Brandon Huffman from North Carolina, Amane Ngumezi from Georgia and Darian Adams from Troy. Each of the three transfers is expected to see plenty of playing time for the Gamecocks as the other new faces are freshman and are likely to play roles as reserves off the bench.

Alabama was 16-15 overall and 8-10 in the SEC last season. The Crimson Tide lost it's leading scorer Kira Lewis Jr, but four of the five starters from last season including two players that scored in double-figures are returning. The leading scorer returning for Alabama is Jaden Shackelford who averaged 15.0 points per game, while senior John Petty Jr. averaged 14.5 points per game as a junior. The other two starters returning, Alex Reese and Herbert Jones averaged less than 10 points per game last season.

The Crimson Tide has several new faces including six freshmen and five transfers. Of the Alabama transfers, the one that will make the biggest immediate impact is Jahvon Quinerly, who sat out all of last season after transferring over from Villanova. Jordan Bruner will also see action after transferring from Yale where he scored an average of 10.9 points per game while pulling down 9.2 rebounds per game last season. The transfers and group of freshmen are loaded with talent and although Alabama may be a year away, the Crimson Tide will be competitive this season nonetheless.

This game should be no contest as Alabama will easily defeat Jacksonville State in the opening game of the season for both. The Crimson Tide has four of its five starters back from last season two of which averaged double figures in scoring. In addition, the Crimson Tide has landed several transfers from Division 1 schools as well as a talented crop of freshmen. Final Score Prediction, Alabama Crimson Tide wins and covers ATS 83-60.

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