Clemson Basketball: Alabama Preview

But first, a word from our sponsors…

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Section 103 was founded in Atlanta in 2021 by a Georgia Tech grad. Since its inception, Section 103 has focused on providing exceptional quality at a reasonable price. Today, they’re adding Clemson to their roster of southern schools, which already includes Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, and LSU.

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one of their shirts earlier this week. I picked up the Cadence Count shirt, and it’s fantastic. The shirt is 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton. I’m not exactly sure what that means, all I know is it’s super soft.

When I sat down to write this blurb, I didn’t even realize that Clemson grad Adam Eargle created the graphic for my new shirt. If you don’t follow Adam on Twitter, I highly recommend it. He’s always coming up with cool designs. As soon as I saw Adam’s name attached to this project, I knew it would be high quality. I wasn’t disappointed.

Section 103 offers shirt designs based on Clemson traditions, and you can tell they are dialed into what makes Clemson special. Not only do they offer classic designs based on Cadence Count and Howard’s Rock, but they also touch on more obscure Tiger lore like Clemson House (RIP) and Clemson Blue Cheese.

In addition to T-shirts, they also offer some sweet-looking hats, performance polos, and sweatshirts. I’m planning to add the purple Clemson House rope hat, the contrast-collar performance polo, and the Clemson House Script Hoodie to my Christmas list. I’m going to pick up the Clemson House Crewneck Sweatshirt for my wife.

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You can find Section 103 at www.section103.com, or you can save a few keystrokes and click on the above hyperlink.

Now back to your regularly scheduled basketball preview.

Game Information

Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Date: Wednesday, December 3

Tip Time: 7:15

Channel: ESPNU

2025-2026 Season

Record: 5-2

AP Rank: 12

Previous 3 Games

11/27: W – 105-72 vs Maryland

11/26: W – 115 – 76 vs UNLV

11/24: L – 85 – 95 vs Gonzaga

Key Analytics

Adjusted Efficiency: 125.4 (3)

Adjusted Tempo: 74.2 (9)

Average Possession Length: 14.3 (8)

Effective Field Goal%: 58.7 (21)

Offensive Rebound%: 31.6 (165)

Three Point%: 36.3 (81)

Two Point %: 63 (8)

Adjusted Efficiency: 99 (38)

Adjusted Tempo: 74.2 (9)

Average Possession Length: 17.1 (175)

Effective Field Goal%: 498.2 (126)

Offensive Rebound%: 31.6 (165)

Three Point%: 32.9 (179)

Two Point %: 49.1 (113)

Alabama Personnel

Starters

Position

Number

Player

Class

Height

Weight

Previous Team

Minutes

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Center

22

Aiden Sherrell

So.

6’11”

255

N/A

19

10

7

1

Power Forward

7

Taylor Bol Bowen

Jr.

6’10”

202

Florida State

22

11

5

0

Small Forward

95

Houston Mallette

Sr.

6’5″

202

Pepperdine

24

10

4

1

Shooting Guard

2

Aden Holloway

Jr.

6’1″

180

Auburn

30

18

3

4

Point Guard

0

Labaron Philon

So.

6’4″

185

N/A

28

21

3

6

Bench

Position

Number

Player

Class

Height

Weight

Previous Team

Minutes

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Guard/Wing

3

Latrell Wrightsell

Gr.

6’3″

195

Cal St. Fullerton

26

9

2

3

Wing/Forward

5

Amari Allen

Fr.

6’8″

205

N/A

26

10

7

4

Center

15

Noah Williamson

Sr.

7’0″

250

Bucknell

12

2

2

1

Wing/Forward

6

London Jemison

Fr.

6’8″

205

N/A

16

6

3

0

Wing

4

Davion Hannah

Fr.

6’1”

190

N/A

12

3

1

1

Wing

1

Jalil Bethea

So.

6’5”

190

Miami

NA

NA

NA

NA

Scouting Report

Let’s start with the obvious. Alabama is a top-tier SEC team with one of the most explosive offenses in college basketball. In terms of overall talent, Clemson won’t face a better team this season. Nate Oates isn’t my favorite coach, but he’s a good coach and has turned Crimson Tide basketball into a national contender. His team is clicking on all cylinders coming into this game after dropping 100+ points on their two previous opponents.

The game plan against this team is simple in theory but exceedingly difficult in execution. It all boils down to one objective.

Everything else is ancillary to this goal.

Teams that try to run-and-gun with Bama get embarrassed. Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway make up one of the best back courts in the nation, and they’re looking to push the ball at every opportunity.

Philon is a bully. He wants to drive the ball into the paint and either finish at the rim or kick out to any number of shooters dotting the perimeter. If he gets shut down on the drive, he kicks to Holloway, and if he doesn’t put it up (he’s shooting 43% from 3), he does the same thing. Nate Oates wants his guards to get a piece of the paint on every possession. This is a classic drive-and-kick offense predicated on spreading the floor and making the defense decide whether to stick with shooters or defend the lane. Philon and Holloway make it impossible to do both.

Alabama’s offense is all about volume. They want to get up as many shots as possible. They’ll take an early contested shot over working the ball around and finding something better late in the clock. Transition defense is crucial against this team. Philon and Holloway push the ball on both makes and misses, and their big men run the floor looking for easy buckets. The Tiger guards have to slow them down in the back court and make this game about half-court execution. That means jamming rebounders to prevent easy outlet passes and keeping the ball out of the middle of the court in transition. You can’t stop Nate Oates’s team from pushing the ball up the court, but you can force them to take questionable early shots if your defense can withstand the initial transition surge.

The good news for Clemson is that no one is better at taking the air out of the ball on defense than Brad Brownell. Clemson is in the top five nationally at slowing the pace, and Alabama needs to run to win. Whoever plays closer to their ideal game wins. The problem for the Tigers is that no one has been able to slow them down yet. Purdue and Gonzaga clipped them by standing toe to toe and slugging it out on offense. Clemson isn’t that sort of team. They have to make this thing as choppy as possible to have a chance. They need to drag Bama into the mud because they don’t have enough firepower to outscore them.

Avoid the knockout

Alabama can end a game in a hurry. They’ll stretch a five-point lead to ten points in a matter of seconds when the offense is rolling, and they’ll turn a 10-point lead into a 20-point blowout in the blink of an eye. Brad needs to be ready to burn through his timeouts in the first half. In their last game against Maryland, Bama led 26-11 10 minutes into the game. By the time the Terps got warmed up, the game was already out of hand.

Purdue and Gonzaga beat Bama by maintaining constant pressure. They either held a lead or were within 5 points the entire game and then outkicked the Tide to the finish line. If you give Alabama space on the scoreboard, they’ll run away from you. This isn’t a team you can come back against because they bury anyone who can’t score. Against most teams, you can survive a scoring drought; against Alabama, a scoring drought is death because that means you’re missing shots and Bama is playing in transition. When Bama is playing in transition, they’re the best team in the country.

Rebound!

The only real advantage I see for Clemson is on the glass. Alabama’s front court is built to run and play in transition. They’re vulnerable to offensive rebounds when the game gets into the half-court. Gonzaga collected 20 offensive boards in their 85-95 win over the Tide in Vegas. Purdue pulled down 19 offensive boards in their win in Coleman.

Hitting the offensive glass does two things that bother the Crimson Tide. Going back to my key to the game, offensive rebounding slows the game down. Alabama is prone to losing the offensive boards because it is always looking to run. Purdue and Gonzaga attacked the offensive glass, forcing them to slow down and fight for contested rebounds. Even if you don’t pull down the board, keeping Bama from getting uncontested rebounds that lead to transition buckets has value.

The other thing it does is allow your team to keep the ball. Any rebound Clemson pulls down should immediately be kicked out to the top of the key for a reset. The Tigers should strive to take every half-court shot with five or fewer seconds on the shot clock. Sometimes that’s going to end up in a shot clock violation or a rushed shot at the buzzer, but that’s fine. Controlling the tempo is more important than anything else in this game.

There is, of course, a trade-off to going after offensive boards against Bama. If you send two or three players to the glass and don’t get the board, Bama is going to punish you on the other end. Clemson’s guards have to be ready to jam the ball on the outlet pass and not let the Bama guards push the ball up court with the dribble.

“First, stop the ball” is a core defensive principle for every team, but it’s doubly important tonight for the Tigers.

Overall

If you’re looking for a template for the Tigers, it’s the Georgia game. Clemson had to reach 80 points to force overtime, and they just managed to hit that benchmark. They did it by collecting 15 offensive rebounds to Georgia’s eight and shooting 11-25 from 3 and getting balanced scoring from across the roster.

The Bulldogs are ranked 21st on KenPom and did unmentionable things to Florida State last night. Alabama is 14th. That’s not a huge difference in class, at least early in the season. If I were forced to put money on the outcome of the game (without regard for the spread), I’d take Alabama. I see a way forward for the Tigers, but it’s a narrow path to victory and will require some help from the Crimson Tide. If they shoot well, it’s a wrap. Clemson needs them to miss some open shots.

Clemson must keep the score close, keep pressure on the Tide, and hope the game comes down to who wins the final five minutes.

Predictions

KenPom

Clemson – 78

Alabama – 86

Drew

Clemson – 73

Alabama – 82

The Tigers keep this one reasonably close. They do a decent job of slowing the game down, but Alabama has too much at home. I’d love to be wrong.