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SEC Preview: South Carolina, Mississippi State, Tennessee and much more

By Blake DuDonis

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 16: Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick is interviewed by former Lady Vol, now ESPN commentator, Kara Lawson after a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Tennessee Lady Volunteers on January 16, 2017, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Tennessee upset the Irish 71-69. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 16: Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick is interviewed by former Lady Vol, now ESPN commentator, Kara Lawson after a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Tennessee Lady Volunteers on January 16, 2017, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Tennessee upset the Irish 71-69. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Alabama Crimson Tide
Predicted finish: 9th  

Key returners (last season’s stats)
G- Hannah Cook- 6’0, SR- 11.5 PPG, 37%FG, 35% 3pt, 4,9 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 32 MG
G- Meoshonti Knight- 5’8, SR- 10.6 PPG, 38%FG, 25% 3pt, 4.4 RPG, 28 MPG
G- Jordan Lewis- 5’7, SO- 9.8 PPG, 33%FG, 28% 3pt, 3.9 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, 33 MPG, All Freshman
F- Shaquera Wade- 6’0, JR- 9.4 PPG, 42%FG, 33% 3pt, 5.7 RPG, 27 MPG
F- Ashley Knight- 6’5, SO- 6.2 PPG, 55%FG, 4.9 RPG, 2.5 BPG, 18 MPG, All Freshman

Biggest losses (last season’s stats)
None

Newcomers
G- Amber Richardson, 6’0, (NC State), R-SO- Ranked #68 in 2015 class, #14 shooting guard
F- Ariyah Copeland, 6’3, (Columbus, GA), FR- Ranked #198 in 2017 class, #33 center
G- Daijia Ruffin, 5’9, (UT-Martin), R-JR- 14.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG in 2015-16 at UT-Martin

Head Coach- Kristie Curry, 5th season
Kristie Curry enters her fifth season at Alabama having accumulated a 64-65 (18-46 SEC) record thus far. Though that record may not look great, the Tide took several steps forward last season, winning 20+ for the first time since Curry arrived and getting to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. The team also beat Tennessee three times, an impressive achievement for a program who had never even beaten the Lady Vols in back-to-back games at any point in its history. Though she hasn’t yet led Alabama to the places they want to go, Curry does have a history of success as a head coach, including a national championship appearance in 2001 as the head coach of Purdue and has 373 wins to her name. With a roster full of players she and her staff recruited, Curry looks to make a jump starting this season.

Key non-conference games
Nov. 16- Jacksonville
Nov. 23- NC State (neutral site)
Nov. 24- Elon (neutral site)
Dec. 17- SMU

Outlook
It has been a while since the Crimson Tide were among the nation’s elite programs; from 1993-98 the Crimson Tide made it to the Sweet Sixteen every season including a trip to the Final Four in ’93. That said, Curry trots out arguably her most talented team yet during her 5 years in Tuscaloosa. Returning every player who played meaningful minutes, plus the addition of Amber Richardson, Alabama is a dangerous team. The key for Alabama will be consistency. While the wins over Tennessee and Missouri were impressive, they also lost games to Vanderbilt and Arkansas. As far as preparing for the SEC, their non-conference schedule leaves much to be desired as the only NCAA tournament teams from last year on it are NC State and Elon. Their offense also took a huge dip in SEC play last season as they scored just 59 PPG on 36%FG and 26% 3pt shooting. That said, it is rare to see a team bring back all of its key pieces, so a higher finish than this projection wouldn’t be shocking at all.

Best Case Scenario- The return of everyone allows unusual continuity, offense improves, non-conference schedule gives tons of confidence, team finishes in 6th place and makes the NCAA tournament

Worst Case Scenario- Offensive woes continue despite the returners, the non-conference schedule does not properly prepare them for the SEC, finish in a disappointing 11th

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