“Bama basketball collapse: UNC-Asheville brings back some firepower and size, but not nearly enough.”

Game One, folks. Be clear. There are about 37 players left, but first, the Tide opens its season with a late game at the Mausoleum against the worst opponent it will face this season.

I'm taking over BB4 this year, so the bi-weekly breakdown will be a little different. Of course we will continue to follow KenPom. But I probably won't go into as much detail about individual player metrics and instead look at the bigger picture. I will also add NET and other analytical rankings in the previews and provide point distribution for the game. And I hope I can do it all in a decent 800-1000 words. (Although, as you know, I can't clear my throat without a whole paragraph).

Generally we focus on the opponent, but this new injury is worth sharing:

All right, let's dive into what may objectively be the only “easy” game on the Tide's schedule this year:

UNC Asheville

'Bama -24.5 (160.5 o/u)
KenPom projected: 194 (144 Attack, 267 Defense, 234 Speed)
Evan Miya projected: 165 (147 Attack, 179 Defense, 138 Speed)
Bart Torvik projected: 142 (118 Attack, 170 Defense, 152 Speed)

The Asheville Bulldogs travel to Coleman Coliseum to take on the highest-ranked opponent in program history. That's disheartening enough, but having to do this while her campus and community are still being ravaged by Helene is even worse. On top of that, UNCA may return two of their top three scorers, but who they lost is a bigger blow than whoever comes back.

We previewed UNCA in the offseason, but looking back, here's who the Tide welcomed:

UNC Asheville is definitely a below average T3 opponent that doesn't do anything great, but is pretty average overall in most individual aspects of the program. The “best” part of UNCA is the defense, and even that is only a decent 99th.

They were second in the Big South and finished the season 22-12. But it was a mixed testimony. UNCA played Kennesaw closely and split the season series. They also split with conference champion High Point. The Bulldogs picked up some nice conference wins against Winthrop and Presbyterian, a very good road win against OOC Western Kentucky. But against the majors, UNCA was outclassed, losing to every Power 5 opponent by more than 20 points and failing to get above the 60s.

The Bulldogs scored nearly two dozen wins with their trio of scorers, Drew Pember, Josh Banks and Fletcher Abee.

Both Abee and Banks return to the guard spot this season, but it's hard to say how much Asheville will miss Pember. Not only was Drew the Dogs' leading scorer, he also led the entire Big South with 20.2 PPG. He was second in the conference in rebounds per game, eighth in effective shooting from the floor and even led the conference in blocks per contest. The Bulldogs ran their offense through the post last season to free up Abee and Banks on the outside, but there simply isn't anyone on the roster who looks like Pember as a player of the year candidate.

Expect the Bulldogs to be deliberate again this year (they're a medium-paced team), with offense coming primarily from the inside out from the forwards and then through benches. The preseason Big South second-teamer is one of the league's best returning perimeter shooters (40%) and produces good volume at 5 per game. His backcourt mate Abee is an even better perimeter shooter – nearly 41% from three. This pair averaged nearly 11 three-pointers and 23 points per contest, and one could assume they'll become more volume shooters this season. At least early in the season, the 'Bama Guards will be tested against a very accurate guard tandem.

UNCA also added 5'10″ Jordan Marsh, a very skilled pickpocket for his size, and G Justin Marsh, who averaged 26 points (11.1 PPG) in a dozen starts at Loyola Marymount.

Below, expect the Bulldogs to use post-by-committee: F Toyez Solomon is probably the best immediate candidate to replace Pember. He emerged late last season and posted 9.6 points per game, 1.4 blocks per game and 3.9 rebounds on the back end of the schedule. Super Senior F Greg Gannt showed off some slick rebounding near the bucket. And also keep an eye on someone who could come off the bench to challenge the Tide's revamped interior game, 7'1″ Cincinnati transfer Sage Tolentino. His action so far has been limited to some very late cleanups, but at 240 he's a blast in the post.

When we talk about big white centers that have long been the bane of Alabama's existence, don't think that this is necessarily a small team either. The guards and wings are D1 size – ranging from 6ft 2in to 6ft 7in at the shooting and ball-handling points. Only App State transfer Jordan Marsh is a minor player. In terms of size, this is not your average low major team.

It's also a veteran one: Seven contributors and/or starters return from last season, including four super-seniors, and they've added one more in the portal. So you won't be overwhelmed by the moment or just an inexperienced N00B buddy in Alabama's minnow bucket.

But even Big South coaches realize that a good pair of shooters, some emerging talent and scoring ability won't be enough to propel UNCA to the top of the league or even come close to replacing Pember's contributions as the conference's best player: Asheville is expected to finish fourth.

Still, it's a team that's built the right way, with a good mix of veterans and youth, positions and perimeter, plenty of size in spots and leadership. But it's also a team that will likely dominate Alabama in the game and simply destroy it near the basket. Apart from Tolentino, there is no one in the squad who is taller than 1.90 meters. “Big South-big” is not “SEC-big.”

Of course, respect your opponent, but the Tide should be able to clear the benches early in this game.

Roll Tide and tune in below. This is your game thread for the evening. The festivities begin at 8 a.m. central and can be streamed on ESPNU and online radio at 100.9 p.m.