No. 1 Andalusia has a tall order to fill today as it faces No. 7 Anniston in the Class 4A state semifinals in Birmingham. Anniston features 11 players who are at least 6 feet tall.

The Bulldogs (26-2) won the South Regional championship game Saturday in Troy against B.C. Rain, 64-61.

Andalusia has been preparing hard to get ready for the game today. Andalusia coach Richard Robertson said setting the right matchups will be key.

“We’re fixing to go to practice and go over our plan in a little bit,” Robertson said Tuesday in a phone interview. “It’s going to be tough. They’ve got all five starters averaging in double figures and they’ve got 15 players, of which 11 of them are over six foot tall.”

Robertson said he was careful not to “wear” his players out at practice Monday.

“(Monday) we didn’t get as much done as I would have like to have done,” he said. “But you can’t wear them out at this stage. That’s where we are.”

Being at the state finals in Birmingham can be very distracting for players.

Robertson said he will keep the players isolated from external distractions by stressing that they focus on the game plan for today.

Robertson said at this stage in the game every team has a tough road ahead.

“(Anniston) has a good basketball team,” he said. “We have our work cut out for us and we hope they have theirs cut out, too.”

The game today will start at 1:30 p.m. at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena.