Men's Basketball Game Notes: at Vanderbilt
1/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UPCOMING GAME: at Vanderbilt
Saturday, January 11, 2003
Memorial Gymnasium (15,311 capacity)
TIP-OFF TIME: 8:00 p.m. CT
TICKETS: $18; for availability or to order call Vanderbilt Ticket Office 1-877-44-VANDY
UA HOME TICKETS: $17 adults/$8 youth; Buy at UA box office in Coleman Coliseum; or 205-348-BAMA; or http://www.rolltide.com/; (Kentucky, Auburn & LSU home games are sold out)
TV: Fox Sports South with Preston Scott (play-by-play) and Charles Davis (analyst)
UA WEEKLY TV: "Crimson Tide This Week" with host David Crane: Check local listings on CSS
"The Mark Gottfried Show" on CSS with host Tom Roberts
RADIO: Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Tom Roberts (color)
105.5 FM in Tuscaloosa & 99.5 in Birmingham (complete list on http://www.rolltide.com/)
WVUA (University of Alabama campus station), 90.7 FM (when classes are in session)
INTERNET: Live audio of CTSN's radio broadcast is available on the internet on http://www.rolltide.com/; UA basketball is also featured on on http://www.markgottfried.com/ and http://www.crimsontradition.com/ (subscription site).
No. 4 AP/ No. 4 ESPN/USA Today Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1 Overall, 1-0 SEC)
| PF-35 | Erwin Dudley | 6-8, 260, SR, Uniontown | 13.7 ppg/10.5 rpg |
| F-02 | Emmett Thomas | 6-4, 205, JR, Birmingham | 6.3 ppg/2.1 rpg |
| C-42 | Kenny Walker | 6-9, 220, SR, Jacksonville, FL | 12.1 ppg/6.1 rpg |
| G-14 | Terrance Meade | 6-2, 190, SR, Scottsboro | 5.5 ppg/2.8 rpg |
| G-25 | Mo Williams | 6-1, 195, SO, Jackson, MS | 15.7 ppg/4.4 rpg/4.8 apg |
Head Coach: Mark Gottfried (Alabama, 1987)
Vanderbilt Commodores (7-5 Overall, 0-1 SEC)
| F-02 | Brian Thornton | 6-8, 255, SO, Louisville, KY | 14.1 ppg/6.4 rpg |
| F-35 | Matt Frieje | 6-9, 230, JR, Shawnee Mission, KS | 16.3 ppg/5.3 rpg |
| F-44 | Corey Smith | 6-5, 230, SO, Houston, TX | 9.3 ppg/3.2 rpg |
| G-03 | Jason Holwerda | 6-5, 210, SO, Chattanooga, TN | 6.0 ppg/2.6 rpg |
| C-11 | Russell Lakey | 6-0, 182, JR, Los Angeles, CA | 6.4 ppg/3.9 rpg/3.8 apg |
Head Coach: Kevin Stallings (Purdue, 1982)
Alabama Head Coach Mark Gottfried
162-75 (.6824%) in 7 complete seasons overall, 93-50 (.650%) in 5th season (4 completed) at Alabama; 2002 SEC Coaches & AP SEC "Coach of the Year"; three total NCAA tournament appearances, one at Alabama (2002, 2nd round), 2 (1997 & 1998) at Murray State; 3 NIT appearances (1996 at MSU, 1999 & 2001 at UA); One SEC Championship (2002) at Alabama; three conference championships at Murray State; Four 20-win seasons (out of 7) as a head coach; Assistant for UCLA's 1995 NCAA Champions team; three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances as a UA player 1985-86-87; Academic All-SEC as a player at Alabama...Coached Bama to its 1st No. 1 ranking...Born January 20, 1964 in Crestline, Ohio.
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
179-109 (.622%) in 10 seasons overall, 58-46 in 4 seasons at Vanderbilt; 2 NCAA tournament appearances as head coach at Illinois State; four NIT appearances, two at Vanderbilt & two at Illinois State; advanced to the 1980 NCAA Final Four as a player at Purdue
Key Game Notes
* Vanderbilt changed the game time on January 7 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. because of an afternoon NFL game in Nashville
* Alabama leads the series 63-56; while Alabama beat Vanderbilt in Nashville at the Gaylord Center in the 2001 SEC tournament, Alabama has not won in Memorial Gym since 1990 (Alabama has lost the last 6 times it's been there)
* Erwin Dudley collected his 39th career double double on Wednesday against Arkansas and goes into this game as the only player in the SEC who is currently averaging in double digits in both scoring (13.7) and rebounding (10.5)
Alabama Hits the Road for Round Two in SEC
The No. 4 ranked (both polls) University of Alabama men's basketball team hits the road for its second game of the 2003 Southeastern Conference schedule. Alabama, 11-1, 1-0 SEC, travels to Nashville, Tenn., where it will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores, 7-5, 0-1 SEC, on Saturday, January 11, 2003.
The game pits SEC Eastern Division member Vanderbilt against SEC Western Division member Alabama. It is Vanderbilt's second league game of the season and second time it has played a Western Division team as it opened league play on Wednesday night with a 62-59 loss at Auburn. Alabama opened league play and divisional play Wednesday night at home with a 61-51 win against Arkansas.
Game Has Last-Minute Time Change
Saturday's game was originally scheduled for the afternoon with a 4 p.m. CT start. A time change was made on Tuesday, January 7, moving the game to a night game to be played at 8 p.m. CT. Vanderbilt made the change because it did not want the game to go head to head with the NFL playoff game the Tennessee Titans are playing in Nashville that afternoon.
It's the SEC-TV Game of the Week
Saturday night's game will be televised on Fox Sports Net. The broadcast's team includes Preston Scott who will call the game's play-by-play and Charles Davis who will be the analyst. Andy Pollack is the producer.
Alabama has played on Fox Sports Net twice already this season, both times in Tuscaloosa. Those games included wins against Xavier on January 4 and Providence on December 21st.
Three of Next Four Are On the Road
Three out of Alabama's next four basketball games are road games. While the Crimson Tide has played three games on neutral courts in New York City (Oklahoma), Springfield, Massachusetts (Ohio State) and Mobile (Bowling Green), the Vanderbilt game will mark only it's second "road" game of the season 12 games into the schedule.
Alabama played at Utah on December 30 and fell by two, 51-49.
Bama's quartet of upcoming games includes traveling to Vanderbilt on January 11, hosting Mississippi State on January 15, then hitting the road for back-to-back games against first Auburn on January 18th and then Ole Miss on January 21st.
Home Games are Selling Out
Alabama sold out the Xavier game on January 4, its first non-conference sellout in two years. (Ohio State had been the last on February 17, 2001).
The Tide has seven remaining home games and three of those are already sellouts. The January 25 Kentucky game was sold out by the Christmas holidays, and by Wednesday, January 8, the February 1 LSU game and the February 15 Auburn game also became sellouts.
That guarantees Alabama at least four sellouts this season. The Tide sold out four home games last year, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn, three in 2001 and only one in 2000. The home record for season sellouts is six in 1989 and included Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, LSU, Auburn and Florida. Coleman Coliseum holds 15,316.
Here's Where to Buy Tide Home Tickets
Tickets for Alabama's home games are on sale at the Athletic Ticket Box Office in Coleman Coliseum and may be purchased at the ticket window, by phone at 1-877-TIDETIX (877-843-3849) or 205-348-BAMA (2262), or on the Crimson Tide's official website, www.rolltide.com.
Ticket prices are $17 adults/$9 youth age 15 and under.
Tickets for Kentucky, LSU and Auburn are sold out.
Fans Can Catch All Tide Games on the Radio or Internet
All University of Alabama men's basketball games are broadcast on the radio on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart and Tom Roberts calling the action. Fans can listen locally on 105.5 in Tuscaloosa or 99.5 in Birmingham. Fans from around the country or around the world may listen to Alabama Basketball radio broadcasts on the internet. There's an audio link on Bama's official website, www.rolltide.com.
Saturday A Busy Day in the League
All twelve SEC teams will be in action playing one another on Saturday. The league's day begins in Oxford, Mississippi where Tennessee will play Ole Miss at noon CT in a game broadcast on the Jefferson Pilot Sports network. Auburn is at Arkansas for a 2 p.m. CT SEC Western Division tilt. The SEC Eastern Division plays at that same time when Georgia plays at Florida (Jefferson Pilot). Two more Eastern Division teams battle at 6 p.m. CT with South Carolina at Kentucky on Fox Sports Net. The West goes head to head at 7 CT with Mississippi State at LSU, and Alabama and Vanderbilt cap the day's activities with an 8 p.m. CT game in Nashville on Fox Sports Net.
Six In Lead
For those who struggle with math, six of the 12 SEC schools share the lead after this week's opening round of games. In the SEC Western Division, Alabama and Auburn opened with wins to share the overall race lead. Arkansas (to Alabama), LSU (to Georgia), Ole Miss (to South Carolina) and Mississippi State (to Florida) all had opening losses.
In the Eastern Division Florida (beat MSU), Georgia (Beat LSU), Kentucky (beat Tennessee) and South Carolina (beat Ole Miss) are all 1-0 overall.
In the divisional races only two Western teams have played one another, and that was Alabama's 61-51 win against Arkansas on Wednesday night. Only two teams in the Eastern Division have gone head to head as Kentucky played Tennessee on Wednesday and won 74-71.
Tide & Vanderbilt Had Different Results on Wednesday
Alabama and Vanderbilt opened their SEC schedule on Wednesday night, both in the same state, Alabama at home against Arkansas and Vanderbilt on the road at Auburn.
The Tide's 61-51 win was led by Erwin Dudley's 11 points and 14 rebounds, his 39th career double double. Junior guard Antoine Pettway came off the bench and played 32 minutes, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds. A freshman, Kennedy Winston, finally got his Alabama debut after sitting out 11 games and played for 12 minutes (he had four fouls). He scored six points in his debut, making four of his six foul shots. . Winston sat out 11 games due to an NCAA review of pre-college expenses prior to his enrollment at Alabama. Winston was Mr. Basketball in the State of Alabama in 2002. He averaged 33.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists his senior season last year at Blount High School in Prichard.
Series is 79 Years Old
The first time Alabama and Vanderbilt played one another was in 1924 when Alabama won 26-25 in overtime in Nashville. Saturday night's game will mark the 120th meeting on the court between these two schools.
Alabama leads the series 63-56 BUT it hasn't exactly find Memorial Gym to be a welcoming host. Because these two teams compete in different divisions in the SEC, they only play one another once during each regular season. So they alternate sites each year. In six visits since, Alabama has not been able to win in Memorial Gym since it beat Vanderbilt 65-56 in 1990.
Several of the games have been close. It was a three-point Vanderbilt win (76-73) in 1993. And it took an overtime to determine a winner, Vanderbilt, in 1995 (75-74). It took another overtime game in 1999 where Alabama ended up losing 81-75. Mark Gottfried's first trip to take the team as Alabama's head coach in 2001 found him leaving with a 68-62 loss. A few weeks later he avenged that loss in that same city when Alabama beat Vanderbilt 78-59 in the first round of the 2001 SEC Tournament which was held in Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center which is located a couple of miles from the Vanderbilt University campus.
The last time these teams met was last season in Tuscaloosa where Alabama won 92-79. That January 2, 2002 game found Erwin Dudley exiting with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Rod Grizzard had 19 points and Terrance Mead had 16 to make for a solid then junior class showing. (Mo Williams, a freshman then, had nine points and five assists). Vanderbilt was led by Sam Howard's 22 points, 18 points from Chuck Moore and 10 points from Matt Freije.
While Alabama out rebounded the Commodores 34-23, Vanderbilt had the better shooting percentages from the field, shooting 52.8% from the field (28-53) to Alabama's 46.3% (25-54), 42.9% from 3-point range (12-28) to Alabama's 46.3% (5-16). Alabama was better at the free throw line however, making 86.0 (37-43) of its shots to 84.6% (11-13) by Vanderbilt. Erwin Dudley was 12 of 15 at the free throw line in that game. Four other Bama players were perfect in their foul shooting as Grizzard made 9 of 9, Williams made 4 of 4 and Demetrius Smith made 2 of 2.
The Series Site Breakdown:
Alabama leads 63-56
Vanderbilt leads in Nashville 36-20
Alabama leads in Tuscaloosa 40-16
Vanderbilt leads on neutral sites 4-3
Gottfried Used to Play in this Series
When Mark Gottfried talks to his players about the atmosphere they face in Memorial Gym, he's a man who can speak from the perspective as both a player and a coach.
Gottfried and his Alabama teammates won all three times they visited Memorial Gym during his UA playing career. In fact, as a player, Gottfried was 6-0 against the Commodores. Alabama won at Vanderbilt 81-56 in 1985, 85-72 in 1986 and 71-67 in 1987. (They played one another twice then).
He started in every one of those games, home and road. In the 1986 road win, he had five rebounds. His senior season in Tuscaloosa, he led Alabama's 75-71 win with 29 points---in just 25 minutes of play---making 10 of 16 from the field. Gottfried made eight three pointers in that game. That feat still co-holds the school record for single game 3-point shots made. (Alvin Lee made 8 against Southern Cal the next season). Alas, Vanderbilt head coach C.M. Newton (who has coaching against his former Tide assistant Wimp Sanderson) was ready for Gottfried when Alabama went to Vanderbilt a month later. The Commodores held him to just one point, a free throw.
Comparing the Stats
Here's how Alabama and Vanderbilt compare in stats:
| UA | Vanderbilt | |
|---|---|---|
| Win/loss Streak | W2 | L1 |
| Scoring Avg. | 70.7 | 71.8 |
| Scoring Margin | +11.7 | +8.1 |
| Field Goal Percentage | .417 | .453 |
| 3-point Field Goal Percentage | .317 | .295 |
| 3-Points Per Game | 6.7 | 5.2 |
| Free Throw Percentage | .722 | .694 |
| Rebounds Average | 40.7 | 36.9 |
| Rebound Margin | +5.5 | +1.8 |
| Assists Total/Per Game | 160/13.3 | 198/16.5 |
| Turnovers/Per Game | 165/13.8 | 199/16.6 |
| Assists/Turnover Ratio | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Steals/Per Game | 94/7.8 | 107/8.9 |
| Blocks/Per Game | 58/4.8 | 65/5.4 |
Different Players Have Led Tide
A quartet of players has shared the stats as the game's scoring leader in Alabama's 12 games this season.
Erwin Dudley has been Alabama's leading scorer or co-leader in five games, scoring 17 against MTSU, 18 against UNCG, 28 against St. Bonaventure, 19 against Providence and 18 against Xavier.
Mo Williams has also shared the lead or led in five games with 25 in the opener against Oklahoma, 20 against Alabama State, 11 against Ohio State, 19 against Providence (with Dudley) and 15 against Utah.
Kenny Walker has led or shared the lead in three games with 11 against Ohio State (tying Williams & Pettway), 25 against Bowling Green and 24 against Morehead State.
And Antoine Pettway continues to be the spark from the bench, co-sharing the scoring lead with 11 against Ohio State and leading Alabama's latest win against Arkansas with 14 points.
...But It's Mostly Dudley Underneath the Boards
National Player of the Year candidate Erwin Dudley has led Alabama in rebounding in 10 games with season with 8 against Oklahoma and Alabama State, 10 against MTSU, 11 against Ohio State, 17 against St Bonaventure, 11 against Bowling Green, 14 against Providence, 12 against Morehead State, 10 against Xavier and 14 against Arkansas.
The other two single game rebounding leaders have included sophomore Earnest Shelton who had seven rebounds at Utah and junior Reggie Rambo who pulled down eight rebounds against UNCG.
Tide's All-Time Non-Conference Record is 137-10
The January 4 Xavier game marked the final regular season non-conference game for the Crimson Tide. Alabama went 10-1 in non-conference league play this season. Seven of those wins came at home in Coleman Coliseum. That gives Alabama a 137-10 all-time home non-conference record which is good for a .932 winning percentage in Coleman Coliseum.
Dudley Only Double Double Guy In SEC
Alabama senior power forward Erwin Dudley is the only player in the SEC who is averaging double digits in both scoring and rebounding. He leads the league-again-in rebounding with 10.5 and ranks 16th in scoring with 13.7 points a game.
Dudley & Slay League Leaders in Double Doubles
Bama's Erwin Dudley and Tennessee's Ron Slay lead the league in double-doubles with five apiece so far this season. Next best if LSU's Jaime Lloreda.
Dudley Is UA's 4th All-Time Best Rebounder
Erwin Dudley climbed to No. 4 all-time in rebounding at Alabama this week with the 14 boards he got in the January 8 Arkansas game. Dudley now has 1,034 career rebounds at Alabama which ranks him fourth all-time at this school which has produced 14 NBA 1st round draft picks. His next target includes two of Alabama's all-time greatest players, Reggie King who had 1,279 rebounds during his 1976-79 UA career, and Alabama's 1st NBA 1st rounder, Leon Douglas who had 1,279 rebounds during his 1973-76 UA career. That duo is tied for 2nd all-time at Alabama. Dudley would need 245 rebounds to tie that duo.
Following are Alabama's all-time greatest players under the board who achieved the 1,000 rebounds milestone:
1. Jerry Harper 1,688 * SEC RECORD
2. Leon Douglas 1,279
Reggie King 1,279
4. Erwin Dudley 1,020
5. Eddie Phillips 1,129
Tide at No. 4 in Both Polls
After spending the last two weeks as the nation's No. 1 ranked team in the Associated Press rankings, a two point loss at Utah and a win against No. 19 Xavier dropped Alabama to No. 4 in the AP poll. Alabama dropped one notch in the ESPN/USA Today rankings as well to No. 4. Duke, Arizona and UConn, in that order, are the nation's top three ranked teams this week.
Bama a Staple in the Rankings
Alabama was ranked 11 weeks in the 2000-01 Associated Press Top 25, 12 weeks in 2001-02 and the entire season so far in 2002-03.
Tide Typically Has the Lead at The Break
Alabama has led at halftime in 11 of its 12 games this season. The lone exception, a 19-19 tie at Utah, turned into its lone loss of the season.
Alabama and Auburn share the lead in the SEC for the most leads-11-0-at halftime, though Auburn, which has played more games, has also trailed and lost twice and been tied (and won) once at the half.
Gottfried Has Great Home Success
Mark Gottfried and his coaching staff apparently know what it takes to motivate their players into building a home court advantage. He is 64-7 at home since taking over the Alabama job in the 1998-99 season. That means his Alabama teams have won 90.1% of their home games since he arrived. Here's his breakdown:
- 11-3 his first season in 1999
- 11-3 in 2000
- 17-1 in 2001
- 17-0 in 2002
- 8-0 this season.
Here's Where Bama Ranks in NCAA Stats
(These are released weekly by the NCAA)
- Erwin Dudley 14th in rebounding
- Kenny Walker 25th in blocks
- Team 10th in field goal percentage defense
- Team 18th in scoring defense
- Team 7th in won/loss percentage at 10-1
- Team 27th in personal fouls per game
- Team 4th home court winning streak (26)
Here's How Alabama Ranks in the SEC Stats Now
(All Games)
Team
- Scoring 9th
- Scoring Margin 5th
- Field Goal % 11th
- 3-pt Field Goal % 9th
- Scoring Defense 2nd
- Free Throw % 2nd
- Field Goal % Defense 1st
- 3-pt Field Goal % Defense T-3rd
- Rebounding Offense 2nd
- Rebounding Defense T-11th
- Rebounding Margin 5th
- Blocked Shots 5th
- Assists 11th
- Steals 9th
- Turnover Margin 6th
- Assist/Turnover Ratio 10th
- Offensive Rebounds 3rd
- Defensive Rebounds 3rd
- 3-Pt Field Goals Made 4th
Individual
- Scoring Williams 11, Dudley 16
- Rebounding Dudley 1st, Walker 17th
- Assists Williams 6th
- Free Throw % Williams 3rd, Walker 6th
- 3-Pt FG Made Williams T-8th
- Blocked Shots Walker 2nd
- Assist/turnover ratio Pettway T-9th
- Offensive rebounds Dudley 1st
- Defensive rebounds Dudley 2nd
Tide 8th in RPI
NCAA tournament seeding uses the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) to help decide on seeding. The RPI is based on Division I winning percentage (25%), strength of schedule (50%) and opponent's strength of schedule (25%). Alabama ranked No. 8 in the January 5 RPI.
| W | L | Rating | Rank | RPI | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | 9 | 1 | .7227 | 1 | .7188 |
| 2 | Georgia | 9 | 3 | .7193 | 2 | .6781 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 12 | 1 | .6014 | 32 | .6639 |
| 4 | Duke | 9 | 0 | .5548 | 81 | .6618 |
| 5 | Missouri | 8 | 1 | .6136 | 23 | .6579 |
| 6 | St. Joseph's | 9 | 1 | .5888 | 44 | .6550 |
| 7 | Indiana | 10 | 2 | .5998 | 34 | .6537 |
| 8 | Alabama | 10 | 1 | .5738 | 60 | .6529 |
| 9 | Louisville | 8 | 1 | .6008 | 33 | .6518 |
| 10 | Texas | 9 | 2 | .6061 | 30 | .6514 |
Tide Collects Another Win Vs. Top 25
Alabama has played two ranked teams this season and has beaten both of them. Alabama opened the season with a 68-62 win against then No. 3 Oklahoma. On Saturday, January 4 it beat then No. 19 Xavier 65-58. Several more top 25 tests lie ahead for the Tide. Still to come are No. 7 AP Mississippi State (January 15 AND February 26), No. 11 Florida (February 8), No. 18 Kentucky (January 25), and No. 24 Georgia (February 18).
Williams Has Double Digits in 11 of 12 Games
Mo Williams charged into his sophomore season by scoring in double digits in 11 of Alabama's 1st twelve games. (He scored 8 against Arkansas). He's leading Alabama with 15.7 points a game. The Jackson, Miss., native has scored 20 or more points in three games with 25 to open his sophomore year against now No. 9 Oklahoma, 20 against Alabama State and 21 against Morehead State.
Non-Conference Home Attendance Was Solid
Alabama sold out its January 4, 2003 game against Xavier (15,316). That sellout meant Alabama averaged 10,136 a game at its seven non-conference home games this season. Mark Gottfried's first season at Alabama was in 1999. He played one more non-conference game that year than the previous season and still managed to out-number the previous season's draw by 1,538 more fans on average. An average of 6,021 more fans came to Alabama's non-conference games this season than did the year before Gottfried arrived.
Here's how that compares to previous seasons (non-conference home games):
| Year | Attendance | Number of Games | Average Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 20,574 | 5 games | 4,115 average |
| 1999 | 33,921 | 6 games | 5,653 average* |
| 2000 | 45,151 | 7 games | 6,450 average |
| 2001 | 77,800 | 8 games | 9,725 average |
| 2002 | 62,680 | 9 games | 6,964 average |
| 2003 | 71,055 | 7 games | 10,136 average |
*Gottfried's first season
Largest non-conference home crowds each of those seasons
| Year | Opponent | Attendance |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Xavier | 15,316 (sellout) |
| 2002 | Utah | 8,767 |
| 2001 | Ohio State | 15,316 (sellout) |
| 2000 | Samford | 8,161 |
| 1999 | Tennessee Tech | 7,419 |
| 1998 | Texas A&M | 5,299 |
Other big recent non-conference draws: Louisville in 2001 with 13,375 attending.
9-0 One of Tide's Better Recent Starts
Alabama's 9-0 start tied its 2001 season start where Alabama won its first nine games before falling to Cincinnati in overtime at the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic. The 1997 Alabama team opened at 10-0 before losing in overtime to San Jose State in the Cable Car Classic. And in 1982 Wimp Sanderson's Tide team started out 9-0 before losing the conference opener at Tennessee.
Following are Alabama's best starts:
- 1930 20-0 (Alabama went undefeated)
- 1923 15-0
- 1977 14-0
- 1947 14-0
- 1997 10-0
- 2003 9-0
- 2001 9-0
- 1982 9-0
- 1932 9-0
- 1922 9-0
- 1983 8-0
Walker's Countdown to 1,000
A stress fracture delayed Kenny Walker's freshman campaign from going full tilt-he only got to play in 19 games that year because of the injury-so his scoring pace at Alabama was slowed initially. His two senior teammates, Erwin Dudley and Terrance Meade, passed the 1,000th point milestone as juniors last season.
Walker, who is averaging 12.2 points a game this season, can now safely begin his countdown toward 1,000 points, a milestone he should also reach this season. Walker has scored 825 career points at Alabama. He needs 175 more points to reach 1,000.
Tide's Home Win Streak Nation's 4th Best
Alabama's 27-game home wins streak ranks 4th nationally.
Following are the streaks:
| Rank | Team | Streak | Next Home Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brigham Young | 42 | Jan. 11 vs. Idaho State |
| 2. | Oklahoma | 30 | Jan. 11 vs. Colorado |
| 3. | Western Kentucky | 27 | Jan. 16 vs. New Orleans |
| 4. | Alabama | 27 | Jan. 15 vs. Mississippi State |
Alabama set the school's home win streak record in the St. Bonaventure game to better the old record of 22 straight home wins between the last three games of 1971 through the first six games of 1973. Alabama's new home win streak dates to the final two games of the 2001 season and includes Alabama's 17-0 record at home in 2002. The last team to beat Alabama at home was Arkansas (66-63) in February of 2001.
Home Win Streaks A Gottfried & Staff Trademark
At Alabama Mark Gottfried owns the Tide's all-time longest home win streak at 27 straight. Gottfried came to coach at Alabama after coaching three seasons at Murray State. When he left Murray State, the Racers had won a school record 33-straight home games. His staff at Murray State that helped him coach his teams to that many home wins included current Tide assistant Philip Pearson and director of basketball operations Darron Boatright.
Meade Ranks 34th All-Time In Scoring
Senior guard Terrance Meade scored 13 points against Morehead State on December 23rd, a total that moved him in front of his coach, Mark Gottfried, on Alabama's all-time scorer's list. The senior guard from Scottsboro now ranks 34th all-time in scoring with his 1,069 career points. (Gottfried had 1,056 points scored during his Alabama career 1985-87). Meade now chases Jimmy Hollon (1970-72) for his next step up. Hollon is at No.33 with 1,080 points. Meade needs 11 to make that move.
Meanwhile Erwin Dudley ranks 13th all-time in scoring with 1,510 career points. Next on the rung is No. 12, held by former NBA player Eric Washington who scored 1,532 points at Alabama from 1994-97. Dudley needs 22 to tie Washington. Robert Horry is his goal to reach the top 10. Horry, now an LA Laker, scored 1,591 career points at Alabama and ranks 10th all-time at UA in scoring.
Williams Will Make Career Assists Leader Run
Tide sophomore guard Mo Williams is on pace to become one of Alabama's all-time bests in assists. He had 159 total assists in 35 games as a freshman in 2002 for an average of 4.54. This season, Williams has 57 assists for an average of 4.8 assists per game after 12 games. That gives him a total of 216 career assists for a career average (47 games) of 4.6.
Here's where that would rank all-time at Alabama:
UA All-Time Career Assists Average Leaders
1. Ennis Whatley (1982-83 6.32
2. Terry Coner (1984-87) 5.44
3. Gary Waites (1988-91) 4.87
4. Ray Odums (1972-74) 4.86
5. Mo Williams (2002-03) 4.60
