Men's Basketball Game Notes: Mississippi State

UPCOMING GAME: Mississippi State
Wednesday, January 18, 2003
Coleman Coliseum (15,316 capacity)

TIP-OFF TIME: 7:00 p.m. CT

TICKETS: Available

UA HOME TICKETS: $18 adults/$9 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: Jefferson Pilot Sports with Tom Hammond (play-by-play) and Larry Conley (color 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, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. CT

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. 9 AP/ No. 10 ESPN/USA Today Alabama Crimson Tide (11-2 Overall, 1-1 SEC)

PF-35	Erwin Dudley	6-8, 260, SR, Uniontown	13.3 ppg/10.4 rpg
F-03	Kennedy Winston	6-7, 200, FR, Prichard	10.0 ppg/3.5 rpg
C-42	Kenny Walker	6-9, 220, SR, Jacksonville, FL	12.5 ppg/5.8 rpg
G-14	Terrance Meade	6-2, 190, SR, Scottsboro	5.1 ppg/2.8 rpg
G-25	Mo Williams	6-1, 195, SO, Jackson, MS	16.2 ppg/4.2 rpg/4.8 apg

Head Coach: Mark Gottfried (Alabama, 1987)

No. 14 AP/No. 13 ESPN/USA Today Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-3 Overall, 0-2 SEC)

F-31	Ontario Harper	6-5, 210, SO, Clinton, MS	7.8 ppg/6.6 rpg
F-44	Michal Ignerski	6-10, 225, SR, Lublin, Poland	10.4 ppg/5.6 rpg
F-33	Mario Austin	6-9, 260, JR, York	19.7 ppg/9.4 rpg
G-15	Timmy Bowers	6-2, 180, JR, Gulfport, MS	15.3 ppg/3.8 rpg
C-22	Derrick Zimmerman	6-3, 195, SR, Monroe, LA	9.4 ppg/3.8 rpg/5.0 apg

Head Coach: Rick Stansbury (Campbellsville, 1982)

Alabama Head Coach Mark Gottfried

162-76 (.681%) in 7 complete seasons overall, 93-51 (.646%) 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.

Mississippi State Head Coach Rick Stansbury

89-53 (.626%) in 5 seasons overall and at MSU; 1 NCAA tournament appearance (2002); Two NIT appearances (1999 & 2001); 2002 SEC Tournament champions

Key Game Notes

The Bulldogs are the third Top 25 team Alabama has faced this season; Bama has wins over the other two, Oklahoma & Xavier
It's the 168th meeting in a series that dates to 1913 in Starkville; Alabama leads the series 104-63; Last year these two played three times with Alabama winning in Tuscaloosa but falling in Starkville and in Atlanta in the SEC tourney final
Bama's Erwin Dudley continues his double-double with averages of 13.3 ppg and 10.4 rpg
Alabama Basketball trading cards will be given away to a limited number of early arrivals at the MSU game

Tide Hosts Bulldogs in Top 25 Match-up

Game three of the Crimson Tide's 2003 Southeastern Conference slate finds the University of Alabama facing its third Top 25 ranked team this season when the Tide plays host to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday, January 15, 2003.

Tip-off in Coleman Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. CT.

As of early in the week, some tickets remained and were available through Alabama's athletic ticket office.

Alabama is 11-2 overall and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference with a 61-51 home win against Arkansas and a 70-69 loss at Vanderbilt. Mississippi State is 10-3 overall and 0-2 in league play with losses to Florida and at LSU.

JP Will Telecast the Game

Fans who can't make it to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night to see the Alabama-Mississippi State game in person can watch it on television as Jefferson Pilot Sports will broadcast the game. The announce team includes Tom Hammond who will call the play-by-play and Larry Conley who is the game's color analyst. The producer is Roger Roebuck and the director is Gary Clem.

Broadcast Area Includes JP, DirecTV, DISH & Full Court

Wednesday night's JP broadcast of the game includes:

In Alabama: WABM Birmingham; Fox Sports Net South Dothan; WAWB in Huntsville; and Fox Sports Net South in Montgomery; WJTC in Mobile
In Mississippi: Fox Sports Net South in Biloxi, Columbus/Tupelo, and Meridian; WABG in Greenwood/Greenville; WHLT in Hattiesburg; and WJTV in Jackson.
In Florida: Sunshine Network in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando, Panama City & Tampa; WJTC in Pensacola.
In Georgia: Fox Sports Net South in Albany, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah
In Kentucky: WNKY in Bowling Green; WKYT in Lexington
In Tennessee: WFLI in Chattanooga; WJKT in Jackson; WLMT in Memphis
In South Carolina: WIS Extra in Columbia; Sunshine Network in Florence

WFLI & KATV have delayed telecasts beginning at 11 CT.

Other Outlets

FULL COURT: The telecast will be available as part of ESPN's Full Court Package in U.S. markets not listed above. Full Court is a pay-per-view service offered via DirecTV, Dish Network and participating cable systems. To order call: 1-800-DIRECTV or 1-800-333-DISH

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, http://www.rolltide.com/.

Ticket prices are $18 adults/$9 youth age 15 and under.

Tickets for Kentucky, LSU and Auburn are sold out.

"Mark Gottfried Show" Begins Airing This Week

"The Mark Gottfried Show" begins airing this week on CSS. The 30-minute show stars Tide basketball coach Mark Gottfried and is hosted by Tom Roberts of the Crimson Tide Sports Network. A new show airs each Tuesday night at 10 p.m. CT.

Trading Cards Will Be Given Away

Fans that are among the first through the doors at Wednesday night's game will go home with a souvenir. A limited number of Alabama Basketball trading cards will be given out at the door. The set features individual trading cards of the Tide's players on this 2002-03 team.

Bulldogs are 3rd Ranked Team Tide Has Played

Both teams playing in this game have celebrated milestones this season as regards their national ranking. Alabama reached its highest ranking ever at No. 1 where it remained for two weeks in the December 23, 2002 and December 30, 2002 Associated Press rankings.

Mississippi State's stop at No. 7 in the January 6, 2002 marked the highest the Bulldogs have been ranked since it finished 6th in the final 1962-63 AP season rankings. (MSU's highest AP ranking is No. 3 in 1958-59).

Both teams lost SEC games on Saturday, Alabama on the road at Vanderbilt by one (70-69) and Mississippi State on the road at LSU (85-72) and dropped in the rankings, Alabama from No. 4 in both polls last week to No. 9 AP and No. 10 ESPN/USA Today. MSU is now at No. 14 AP after being No. 7 last week, and is at No. 13 ESPN/USA Today.

Alabama has played two teams already that were ranked in the Top 25. Alabama beat then No. 3 Oklahoma 68-62 in its season opener on November 14 and defeated then No. 19 Xavier 65-58 on January 4, 2003. Oklahoma is now at No. 5 in both polls. Xavier has dropped out of the AP poll and is No. 23 in this week's ESPN/USA Today rankings.

More Ranked Teams to Come

While Mississippi State marks the third ranked team Alabama has played this season, there are still more to come on the Tide's schedule. Alabama plays at No. 6 AP/No. 7 ESPN/USA Today Florida on February 8 in a noon time CBS game. It hosts No. 16 (both polls) Kentucky in a sold-out Coleman Coliseum on January 25 on ESPN at 7 p.m. No. 20 AP/No. 22 ESPN/USA Today Georgia will come to Tuscaloosa for a February 18 ESPN date at 8 p.m. And No. 23 AP LSU will twice test the Tide, in Tuscaloosa on February 1 at 4 p.m. and in Baton Rouge in the regular season finale at 7 p.m. on March 8.

Series Dates to 1913

Wednesday night's game will mark the 168th meeting in men's basketball between Alabama and Mississippi State. The series dates to 1913 and the first game in Starkville, Miss., which was won by Mississippi State 26-21. The first six times these teams ever played one another, the game took place in Starkville where the Bulldogs won four of the six.

Alabama leads the series 104 wins to 63 by MSU. (A complete list of the series scores is included later in this release). Alabama leads 66-12 in games played in Tuscaloosa and has won the last three games in Tuscaloosa between these two SEC Western Division teams. Mississippi State leads 49 wins to 32 in games played in Starkville. And the series record at neutral sites finds Alabama leading the series six wins to two.

Series Record: UA 104 wins, MSU 63 wins
Streak: MSU has won last two
In Tuscaloosa: UA leads 66 to 12
In Starkville: MSU leads 49-32
Neutral Sites: UA leads 6 to 2

Teams Met Three Times Last Season

Because they both compete in the SEC's Western Division, Alabama and Mississippi State play one another twice each SEC regular season, swapping home and away trips. The teams split last season with Alabama beating the Bulldogs 85-73 in Tuscaloosa but falling 76-62 in Starkville. They met up a third time at the 2002 SEC Tournament where the Bulldogs kept Mark Gottfried from re-living a repeat of his 1987 senior season at Alabama. Last season Alabama won the SEC regular season championship, as it did when he was a starting guard in 1987. Alabama advanced to the 2002 SEC Tournament championship, an event Gottfried and his Tide teammates won in 1987 to go along with the regular season title. But a repeat scenario was not in the cards in 2002 as the Bulldogs beat Alabama 61-58 in the SEC Championship final in Atlanta.

Dudley Shone in All Three Meetings Last Season

Alabama and Mississippi State played one another three times last season, twice in the regular season and in the SEC tournament's championship game. All three times the Tide was led by power forward and 2002 SEC Player of the Year Erwin Dudley.

In the first meeting on January 19, 2002 in Tuscaloosa, Dudley had 24 points and 10 rebounds in front of the sold out Coleman Coliseum crowd of 15,316 in the 85-73 UA win. When Alabama traveled to Starkville for the February 9, 2002 match-up, Dudley scored 23 points and had 8 rebounds in the 76-62 MSU win. nd Dudley led Alabama with 18 points in the 61-58 SEC final loss to MSU.

Gottfried Used To Play in this Series

Mark Gottfried is 3-6 against Mississippi State as a head coach at Alabama. Gottfried also played against the Bulldogs when he was a starting guard for the Crimson Tide from 1984-87.

The first time he ever played against Mississippi State, he scored 27 points, though Alabama would lose the January 1985 home game 71-67 despite his effort. Gottfried scored 19 of those points in the second half to help Alabama come back from a 33-20 halftime deficit. He was 12 of 20 from the field and made all three of his foul shots. He scored 11 points at home in a 72-54 UA win in 1986, his junior season. He had six steals in that game as well. Gottfried had 10 points and five rebounds in a 64-49 win in Tuscaloosa his senior season in 1987 and closed out the series in grand style on February 4, 1987 when he made six 3-pointers---ever basket he made that day was a trey---to scored 18 points to lead Alabama in a 76-55 win in Starkville. He was 6 of 8 from the field that day.

During his playing career, Alabama was 6-2 against the Bulldogs.

Williams Has Link to This One

Alabama sophomore guard Mo Williams loves this series-as well as the Ole Miss series---since he's a Mississippi native. Williams says when he went home for Christmas his friends in Jackson were excited about the then No. 1 ranking for the Crimson Tide, but everywhere he went, he says, they were talking about this January 15 date with the Bulldogs. (And naturally all wanted Mo to get them tickets to the game).

While the Bulldogs don't sport any players on their roster from Jackson, two come from nearby Clinton, junior center Lincoln Smith and sophomore forward Ontario Harper. He and Harper have played many a pickup game together. And he and Smith were teammates playing AAU ball together. And Williams played against junior guard Timmy Bowers of Gulfport's Harrison Central in the high school state championship game. Harrison Central beat Murrah, Williams' team, in overtime in that game.

Pettway's Status Questionable

Junior guard Antoine Pettway's status for Wednesday night's game is "questionable". The Alberta native sustained a "mild to moderate" right ankle sprain in the late in Saturday night's game at Vanderbilt. He returned to practice on Monday but was held out of some drills.

Pettway was in a great deal of pain when he came down on the foot and sprained the ankle, and, because of the set-up of Vanderbilt's arena---the visiting bench is behind the basket---faced the daunting task of having to walk to the locker room which was off the opposite end of the court at the end of the game. But to his rescue came his freshman teammate, 6-foot-8 forward Chuck Davis. Davis scooped up the six-foot Pettway, ice bag on foot and all, and carried him across the court to the locker room.

Media Attendance at High for this Game

Because it involves teams from neighboring states and because these teams were both top 10 ranked teams a week ago, this game has had the heaviest media demand for an Alabama home game in recent memory. Photographers from Sports Illustrated and USA Today as well as national and regional sports writers are gathering in Tuscaloosa for this one. As of Monday, nearly 150 credentials had been issued for the Alabama-Mississippi State basketball game. That number includes the JP television contingent, writers, photographers, videographers, and a handful of NBA scouts. (The number does not include most of the stats crew or the game management staff).

Teams Have Two Non-Conference Opponents in Common

While Alabama and Mississippi State are more than familiar with the teams they both face in the Southeastern Conference, these two teams shared two non-conference opponents this season. Both played Xavier and Oklahoma.

Alabama beat Oklahoma 68-62 and Xavier 65-58. Mississippi State beat Oklahoma 54-45 and beat Xavier 71-61.

Comparing the Stats

Here's how Alabama and MSU compare in stats:

	UA	Mississippi State
Win/loss Streak	L1	L2
Scoring Avg.	70.5	76.9
Scoring Margin	+10.7	+14.9
Field Goal Percentage	.422	.480
3-point Field Goal Percentage	.321	.335
3-Points Per Game	6.7	5.8
Free Throw Percentage	.711	.685
Rebounds Average	39.8	41.3
Rebound Margin	+5.4	+10.2
Assists Total/Per Game	175/13.5	210/16.2
Turnovers/Per Game	179/13.8	214/16.5
Assists/Turnover Ratio	1.0	1.0
Steals/Per Game	103/7.9	126/9.7
Blocks/Per Game	60/4.6	54/4.2

Lots of Father/Son Basketball Connections Here

Wednesday night's game features players from both teams who are basketball legacies.

Alabama's Antoine Pettway and MSU's Derrick Zimmerman were both coached by their dads in high school Pettway won two state championships, one at Wilcox Central in 2000 and another at Keith High School in 1998 with his dad Joseph coaching both teams. Zimmerman played for his dad, Dale Zimmerman, at Wossman High School in Monroe, La., where that pairing led to a 24-5 record in 1999 (state semifinals).

Tide junior Emmett Thomas is the son of Emmett Thomas who lettered at Auburn in 1975 for Bob Davis. Bama freshman Evan Brock is the son of Ernie Brock who played at Virginia State and then for the Harlem Globetrotters (teammates included Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon).

And Demetrius Smith's uncle, the late Derek Smith, played in the NBA and was a key player on Louisville's 1980 national championship team.

Mississippi's Player of the Year on Either Side of Ball

Two men who were named the state of Mississippi's Player of the Year are represented on either side of the ball in this game. Alabama sophomore point guard Mo Williams was the 2001 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year. He was also a McDonald's All-American who averaged 26.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists a game his senior year at Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi.

MSU junior guard Timmy Bowers was the 2000 Mississippi Player of the Year by USA Today. He averaged 22.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists at Gulfport's Harrison Central.

...As Are Two McDonald's All-Americans

Alabama's starting point guard, sophomore Mo Williams was a McDonald's All-American in 2001. MSU's Mario Austin, an Alabama native out of York, was a 2000 McDonald's All-American.

When Last They Met, Tourney Title Was On the Line

When last Alabama and Mississippi State met on the hardwood, the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship was on the line. The two teams met in Atlanta's Georgia Dome on March 10, 2002 in the SEC Tournament final. MSU dashed Alabama's hopes of a double coup-a regular season and a tournament championship all in the same year---when it defeated Alabama 61-58 in the title game. Mario Austin led the MSU win with 15 points and 8 rebounds, though Bama's Erwin Dudley with 18 points and 8 rebounds led the game's scoring.

Bama Hits Road for Next Two

Following Alabama's home game on Wednesday night, it hits the road for two games. Alabama plays at Auburn on Saturday, January 18 in another JP game (3 p.m. CT). After that it's on to Oxford, Miss., for a Tuesday, January 21 date at Ole Miss. That's an 8 p.m. CT ESPN game.

And the Road Is Tough in the SEC

Going into this week's round of games, the Southeastern Conference's team were putting up some strong win stats at home. LSU is 10-0; Alabama is 8-0; Florida is 8-0; South Carolina is 7-0; Georgia is 6-0; Auburn is 9-1; Ole Miss is 8-1; Vanderbilt is 8-1 (going into Tuesday's home game vs. Kentucky); Tennessee is 6-1; and Kentucky is 4-1.

UA 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). Counting Mississippi State 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.

This is the earliest Alabama has sold out that many games at least since 1992. (Alabama sold out five games that season, though it's not known how soon those games were sellouts).

This 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.

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, http://www.rolltide.com/.

Lucky Williams Ready For Auburn

Tide freshman Lucky Williams, who was required to sit out Alabama's first 14 games after an NCAA review of pre-college expenses he received, will be eligible to play on Saturday when Alabama travels to Auburn.

Tide Freshman Gets His First Start

Alabama freshman Kennedy Winston played in his second collegiate game at Vanderbilt---and collected his first collegiate start. Winston scored 14 points in that road game and had 3 steals in his 31 minutes of play. He was 6 of 18 from the field, 0-6 from 3-point range and 2 of 6 at the free throw line. Winston made his collegiate debut against Arkansas on January 8 and scored 6 points.

Bama Producing Some Passers

Mo Williams leads Alabama with 62 assists this season for an average of 4.8 assists per game. Emerging as passers this season as well are Antoine Pettway who's coming off the bench and, in his last four games, is averaging 4.3 assists per game. Pettway had five assists against Utah, Xavier and Vanderbilt and two in the Arkansas game.

Wednesday Night Has Seven League Teams In Action

Alabama and Mississippi State are two of seven SEC teams in action on Wednesday night. Tennessee is at Florida. Auburn is at South Carolina and LSU plays a non-conference opponent in hosting Centenary.

Dudley League's Only Double-Double Man

Erwin Dudley is the only player in the SEC who is averaging in double digits in both scoring and rebounding. The 2002 SEC Player of the Year averages 13.3 points and 10.4 rebounds a game. Those 10.4 rebounds per game lead the SEC. (Dudley was the league's rebounding champ in 2001 and 2002).

Dudley and Tennessee's Ron Slay lead the league with five double-doubles this season.

Dudley Is UA's 4th All-Time Best Rebounder

Erwin Dudley climbed to No. 4 all-time in rebounding at Alabama with the 14 boards he got in the January 8 Arkansas game. Dudley now has 1,043 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 236 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 1,043
5. Eddie Phillips 1,129

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 13 games this season. The two exceptions, a 19-19 tie at Utah and a 36-30 deficit at Vanderbilt, turned into losses.

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 Ranked in the Jan. 7 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 Jan. 13 SEC Stats

(All Games)

Team

Scoring 9th
Scoring Margin 5th
Field Goal % 10th
3-pt Field Goal % 9th
Scoring Defense 2nd
Free Throw % 4th
Field Goal % Defense 2nd
3-pt Field Goal % Defense 5th
Rebounding Offense 2nd
Rebounding Defense 9th
Rebounding Margin 5th
Blocked Shots 5th
Assists 11th
Steals 9th
Turnover Margin 4th
Assist/Turnover Ratio 7th
Offensive Rebounds 3rd
Defensive Rebounds 4th
3-Pt Field Goals Made 3rd

Individual

Scoring Williams 8th, Dudley 19th, Walker 20th
Rebounding Dudley 1st, Walker 19h
Assists Williams 6th
Free Throw % Williams 3rd, Walker 6th
3-Pt FG Made Williams 6th
Blocked Shots Walker 2nd
Assist/turnover ratio Pettway 8th
Offensive rebounds Dudley 1st
Defensive rebounds Dudley 2nd

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.

Williams Has Double Digits in 12 of 13 Games

Mo Williams charged into his sophomore season by scoring in double digits in 12 of Alabama's 13 games. (He scored 8 against Arkansas). He's leading Alabama with 16.2 points a game. The Jackson, Miss., native has scored 20 or more points in four games with 25 to open his sophomore year against now No. 9 Oklahoma, 20 against Alabama State, 21 against Morehead State and 23 at Vanderbilt.

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	Total 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:

Year	Winning Streak
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 12.5 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 841 career points at Alabama. He needs 159 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	43	Jan. 16 vs. UNLV
2.	Oklahoma	31	Jan. 20 vs. Texas Tech
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 62 assists for an average of 4.8 assists per game after 13 games. That gives him a total of 221 career assists for a career average (48 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

University of Alabama Athletics