Men's Basketball Game Notes: at Florida
2/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UPCOMING GAME: at No. 1 Florida
Saturday, February 8, 2003
Stephen F. O'Connell Center (12,000)
TIP-OFF TIME: 12:00 noon CT/1:00 p.m. ET
TICKETS: Sold Out
UA HOME TICKETS: $17 adults/$8 youth; Buy at UA box office in Coleman Coliseum; or 205-348-BAMA; or http://www.rolltide.com/; (February 15 Auburn home game is sold out)
TV: CBS with Billy Packer and Verne Lundquist
UA WEEKLY TV: "The Mark Gottfried Show" on CSS with host Tom Roberts, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. CT
"Crimson Tide This Week" with host David Crane: Check local listings on CSS
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.22 AP/No. 20 ESPN/USA Today Alabama Crimson Tide (13-5 Overall, 3-4 SEC)
| PF-35 | Erwin Dudley | 6-8, 260, SR, Uniontown | 14.4 ppg/10.0 rpg |
| F-02 | Emmett Thomas | 6-4, 205, JR/TR, Birmingham | 6.8 ppg/2.2 rpg |
| C-42 | Kenny Walker | 6-9, 220, SR, Jacksonville, FL | 11.1 ppg/6.0 rpg |
| G-14 | Terrance Meade | 6-2, 190, SR, Scottsboro | 4.3 ppg/2.8 rpg |
| G-25 | Mo Williams | 6-1, 195, SO, Jackson, MS | 15.2 ppg/3.9 rpg/4.3 apg |
Head Coach: Mark Gottfried (Alabama, 1987)
No. 1 Florida Gators (18-3 Overall, 7-1 SEC)
| F-15 | Matt Bonner | 6-10, 237, SR, Concord, NH | 13.9 ppg/6.0 rpg |
| F-44 | Matt Walsh | 6-6, 205, FR, Holland, PA | 14.2 ppg/4.6 rpg |
| C-24 | David Lee | 6-9, 240, SO, St. Louis, MO | 10.6 ppg/7.0 rpg |
| G-10 | Brett Nelson | 6-4, 205, SR, St. Albans, WV | 7.5 ppg/1.9 rpg |
| G-12 | Justin Hamilton | 6-3, 207, SR, Sarasota, FL | 8.2 ppg/3.5 rpg/4.2 apg |
Head Coach: Billy Donovan (Providence College, 1987)
Alabama Head Coach Mark Gottfried
164-80 (.672) in 7 complete seasons overall, 95-55 (.633%) 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.
Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan
177-88 (.668%) in 9 seasons overall, 142-68 (.676%) in 7th season at Florida; Made history at Florida this week, coaching Gators to 1st No. national ranking; Marshall Head Coach 1994-96; 4 NCAA tournament appearances at Florida.
Key Game Notes
- Both Florida & Alabama made school history this season by reaching first No. 1 AP national rankings
- These two head coaches played against one another in the 1987 NCAA tournament
- Alabama leads the overall series against Florida 70-48; Florida leads, however, 33-19 in Gainesville; Alabama's last win in Gainesville was in 1995 (Bama has only played 3 games there since; teams are 5-5 vs. one another beginning in 1995)
Tide Hits the Road Again
The No. 22 AP/No. 21 ESPN/USA Today ranked University of Alabama men's basketball team continues its two-game road stint with the second of the two games when the Crimson Tide, 13-6 overall and 3-5 in Southeastern Conference play, travels to the home of the No. 1 ranked University of Florida Gators, 18-3 overall and 7-1 in league play.
Tip-off in the sold-out O'Connell Center is set for 12 noon CT/1:00 p.m. ET.
Alabama played on the road at midweek, traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., where it fell 81-70 to Arkansas.
Florida is returning home from the road, having played a Tuesday night game at Kentucky and also falling---it's first loss after winning 14 straight---70-55.
Game is on CBS
As has and will be the case in all but one of the Tide's games this season (at LSU), Saturday's game will be televised.
CBS is broadcasting the Alabama vs. Florida game with Billy Packer and Verne Lundquist are the broadcast team that will call the game's play-by-play and color commentary.
Alabama will appear on CBS at least one more time this season. CBS's cameras will invade Coleman Coliseum on March 2 when the Tide plays host to Ole Miss in a 1 p.m. CT game.
The Tide's last appearances on CBS were last March in the NCAA tournament (Florida Atlantic and Kent State).
Another Sell-Out Crowd Awaits the Tide
The Southeastern Conference is experiencing one of its strongest seasons (seven teams have been ranked in the Top 25), and fans are flocking to the league's arenas.
Alabama is amidst a stretch where six of seven games have or will have been played in front of sell out crowds, including this Saturday's Florida game.
The trend started at Auburn (10,500) on January 18. Wedged in, on January 21st was a date with Ole Miss in Oxford which fell 500 tickets short of a sellout (8,206 sold-it holds 8,700).
Alabama then played back-to-back sellout games at home (15,316), first with Kentucky on January 25 and then with LSU on February 1.
Both games this week are sold out, at Arkansas (19,200) and at Florida (12,000).
And when Alabama returns home from Gainesville it will prepare to host Auburn on February 15-in front of another sold-out arena.
All seven of these games have been or will be televised. CBS has the Florida game, ESPN the Ole Miss and Kentucky games, JP the Auburn (road) and Arkansas games, Fox Sports Net the LSU game, and the Auburn game in Tuscaloosa will be available on pay per view to those who don't have a ticket.
Here's Where to Buy Tide Home Tickets
Tickets for Alabama's home games against Georgia (February 18), Ole Miss (March 2) and South Carolina (March 5) 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 $17 adults/$8 youth age 15 and under. Box office hours are from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and phone hours are from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets may be charged to MasterCard, VISA or Discover.
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/.
"Mark Gottfried Show" Every Tuesday Night
"The Mark Gottfried Show" airs each 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.
Alabama vs. No. 1 Ranked Teams
Alabama is playing the top ranked Gators on Saturday. Alabama has played a team ranked No. 1 in the AP poll 10 times previously and has a 3-7 record against the top ranked team.
It's most recent win vs. No. 1 was on January 8, 1994 (Tide assistant Philip Pearson was a UA senior on that team) when Alabama beat a No. 1 ranked Arkansas in Tuscaloosa 66-64. That game was also the last time Alabama met up with a No. 1 ranked team.
UA Wins vs. No. 1
- Kentucky Jan. 23, 1978 Won 78-62 in Tuscaloosa
- UCLA Jan. 28, 1983 Won 70-67 at UCLA
- Arkansas Jan. 8, 1994 Won 66-64 in Tuscaloosa
UA Losses vs. No. 1
- Arkansas Feb. 16, 1994 Lost 102-81 in Fayetteville
- Indiana March 1976 Lost 74-69 in Baton Rouge (NCAA)
- Kentucky Feb. 14, 1949 Lost 56-40 in Tuscaloosa
- Feb. 2, 1949 Lost 74-32 in Lexington
- Feb. 14, 1965 Lost 80-67 in Lexington
- Feb. 20, 1978 Lost 97-84 in Lexington
- North Carolina March 1982 Lost 74-69 in Raleigh (NCAA)
