Men's Basketball Game Notes: SEC Tournament vs. Vanderbilt
3/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UPCOMING GAME: SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Thursday, March 13, 2003 - Sunday, March 16, 2003
1st Round: Vanderbilt
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Louisiana Superdome (27,000), New Orleans, Louisiana
TIP-OFF TIME: 6:30 p.m. CT
TICKETS: $200 for tournament book; $35 per session for sessions 1-5; $25 for session 6; www.southtix.com/secmbb.html
TV: Jefferson-Pilot Sports with Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Joe Dean, Jr. (analyst)
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 http://www.markgottfried.com/ and http://www.crimsontradition.com/ (subscription site).
PROBABLE STARTERS: (Lineups subject to change)
Alabama Crimson Tide (17-10 Overall, 7-9 SEC; West No. 4 Seed)
| F-35 | Erwin Dudley | 6-8, 260, SR, Uniontown | 15.0 ppg/9.7 rpg |
| F-03 | Kennedy Winston | 6-7, 200, FR, Mobile | 11.6 ppg/4.5 rpg |
| C-42 | Kenny Walker | 6-9, 220, SR, Jacksonville, FL | 9.4 ppg/5.5 rpg |
| G-50 | Antoine Pettway | 6-0, 170, JR, Alberta | 6.1 ppg/2.6 rpg |
| G-25 | Mo Williams | 6-1, 195, SO, Jackson, MS | 15.7 ppg/4.0 rpg/4.0 apg |
Head Coach: Mark Gottfried (Alabama, 1987)
Vanderbilt Commodores (10-17 Overall, 3-13 SEC; East No. 5 Seed)
| F-35 | Matt Freije | 6-9, 230, JR, Shawnee Mission, KS | 17.9 ppg/4.3 rpg |
| F-02 | Brian Thornton | 6-8, 255, SO, Louisville, KY | 12.0 ppg/5.7 rpg |
| F-44 | Corey Smith | 6-5, 230, SO, Houston, TX | 8.2 ppg/3.3 rpg |
| G-11 | Russell Lakey | 6-0, 182, JR, Los Angeles, CA | 6.0 ppg/3.3 rpg/3.5 apg |
| G-03 | Jason Holwerda | 6-5, 210, SO, Chattanooga, TN | 5.4 ppg/2.6 rpg |
Head Coach: Kevin Stallings (Purdue, 1982)
Alabama Head Coach Mark Gottfried
167-84 (.665%) in 8th season overall, 99-59 (.627%) in 5th season 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
184-121 (.603%) in his 10th season overall, 61-58 (.512%) in his fourth season at Vanderbilt; Two NIT appearances at Vanderbilt, 2 more at Illinois State; two NCAA appearances at Illinois State; Member of Purdue's 1980 NCAA Final Four team
Key Game Notes
- The winner of Thursday night's game plays No. 1 East seed and SEC Champion Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday
- Alabama and Vanderbilt played on Jan. 11 in Nashville where Vanderbilt won 70-69.
- Alabama has won the SEC Tournament 6 times, in 1934, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991; it's advanced to the championship final another five times, including 2002 (lost to MSU 61-58 in Atlanta)
- Alabama ranks 2nd in SEC tournament win percentage with .596 (53-36) & ranks 2nd in most tourney titles (6)
Tide Opens SEC Tournament vs. Vanderbilt
The University of Alabama men's basketball team finished the regular season 17-10 overall and 7-9 in Southeastern Conference play. Its 5-5 Western Division record found Alabama finishing fourth in the division.
As the No. 4 seed in the West, Alabama was originally slated to play South Carolina in the first round. Georgia's withdrawal from participation in the event caused a change in the seeding in the East and thus, a change in match ups for West teams.
Alabama's match up was one of those affected as it now plays Vanderbilt in the first round of the March 13-16 Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament. The event will be held in the Louisiana Superdome (27,000 basketball capacity) in New Orleans, La. Vanderbilt had finished sixth in the East. When Georgia vacated its play, it moved from third to sixth in the league's seedings, moving Vanderbilt up to fifth, South Carolina to fourth and Tennessee to third.
Alabama will open its play in the first round on Thursday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. CT against Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is 10-17 overall, 3-13 in league play and went 1-9 in divisional play.
The winner of Thursday night's game plays SEC regular season champion and the No. 1 seed from the East, Kentucky (26-3 overall, 16-0 SEC, 10-0 division). That game will be at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, March 14.
JP Will Broadcast the Game
Jefferson-Pilot Sports has broadcast Southeastern Conference Basketball all season and will carry 10 of the 11 SEC tournament games. JP broadcasts the first round, quarterfinal and semi-final rounds. CBS will broadcast Sunday's SEC Tournament Championship game.
Tim Brando will do the play-by-play and Joe Dean, Jr., will be the color analyst for the Alabama versus South Carolina game.
JP's broadcast of the Vanderbilt game includes:
In Alabama: WABM Birmingham; Dothan Fox Sports Net South; WZDX Huntsville; WJTC in Mobile; Montgomery Fox Sports Net South
In Arkansas: KHBS in Fort Smith; KATV in Little Rock
In Mississippi: Fox SportsNet in Biloxi; Fox SportsNet in Columbus/Tupelo; WABG in Greenwood/Greenville; Fox Sports Net in Meridian
In Florida: Ft. Myers/Naples Sunshine Network; Sunshine Network in Gainesville; Sunshine Network in Jacksonville; Sunshine Network in Miami; Sunshine Network in Orlando; WJTC in Pensacola; Sunshine Network in Panama City; Sunshine Network in Tallahassee; Sunshine Network in Tampa; Sunshine Network in West Palm Beach
In Georgia: Fox Sports Net in Albany; Fox Sports Net in Atlanta; Fox Sports Net in Augusta; Fox Sports Net South in Columbus; Fox Sports Net South in Macon; Fox Sports Net South in Savannah
In Indiana: WTVW in Evansville
In Kentucky: WNKY in Bowling Green; WAVE in Louisville
In Louisiana: KLAF in Lafayette; WUPL in New Orleans
In Missouri: KCZ in Springfield
In Tennessee: WFLI in Chattanooga; WJKT in Jackson; WVLT in Knoxville; Fox Sports Net South; in Memphis; WUXP in Nashville; WCYB in Tri-Cities
In South Carolina: WMMP in Charleston; Fox Sports Net South in Columbia; Fox Sports Net South in Florence; WBSC in Greenville/Spartanburg
In Virginia: WCYB Tri-Cities (Tennessee/Virginia)
Other Outlets
FULL COURT: The telecast will be available as part of ESPNs 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
Tickets On Sale Through SEC/Super Dome
Tickets for the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament are $200 for a tournament book which covers all 11 games. On the day of the games, individual session tickets will be sold if tickets remain. Price is $35 per session for sessions one through five (Thursday, Friday and Saturday's games). Session 6, the championship game, will sell for $25.
Fans can pre-order tickets through SouthTix. Tickets can be purchased on line through a link from http://www.sec.org/ or www.southtic.com/secmbb.html.
Catch Bama Hoops on Radio or on 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 and on 99.5 FM in the Birmingham area. 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/.
Buck Johnson Will Become an SEC Legend
SEC Basketball is a showcase of future NBA talent, a statement backed by the fact that 346 players from the league have been selected in the NBA draft since 1949.
In 1999 the SEC made a move to honor its greatest players with its "SEC Legend" award. One former (living) player from each of the 12 conference schools is honored each year, receiving the award at halftime of his school's first game played in the SEC tournament.
And so, at halftime of the Alabama versus South Carolina game, former Tide star Buck Johnson will join the league's elite as a 2003 SEC Legend award winner. Johnson, a forward, lettered at Alabama for four years, from 1983-86. He was 1st Team All-SEC in 1985 and 1986 and 2nd team in 1984. He was voted to the All-SEC tournament team in 1985 and 1986 and was the SEC Player of the Week for the week of February 25, 1985.
Johnson ranks fourth all-time in scoring at Alabama with 1,869 career points. He ranks 8th all-time in rebounding with 933 career rebounding. He played on four NCAA tournament teams at Alabama and was a first round NBA draft pick by Houston in 1986. Johnson, a Birmingham native, played seven seasons in the NBA at Houston and at Washington and another eight seasons in professional ball in Europe, spending his last few years in Daphne, Greece. While he was on the Rockets' team, Houston made the playoffs five times. He scored 4,139 career points at Houston.
Alabama's list of Legends began with Reggie King in 1999, Wendell Hudson in 2000, T.R. Dunn in 2001 and Leon Douglas in 2002.
Four Tide Players Academic All-SEC
In conjunction with the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament, the league office makes the official announcement of the players who make the Academic All-SEC Honor Roll.
The Crimson Tide is well-represented on the list. All three of Alabama's seniors made the 2003 team which requires at 3.0 and better GPA. Erwin Dudley, a criminal justice major, Kenny Walker, a communications major, and Terrance Meade, a management major (School of Business) are the senior trio. All have been starters since their freshman year (Meade has started in 17 of 27 games in 2003). And joining them on the list is sophomore Earnest Shelton.
Meade is a Verizon Academic All-American District IV winner this spring as well. He has a 3.6 GPA.
It's the first honor for Dudley, Walker and Shelton, but Terrance Meade is now a three-time Academic All-SEC honoree.
Meade is SEC Good Works Team Player of Week
The poster child for athletes who've proven they can do it all, Alabama senior guard Terrance Meade will be honored during the SEC Tournament broadcasts as the SEC Good Works Team player of the week. The Good Works Team consists of one player from each school. These are the players who are the most active in their communities.
Meade, a three-time Academic All-SEC player and a four-year starter at guard, is the president of the University of Alabama's Student Athlete Advisory Board, the first men's basketball player to be elected to that honor which makes him head representative of the Tide's hundreds of student-athletes. Meade is also a constant presence at Tuscaloosa area schools, speaking to kids about the importance of education and positive behavior that can help them become leaders.
It's the Scottboro native's second straight year to make the SEC Good Works Team.
SEC Teams in RPI Poll
Below are the recent RPI rankings for the league's 12 teams, as of March 10.
Team Rating
| Team | Rating |
|---|---|
| 2. Kentucky | .6576 |
| 6. Georgia | .6406 |
| 11. Florida | .6269 |
| 26. Mississippi State | .6012 |
| 33. Alabama | .5945 |
| 39. Auburn | .5832 |
| 41. LSU | .5823 |
| 50. Tennessee | .5714 |
| 77. South Carolina | .5473 |
| 94. Ole Miss | .5355 |
| 96. Arkansas | .5338 |
| 100. Vanderbilt | .5312 |
SEC in Strength of Schedules
All 12 SEC teams are among the 60 toughest schedules in the country, according to CollegeRPI.com, as of March 10.
Team SOS
| Team | SOS |
|---|---|
| 1. Georgia | .6195 |
| 3. Arkansas | .6006 |
| 11. Vanderbilt | .5848 |
| 12. Alabama | .5828 |
| 16. South Carolina | .5816 |
| 21. Kentucky | .5779 |
| 28. Florida | .5693 |
| 33. Mississippi State | .5670 |
| 43. Auburn | .5633 |
| 51. Ole Miss | .5534 |
| 52. Tennessee | .5520 |
| 56. LSU | .5503 |
Gottfried One Away From 100th UA Win
Alabama's next win with be the 100th for its coach. This is Mark Gottfried's fifth season as the Tide's head coach, and he's coming into the SEC Tournament with a 99-59 (.627%) record at Alabama. (He coached at Murray State for three seasons in his first head coaching stint and has a career record of 167-84 for .665%).
Bama Has Won Tournament Six Times
Alabama has won the Southeastern Conference Tournament six times, in 1934, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991.
It has advanced to the tournament's championship game an additional five times, including 2002 where it lost to Mississippi State 61-58 in Atlanta.
The 2003 event marks the 44th SEC tournament appearance for Alabama. The Tide has a 53-36 all-time SEC tournament record (.596%), a wins percentage that ranks second in the league. It has won six titles and advanced to the final game in 1934, 1942, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993 and 2002.
Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried played (a starting guard) on Alabama's 1987 SEC Tournament champions team. Assistant Coach Philip Pearson played on the 1989, 1990 and 1991 SEC tournament championship teams.
Teams Played 2 Years Ago In Tourney
Vanderbilt was Alabama's first round opponent in the 2001 SEC Tournament when it was held in Nashville. The Tide won that game 78-59 but fell to Florida in the quarterfinal 69-61.
The first time Alabama and Vanderbilt played one another in the conference tournament was in 1938 in Baton Rouge. Vanderbilt won 50-26 in the first round. The two met again in 1939 in Knoxville with Vanderbilt winning that opening game 41-35. Vanderbilt was one of the three teams Alabama beat in Knoxville en route to the 1989 tournament championship. It beat the Commodores in the semifinals 83-79. In 1993 Vanderbilt beat Alabama 76-59 in the tournament. And in 1998 in Atlanta Alabama defeated Vanderbilt 72-62 in Alabama's tournament opener. That gives Alabama a 4-3 SEC tournament record against Vanderbilt.
