Men's Basketball Plays Chattanooga Before Holiday Break
12/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2008
What: Men's Basketball Game vs. Chattanooga
When: 6 p.m., Monday, December 22
Where: Coleman Coliseum
Radio: CTSN
TV: CSS
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama men's basketball team (6-3) continues its month-long homestand with a Monday night contest against the Chattanooga Mocs (2-7). The two teams will meet on Dec. 22 at 6:00 p.m. Central Time at Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide is coming off a 75-66 victory over Tennessee State while the Mocs defeated Mississippi Valley State, 65-61.
Who to Watch
Alabama junior forward Yamene Coleman had a career night to help lead the Crimson Tide to a non-conference win over Tennessee State on Dec. 17. Coleman erupted for career highs in points and rebounds by recording 14 in both categories. The Boykin, Ala. native shot 7-for-8 from the floor and played over 30 minutes for the second time in three games. The 14 rebounds is the highest total recorded by a member of the Tide this season and the most since Richard Hendrix grabbed 17 against LSU on Feb. 2, 2008.
Last Time Out
Alabama defeated Tennessee State, 75-66, at Coleman Coliseum last Wednesday night. The Tide did most of its damage around the basket scoring 42 points in the paint. The Crimson Tide shot 48 percent from the field while holding the Tigers to 37 percent shooting for the game, the seventh time this season that Alabama has held an opponent under 40 percent shooting. The Tide held a narrow edge on the glass, out-rebounding Tennessee State 43-40. Alabama converted 16 offensive rebounds into 22 second-chance points. Senior Alonzo Gee led the Tide in scoring for the fifth-straight game with 24 points to go with six rebounds. Senior Ronald Steele added 13 points, 12 of which came on four shots from behind the arc. Steele also led Alabama with six assists. Junior Yamene Coleman gave Alabama huge production off the bench, posting his first career double-double with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Coleman also swatted away three shots for a game-high three blocks.
Scouting Chattanooga
Chattanooga enters Tuscaloosa with a 2-7 overall record and a 0-1 Southern Conference mark. The Mocs are coming off a 65-61 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday night. The win for UTC was its first on the road and after dropping its first five games of the season, has now won two of its last four. As a team, the Mocs are averaging 71.9 points per game but are allowing 82.7 points per game. UTC has been out-rebounded 373-346 and has 173 turnovers to 118 assists. Individually, Stephen McDowell paces the Mocs with 19.3 points per game. Nicchaeus Doaks chips in 14.2 points per game while Ty Patterson adds 11.4 points per night. Doaks nearly averages a double-double as he averages 9.9 boards per contest. The Mocs, who return three starters from last year's 18-13 (13-7 SoCon) team, were tabbed as the preseason favorites in the North Division in a preseason coaches poll.
Alabama vs. Chattanooga: The Series
Alabama holds a 15-3 advantage over Chattanooga in a series that dates all the way back to the second season of Crimson Tide basketball. Coach D.V. Graves led the Crimson Tide to a 33-23 win at Chattanooga during the 1913-14 season; the first meeting between the two teams. The Tide and Mocs met regularly throughout the 1920s and 1930s, playing eight of the 18 games from 1926-40. In the 1928-29 season, Alabama beat Chattanooga 26-22 in the 12th of 14 straight road games for the Crimson Tide. Alabama played 18 road games during that season and posted a 9-9 road record. After Alabama's 31-29 win during the 1939-40 season, the two teams would not play again until the 1961-62 season. Alabama won all three games in the 1960s before the series was halted again. Alabama and Chattanooga renewed acquaintances during the 1990-91 season with the Tide earning a hard-fought 62-58 win in Chattanooga. It was UA's first visit to the UTC campus in more than 50 years. Alabama and Chattanooga have met four times in Tuscaloosa since the renewal in 1991 and the two teams played a neutral site game at the Von Braun Civic Center in Huntsville in 1999-2000. Alabama won 11 of 12 games in the series from 1924-92, with the Mocs' lone win coming during the 1936-37 season to snap a five-game UA winning streak. Chattanooga ended Alabama's longest series winning streak with a 67-57 win to open the 1993-94 season in Tuscaloosa. The Mocs not only snapped a six-game series winning streak by the Tide, but the loss was also the first opening day setback in the history of Coleman Coliseum, snapping a 26-game winning streak in home openers. Alabama has won the last three meetings, including a 76-62 decision on Dec. 16, 2003. Kennedy Winston led the Tide with 20 points and six rebounds in the win over the Mocs. Alabama is 9-2 all-time at home against Chattanooga, including a 3-1 mark in Coleman Coliseum.
Gottfried vs. Chattanooga
Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried is 3-0 in his career against Chattanooga and all three wins have come at Alabama. He led the Crimson Tide to victories during the 1999-2000, 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons.
Alabama vs. Southern Conference
A charter member of the Southern Conference, Alabama was a member of the league for nine seasons (1924-32) before becoming a charter member of the SEC in 1933. Alabama is 40-9 (.816) against the current members of the Southern Conference, which includes a 28-3 ledger against newest SoCon member Samford, who joined the league this academic year. Alabama owns a winning record against Appalachian State, Furman, Georgia Southern, North Carolina Greensboro, Samford, Western Carolina and Wofford. The College of Charleston, The Citadel and Davidson have winning records against Alabama. The first meeting with a current member of the Southern Conference took place during the 1922-23 season when the Tide beat Wofford in the SIAA Tournament in Atlanta. The last time Alabama played a member of the Southern Conference was Dec. 17, 2007, when the Tide beat Wofford, 80-73, in the first round of the Las Vegas Classic, a game played in Tuscaloosa.
Gottfried vs. Southern Conference
Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried is 5-1 (.833) in his career against the Southern Conference and all five meetings have taken place at Alabama. Gottfried owns a winning record against three of the four teams he has faced, including North Carolina-Greensboro, Western Carolina and Wofford. He has split a pair of meetings with Samford, including a 79-67 loss to the Bulldogs on Dec. 2, 1999, in Tuscaloosa.
Gottfried in December
Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried has taken a liking to the month of December. Overall while at the helm of the Crimson Tide, Gottfried sports a 55-13 record in the holiday month. As he enters the contest against Chattanooga with a 3-1 record this season in December, the fourth most victorious coach in UA history has only lost more than once in the month one time in the past nine seasons.
Steele Taking Care of the Ball
Alabama senior guard Ronald Steele has made a name for himself for his ability to take care of the basketball. Steele had his best game of the season in that category by handing out six assists without a single turnover against Texas A&M and then followed that up with six more against Tennessee State. In his career, the Birmingham, Ala., native has tallied more assists than turnovers 65 times. Steele has recorded five or more assists 44 times and has tallied five more assists than turnovers 15 times. The 6-1 guard has played in seven games in which he did not record a single turnover. Against East Tennessee State on Dec. 1, 2004, Steele etched his name in the UA record books by handing out 18 assists while not turning the ball over.
Hillman Develops Into All-Around Threat
Sophomore guard Senario Hillman has excelled in his starting role this season and has shown dramatic improvement over a year ago. The Iwinton, Ga., native is averaging 12.7 points a game this season and has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games. As a freshman, the 6-1 guard averaged 4.3 points a game and tallied four double-digit point totals. Hillman recorded a career-high 22 points in a win against Chaminade at the Maui Invitational.
Gee Streaking In December
Senior guard Alonzo Gee has put together a seven-game streak of scoring in double figures after starting the season with a combined six points in the first two games. Over the seven-game streak, Gee is averaging 16.7 points per game and is shooting 48 percent from the floor. Over that span Gee has also led Alabama in scoring five times, including a season-high 24 points against Tennessee State. The scoring streak is the second longest of his career as he ran a 10-game double-digit streak last season and his first seven-game streak during the 2006-07 campaign.
20-Point Scorers = Wins
Among current players on the Alabama roster the Crimson Tide has had an individual score 20 or more points 26 times. UA sports a 19-7 overall record when the Tide has a 20-point scorer over that span. Alonzo Gee leads the team with 15 20-point performances. In those games the Tide is 12-3. Ronald Steele closely follows with 10 20-point games. In those contests UA is 6-4. Senario Hillman tallied his first 20-point game with 22 points in a win against Chaminade.
Double-Doubles = Wins
Among current players on the Alabama roster the Crimson Tide has had an individual record a double-double 12 times, going 10-2 in those games. Senior guard Alonzo Gee leads the way with eight double-doubles. In those games the Crimson Tide is 7-1 overall. Demetrius Jemison has tallied two double-doubles and in those games UA is a perfect 2-0. JaMychal Green tallied a double-double in a loss against Mercer. Junior Yamene Coleman record his first double-double with a career-high 14 points and 14 rebounds in the win against Tennessee State.
Tide Continues Eight-Game Homestand
The Alabama men's basketball team is in the midst of an eight-game homestand. The homestand spans all the way into January when the Crimson Tide finally leaves to play the Clemson Tigers on Jan. 6. The contest against Clemson will close out non-conference play for the Tide. The homestand opened on Dec. 2 against Alabama A&M.
Steele Makes History
Alabama senior point guard Ronald Steele eclipsed the 1,000-point mark by scoring 11 points against Alabama A&M. Steele became the 42nd player in Alabama history to record 1,000 points as he enters the game against Chattanooga with 1,040 career points. In addition to joining the 1,000-point club, Steele is only the second player in school history to record over 1,000 points and 400 assists, joining Robert Scott (1,321 points and 444 assists from 1977-80). Steele has 426 assists coming into Monday's game.
Gee Scoring Watch
Alabama senior guard Alonzo Gee eclipsed the 1,000-point barrier last season and is rapidly climbing up the all-time scoring list. A total of 42 current and former members of the Crimson Tide are in the prestigious scoring club while Gee ranks 24th overall with 1,273 points. Charles Cleveland (1,312) and Robert Scott (1,321) are next on the list.
Steele In The Record Book
Ronald Steele has etched his name prominently in the Crimson Tide record book. Steele has made his mark in the assist categories where he ranks sixth in career assists (426), first in assists in a single game (18) and fifth in assists per game in a career (4.35 average) The Birmingham, Ala., native is first in free throw percentage for a career (.869) and a season (.892), and ranks third in career three-point field goal percentage (.414) with head coach Mark Gottfried (1985-87) holding the all-time mark with a .485 clip.
Gottfried Among Winningest SEC Coaches
Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried, in his 11th season at the Capstone, has had great success while directing the Crimson Tide. Gottfried is one of only two coaches to have taken his SEC squad to the NCAA Tournament five times since the 2001-02 season. At Alabama, Gottfried has averaged 20 wins per season to rank second behind only Wimp Sanderson (22.3 in 12 seasons) in the UA record books. Throughout his 13-year coaching career Gottfried has averaged 21 wins per season.
Gottfried Gets 200th Win at Alabama
The win over Chaminade was Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried's 200th victory at Alabama. Gottfried now has a 204-127 record in his 11th season with the Crimson Tide. With his 200th win at Alabama, Gottfried joined an exclusive club of 200-game winners at Alabama. Wimp Sanderson (267), Hank Crisp (264) and C.M. Newton (211) are the only other coaches in school history to reach the 200-win mark with the Tide.
Alabama Basketball: A Historical Perspective
• 7 SEC regular season championships
• 6 SEC tournament championships
• 19 NCAA Tournament Appearances (2004 NCAA Elite 8)
• 8 NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" advancements
• 5 NIT Final Four Trips
• 40 NBA Players (5 current NBA players)
• 19 First Team All-Americans
• 48 Academic All-SEC players
• Ranks 20th in NCAA tournament appearances since 1984
• 126 All-SEC players
• Ranks second all-time in SEC wins behind Kentucky
Alabama Picked to win the West
In a poll by both national and SEC media the Crimson Tide were selected to win the SEC's Western Division as selected by a 30-member voting panel. Alabama received 11 first-place votes and earned a total of 151 points. LSU had 147 points and also received 11 first-place votes. Tennessee was selected to win the conference.
Gee and Steele Garner Preseason Honors
University of Alabama senior guards Alonzo Gee and Ronald Steele were selected to the Second Team of the 2008-09 Preseason Southeastern Conference All-Conference team as voted by the league's coaches. Gee was third on the team with 14.5 points per game and second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. He led the Tide in scoring in 10 games last season. Steele was a Preseason All-American in 2007-08 before an injury forced him to sit out the 2007-08 season. Alabama's all-time leader in free-throw accuracy (.868), Steele has started 89 of 90 games he has been in a Crimson Tide uniform.
Green Brings Lofty Credentials
Alabama freshman JaMychal Green brought with him some lofty prep credentials and has instantly impressed at the collegiate ranks. Green has played 20 or more minutes in five of the nine games this season. Green tallied back-to-back double-digit point performances to open his UA career. Green currently paces Alabama, averaging 6.4 rebounds per game. The Montgomery, Ala. native was named a McDonald's All-American and played for the USA National U18 Team in Argentina at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. The St. Jude high school standout was named "Mr. Basketball" for the State of Alabama.
Veteran Squad Returns
Head Coach Mark Gottfried returns a veteran squad as eight of the 12 members of the Crimson Tide are upperclassmen. The eight upperclassmen have played in a combined 511 games in a Crimson Tide uniform. Senior Alonzo Gee leads all players with 105 games played, starting in 81. Senior Brandon Hollinger follows with 103 games played. Robert Horry (1989-92) holds the career games played record with 131.
Next Time Out
Alabama will take a few days off for the holiday break but will continue its month-long homestand on Sunday, December 28, against Yale. The Crimson Tide will face the Bulldogs at 6p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum. UA rounds out the month on Tuesday, Dec. 30, against Quincy.
