Alabama to Open the SEC Season Against LSU
1/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2009
ALABAMA (10-4) vs. LSU (12-2)
Sunday, January 11
Coleman Coliseum
Tipoff: 12:30 p.m. CST
TV: Raycom (Play-by-play - Dave Baker, Analyst - Joe Dean)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-by-play - Chris Stewart, Analyst - Bryan Passink)
Promotion: FAMILY FUN DAY -- Family Packs available for only $56. Reserve your family fun pack today by calling the ticket office at 1-877-TIDETIX or online by clicking here. All family fun packs include 4 tickets to the game, 4 Bryan hot dogs, 4 bags of Golden Flake potato chips and 4 Coca-Colas. A great value for a night out with the family at Coleman Coliseum!
Sunday's Game
The University of Alabama men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum to tipoff the Southeastern Conference season against LSU Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. CST on Raycom Sports.
The Crimson Tide begins the grueling SEC slate with a 10-4 record after Tuesday's 66-59 loss at unbeaten Clemson. LSU also comes into the game off a loss after suffering a 91-61 setback to Utah in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Tigers.
The Tigers boast a 12-2 record, but are 0-2 away from the Maravich Center this season. Alabama has had similar success at home this season with an 8-2 record and five-straight home wins.
Sunday's game pits two successful defenses against each other with each team holding their opponents to date to 64 points or less per game. Additionally, both teams rank in the top 30 nationally in field-goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor.
Who to Watch
• Senior Alonzo Gee leads the Crimson Tide with 14.5 points per game after scoring a team-high 12 in the loss to Clemson.
• Gee has scored in double-figures in 12-straight games and has made 50 percent or more of his shots from the field in half of UA's 14 games this season.
• He is also averaging 7.4 rebounds per game with two double-doubles this season, including a 15-point, career-high 18-rebound performance against Georgia Tech.
• On the perimeter, Senario Hillman and Ronald Steele are averaging 13.6 and 13.4 points per game, respectively.
• Steele leads the squad with 3.9 assists per game while Hillman's defensive speed has produced 2.2 steals per game and at least one steal in five-consecutive games.
• Inside, reigning SEC Freshman of the Week JaMychal Green is averaging 8.6 points and 7.0 rebounds with 23 blocks.
• At Clemson, he hauled in 11 boards, six off the offensive glass.
• Green has hit double-figures in four of his last five games and has played 30 or more minutes in three-straight outings.
The Series
• Alabama and LSU meet for the 161st time Sunday afternoon in a series that dates back to 1915-1916.
• It is the third most-played series in Alabama history behind only the series with Mississippi State (180 games) and Ole Miss (162 games).
• Alabama leads the all-time series by a 95-65 margin.
• The teams have split the last 10 meetings after LSU claimed an 80-74 victory in the final meeting of 2008.
• However, Alabama has won four of the last five meetings.
• The Tide has been dominant at home against LSU with a 65-19 (.773) record at home and a 33-7 (.825) record at Coleman/Memorial Coliseum.
• LSU's last win at Coleman Coliseum came during the 2003-04 campaign.
• In fact, LSU played the first ever game in the building after it was renamed Coleman Coliseum during the 1988-89 season.
• Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried is 11-9 against the Tigers and 8-2 against them at home.
• Sunday's game is also the fourth time in Gottfried's tenure that the Tide has faced LSU in its SEC opener.
• This is LSU head coach Trent Johnson's first-ever meeting with the Crimson Tide.
Last Time Out
• Alabama fell to 10-4 with a 66-59 loss at undefeated Clemson on Tuesday evening.
• Alonzo Gee and Senario Hillman led the Tide with 12 points each.
• Point guard Ronald Steele continued his strong play with 10 points, four assists and just one turnover despite facing Clemson's full-court press defense for 35 minutes.
• Clemson's 66 points was its fewest in a game this season.
• UA's defense limited the Tigers to 39.7 percent shooting, also a season low for the Tigers and well below their 49.9 percent shooting coming into the game.
• UA trailed by as much as 15 with six minutes to play before UA closed the game with a 16-8 spurt to pull within five in the final minute.
• Clemson held the Tide without a field goal for an 8:39 span in the second half and outscored UA 17-1 during the span to turn a one-point deficit into a 15-point lead.
• UA held a 46-35 advantage on the glass with JaMychal Green and Justin Knox hauling in 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
• Clemson got to the free-throw line 10 more times than UA and UA didn't even attempt a free-throw until nearly three minutes had expired in the second half.
Scouting LSU
• LSU is 12-2 heading into conference play but has lost its only two games away from Baton Rouge.
• On Tuesday evening, the Tigers suffered a 30-point, 91-61, loss at Utah.
• LSU shot a season-low 33.3 percent in the loss while the Utes made 63.5 percent of their shots.
• The team's only other loss came at the hands of Texas A&M in a neutral-site game in Houston, Texas.
• LSU is averaging 75.8 points per game and outscoring opponents by an average of 14.4 per game.
• From the field, the team is converting on 45.8 percent of its shots.
• Forward Tasmin Mitchell, who missed 2007-08 with injury, leads the way in accuracy, connecting on 55.1 percent of his attempts.
• The 6-7 junior is averaging 14.4 points and six rebounds this season.
• Senior guard Marcus Thornton leads the team in scoring at 18.3 points per game and has scored 20 or more points five times this season and 30 or more points twice.
• Bo Spencer is also averaging double-figures at 12.5 per game and is the team's top marksman, converting on 44.1 percent of his 59 three-point attempts this season.
Green Earns SEC Honor
• JaMychal Green enters Sunday's game as the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week.
• Green earned the honor after leading the Crimson Tide to a pair of wins last week over Georgia Tech and Quincy.
• In those games, he averaged 12.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks and scored 12 points with five boards in the Tide's 88-77 win over Georgia Tech.
•He also connected on 64.7 percent (11-of-17) of his shots from the field on the week with half of his 12 rebounds coming off the offensive glass.
• He is the first UA player to earn the award since Richard Hendrix did so three times during the 2005-06 season.
• Green continued his strong play against Clemson with seven points, 11 rebounds (six offensive), three blocks and three steals.
Home Sweet Home
• The Tide is certainly happy to be returning to Coleman Coliseum where it is 8-2 this season and hasn't lost since December 13.
• Under head coach Mark Gottfried the Tide is an impressive 143-27 (.841) at home.
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.
• This season, Gottfried moved into the top-20 in all-time wins at an SEC institution with 208.
• He also jumped into the top-25 of winning percentage in the SEC too with a career .619 mark.
• 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 14-year coaching career Gottfried has averaged 21 wins per season.
Defense Keys Victories
• Alabama's staunch defense has been responsible for its early season 10-4 record with the Tide holding opponents to 63.9 points per game this season.
• Additionally, the Tide has held its opponents to just 38.2 percent shooting and 28.2 percent shooting from three-point range.
• Only four opponents (Oregon, Texas A&M, Quincy, Georgia Tech) have shot better than 40 percent against UA this season with UA going 2-2 in those games.
• UA has limited two opponents (Alabama A&M, Louisiana) to less than 30 percent shooting from the floor.
More on Defense
• UA is 25th in the nation in defensive field-goal percentage with opponents shooting just 38.2 percent from the floor against the Tide.
• The team is also 16th nationally in defensive three-point field-goal percentage at 28.2 percent.
• Breaking down the team's defensive prowess on a possession-by-possession basis, opponents are averaging just 0.87 points per possession against the Tide.
• That average is tied for 20th in the nation but just 7/100ths behind Purdue's top national mark of 0.80 points allowed per possession.
Hillman Leads the D
• Sophomore Senario Hillman has been the team's defensive catalyst as of late with 14 steals in the past four games.
• On the season, he has 31 total steals and a 2.2 steals per game average, fourth best in the SEC.
• His defensive prowess over the last four games has been in addition to his increased scoring with 16.3 points per game.
• Additionally, the Tide has scored 4.5 points per game off of his steals during that span.
Sure-thing Steele
• Senior Ronald Steele has been perfect from the free-throw line in his last 11 attempts dating back to the Tennessee State game on December 17.
• On the season, he's only missed five of his 49 attempts from the line.
• His 89.8 free-throw percentage this season currently leads the SEC.
• For his career, he has converted on 87.3 percent of his attempts, easily the best percentage in Alabama history.
Gee and Steele Double Up
• Alonzo Gee and Ronald Steele each recorded double-doubles against Georgia Tech, the first time two UA players have notched double-doubles in a game since last season's overtime win against Vanderbilt. Richard Hendrix and Mykal Riley did so in that game.
• Gee's double-double was of the traditional points-rebounds variety with 15 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
• Gee needed little time to earn the double-double with 10 first half rebounds and his 10th point of the game less than two minutes into the second half.
• Steele's double-double was of the more rare points-assists variety with 23 points and 10 assists.
• UA's last points-assists double-double came on February 16, 2002 when Mo Williams had 11 points and 10 assists against Tennessee. That makes for a span of 212 between the two feats.
• In the 2,330 college games played to date this season, there have only been 73 points-assists double-doubles.
• Of those 70 performances, only 11 have had more points to complement their assists than Steele.
• His 10 assists led to 23 points for the Tide, making him directly responsible for 46 of the Tide's 88 points in the win.
Gee Leaps Up All-Time List
• In his last three games, Alonzo Gee has rocketed up five spots on UA's all-time scoring list into 18th with 1,353 career points.
• He most recently passed Richard Hendrix (1,327) and Wendell Hudson (1,326)
• Next up for Gee on the scoring list is Mike Nordholz's 1,394 points in 17th place.
A December to Remember
• After opening the season with six points in the first two games, Alonzo Gee got back on track and wrapped up an outstanding December.
• During the year's final month, the senior averaged 18.1 points per game on 52.3 percent shooting with three 20-point performances in seven games.
• He complemented his scoring with 7.0 rebounds per game with 43 percent of them coming off the offensive glass.
• Gee also chipped in with 12 assists, six blocks and eight steals on the month.
20-Point Scorers = Wins
• Among current players on the Alabama roster the Crimson Tide has had an individual score 20 or more points 29 times.
• UA sports a 22-7 overall record when the Tide has a 20-point scorer over that span.
• Alonzo Gee leads the team with 17 20-point performances. In those games the Tide is 14-3.
• Ronald Steele closely follows with 11 20-point games. In those contests UA is 7-4.
• 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 15 times, going 12-2 in those games.
• Senior guard Alonzo Gee leads the way with 10 double-doubles. In those games the Crimson Tide is 9-1 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.
• Ronald Steele also has a double-double on the season with 23 points and 10 assists against Georgia Tech.
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 LSU with 1,108 career points.
• In addition to joining the 1,000-point club, Steele is only the second player in school history to record more than 1,000 points and 400 assists, joining Robert Scott (1,321 points and 444 assists from 1977-80). Steele has 451 assists coming into the LSU game, fourth in UA history.
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 is fourth in career assists (451), first in assists in a single game (18) and fifth in assists per game in a career (4.37 average).
• The Birmingham, Ala., native is first in free throw percentage for a career (.873) and a season (.892), and ranks third in career three-point field goal percentage (.415) with head coach Mark Gottfried (1985-87) holding the all-time mark with a .485 clip.
Gottfried Gets 200th Win at UA
• The win over Chaminade on November 25 was Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried's 200th victory at Alabama.
• Gottfried now has a 207-127 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 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 98-of-100 games he has been in a Crimson Tide uniform.
UA 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
Next Time Out
• The Crimson Tide hits the road and jumps across the state line to face Mississippi State on Wednesday, January 14 at 7 p.m.
• The Tide and Bulldogs meet for the 181st time with UA holding a 110-70 advantage.
• However, UA will be looking to snap a four-game skid to MSU and earn its first win in Starkville since the 2004-05 season.
