Crimson Tide to Face Unbeaten Clemson Tuesday Night
1/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2009
Alabama (10-3) vs. Clemson (14-0)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Tipoff Time: 8 p.m. CST
TV: Fox Sports South (Play-by-play - Bob Rathbun; Analyst - Dan Bonner)
Radio: CTSN (Play by Play - Chris Stewart; Analyst - Bryan Passink)
Series: Clemson leads, 4-3
Fresh off an impressive win over Georgia Tech, the University of Alabama men's basketball team leaves campus for the first time in more than a month to face undefeated Clemson on Tuesday, January 6.
The game is the Crimson Tide's first game on an opponent's home court this season, but the team has three neutral-site games under its belt, going 2-1 at the Maui Invitational in late November. The game is also the second of back-to-back contests against Atlantic Coast Conference competition.
If recent trends are any indication, Tuesday's game could be a shootout as Clemson has averaged 89.3 points in its last three games while the Tide has scored 80.0 points over that same span.
On Saturday, Alabama defeated its first ACC foe of the season with an 88-77 victory over Georgia Tech in Coleman Coliseum. That win improved the Tide to 10-3 on the season and closed an eight-game homestand that saw the Tide go 7-1 to improve its home record to 8-2 and was the Tide's fifth-staight win.
Meanwhile, Clemson boasts a 14-0 record coming into Tuesday's game and has outscored opponents by 19.2 points per game this season. In their last game, the Tigers defeated East Carolina in Littlejohn Coliseum by a 79-66 margin.
Who to Watch
• Senior Alonzo Gee leads the Crimson Tide with 14.7 points per game after scoring 15 points with a career-high 18 rebounds in the win over Georgia Tech.
• In his last three outings, he is averaging 16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds.
• Senior guard Ronald Steele recorded a rare points-assists double-double with 23 points and 10 assists against the Yellow Jackets.
• Steele is averaging 17.7 points over the past three games and has converted on half of his three-point attempts(11-of-22) during that span.
• Steele's mate in the backcourt, Senario Hillman, has also averaged 17.7 points in the last three games and has been lethal on defense with 4.3 steals, including a career-high six against Quincy.
Last Time Out
• Alabama got its 10th win of the season with an 88-77 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday.
• Five Alabama players scored in double figures: Ronald Steele (23), Alonzo Gee (15), Senario Hillman (18), Justin Knox (10) and JaMychal Green (12). That marks the second time this season that the Tide has had five players in double digits, matching the win over Quincy on December 30.
• Ronald Steele and Alonzo Gee each posted double-double outings as Steele had a season-high 10 assists while scoring 23 points while Gee had 15 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
• Georgia Tech's 77 points were the most allowed by Alabama in a victory this season.
• The Crimson Tide notched a season-high 17 assists, bettering the previous 2008-09 high of 16 set against Chattanooga on December 22.
• Alabama led by as much as 29 (67-38) on a 3-point shot by Brandon Hollinger with 10:38 left in the 2nd half.• Tech closed a 28-point lead to 16 with a 12-0 run from the 7:00 mark to the 5:42 mark before a Steele layup ended the Alabama dry spell with the Tide holding a 77-59 advantage after having a lead of 75-47 before the run.
• Tech closed the gap to as little as 10 points (85-75) with 53 seconds remaining.
Scouting Clemson
• The Tigers bring an impressive 14-0 record into Tuesday's contest and are one of only four unbeaten teams in the nation joining Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and Illinois State.
• It has been 291 calendar days since the Tigers last lost.
• Clemson is averaging 82.7 points per game, the 11th-best average in the nation.
• Meanwhile its opponents have only mustered 63.5 points per game for 19.2-point average margin of defeat.
• Only four of Clemson's opponents have stayed within 10 points of the Tigers and only one of those games was on the Littlejohn hardwood.
• K.C. Rivers leads the team with 15.3 points per game while forward Trevor Booker nearly averages a double-double with 14.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
• Both are accurate shooters that lead a Clemson offense that is connecting on 49.9 percent of its shots from the field, the ninth-best percentage in the nation.
• Behind the arc, marksman Terrence Oglesby has made 40 of his 96 three-point attempts (.417) to boost the team's 37.5 percent three-point shooting.
• Defensively, Clemson is seventh in the nation in blocks with 6.9 and 17th in steals with 9.7.
• The Tide and Tigers have no common opponents to date. However, Clemson has faced one SEC team, defeating South Carolina, 98-87, in Columbia on December 30.
Against the ACC
• Tuesday's game is the second against ACC competition for the Crimson Tide this season.
• On Saturday, UA beat its first ACC opponent this season with an 88-77 win over Georgia Tech.
• UA is 76-72 all-time against current members of the ACC.
• Sixty-eight of those games were against Georgia Tech when it was a member of the SEC.
• UA is 36-44 against all other ACC programs
Tide Flies the Coop
• Alabama leaves campus for the first time in nearly a month and plays its first true road game of the season when it faces Clemson.
• UA is one of just four teams in the nation that have yet to set foot on an opponent's floor this season joining Florida, Louisville and Maryland.
• The time at home has been good to the Tide with an 8-2 record in Coleman Coliseum.
• Under head coach Mark Gottfried, Alabama is 143-27 (.841) at home and has never lost more than five home contests in a season.
• In road games, his teams have gone 27-74 (.267).
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 2,238 college games played to date this season, there have only been 70 points-assists double-doubles.
• Of those 70 performances, only nine 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.
Defense Keys Victories
• Alabama's staunch defense has been responsible for its early season 10-3 record with the Tide holding opponents to 63.8 points per game this season.
• Additionally, the Tide has held its opponents to just 38.1 percent shooting and 27.6 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 38.1 percent from the floor against the Tide.
• The team is also seventh nationally in defensive three-point field-goal percentage at 27.6 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 23rd in 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 13 steals in the past three games.
• On the season, he has 30 total steals and a 2.3 steals per game average, fourth best in the SEC.
• His defensive prowess over the last three games has been in addition to his increased scoring with 17.7 points per game.
• Additionally, the Tide has scored 5.3 points per game off of his steals during that span.
Gee Leaps Up All-Time List
• In his last two games, Alonzo Gee has rocketed up five spots on UA's all-time scoring list into 18th with 1,341 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 just 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.
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.
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 Clemson with 1,098 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 447 assists from 1977-80). Steele has 447 assists coming into the Clemson 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 tied for fourth in career assists (4447), 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 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 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.
Next Time Out
• The Crimson Tide returns to Coleman Coliseum on Sunday to face SEC Western Division rival LSU at 12:30 p.m. CST
• The game will be televised regionally on Raycom Sports.
• The Tide and Tigers meet for the 161st time in the series that dates back to 1916
• UA holds a 95-65 advantage in the series after winning four of the last five meetings over its SEC Western Division
• The Tide is 3-2 under head coach Mark Gottfried when opening the SEC slate on the Coleman Coliseum hardwood.
