Crimson Tide Looks To Maintain Winning Ways at Mississippi
2/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2009
ALABAMA (15-12, 5-8 SEC) at MISSISSIPPI (15-12, 6-7 SEC)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tipoff: 3 p.m. (CST)
TV: Raycom Sports
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network
Game Notes in PDF Format 
The University of Alabama men's basketball team travels to Oxford, Miss. in search of its third-straight win when it takes on homestanding Mississippi Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m on Raycom Sports.
The Crimson Tide takes to the road after an 88-67 drubbing of Arkansas on Wednesday evening to improve to 15-12 overall and 5-8 in the Southeastern Conference. Prior to that, the Tide defeated Mississippi State 87-85 in double-overtime, giving UA back-to-back SEC wins for the first time this season.
Mississippi returns to its campus after falling, 77-64, at Auburn on Wednesday night to fall to15-12 overall and 6-7 in the SEC. However, the squad has won four-straight home games coming into Saturday.
"It's a tough place to play," said UA interim head coach Philip Pearson. "Over the years, it's been a difficult place for Alabama to play for at least the last 20 years that I've been going over there. I think that Andy (Kennedy) has done a terrific job with their team with the injury situation that they've had this season."
The game is the 164th in the series that UA leads by a 114-49 margin after claiming the first meeting this season, 76-73, in Tuscaloosa on January 21.
Reigning SEC Player of the Week, Alabama senior Alonzo Gee, has averaged 25.5 points in the last two games, including a season-high 28 points against MSU. Gee also made a career-high five three-pointers against Arkansas and has now made seven of his last nine three-point attempts.
He has hit double-figures in 23 of his 27 games this season and leads the Tide in scoring (15.1 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.3).
JaMychal Green continues to solidify his standing as one of the top freshman in the SEC after posting seven points and seven rebounds in just 20 minutes against Arkansas. Green is averaging 11.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in SEC contests this season. Since the start of SEC play, Green has scored in double-figures nine times with five double-doubles, the most in SEC action this season.
Sophomore Senario Hillman has averaged 16.3 points in the last three games and had a career-high seven assists in addition to 13 points against Arkansas on Wednesday. Last Saturday Saturday against MSU, 19 of his 21 points came after halftime to lead UA to the double-overtime victory.
In Mississippi's most recent game, a 77-64 loss at Auburn, the team shot on par with Auburn and held a 41-33 advantage on the glass, but couldn't make up for its 23 turnovers. Terrico White had a career-high 24 points while Malcom While had a career-best 18 rebounds in that loss.
On the season, David Huertas leads Mississippi with 18.7 points per game and has made 73 of his 200 three-points attempts this season. Freshman Terrico White is second on the squad with 12.4 points per game, but his averaging 19.8 points per game in his last eight contests. Classmate Murphy Holloway is the team's top rebounder with 6.4 rebounds per game to complement his 8.5 points per game.
Following the Mississippi game, Alabam will return to campus and begin preparations for Tuesday night's game against in-state rival Auburn. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN starting at 8 p.m. CST.
