Men's Basketball Continues SEC Slate at Arkansas
1/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2011
| Alabama Basketball Preview - at Arkansas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alabama (10-6, 2-0 SEC) at Arkansas (11-4, 1-1 SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -
The University of Alabama men's basketball team continues Southeastern Conference play with its second SEC road game of the season Saturday afternoon against Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:47 p.m. CST with the game being televised from Bud Walton Arena on SEC Network affiliates and carried via radio by the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
The Crimson Tide is 2-0 in the league this season after opening with a 75-57 win at Mississippi State and a 57-47 win at home on Wednesday against South Carolina for its fifth straight win to improve to 10-6 overall and remain a perfect 9-0 at home.
Arkansas returns home with a 1-1 league mark after falling, 56-53, at LSU on Wednesday. The loss dropped the Razorbacks to 11-4 overall but the squad is 10-1 on its home court his season.
"Going on the road is always tough especially in one of the best atmospheres in the league at Bud Walton arena," UA head coach Anthony Grant said. "They're coming off a tough road loss and they will be excited to get on the court again. For us it comes down to our preparation over the next 24 hours and getting ready to play."
The Tide will be looking to open league play with a 3-0 record for the first time since the 1986-87 team opened SEC play with seven straight wins.
Arkansas averages 72.2 points per game but will face the nation's seventh-best defense in terms of scoring average as the Tide has surrendered just 55.9 points per game this season and is holding opponents to a 0.81 points per possession, the lowest average in the nation.
"They're a team that is very effective in terms of getting the game at the tempo they want, getting out in transition and getting opportunities to score in transition." Grant said of the Razorbacks. "Rotnei Clarke leads them in scoring and is one of the elite shooters in our league. Marshawn Powell gives them a lot inside and I've been really impressed with what I've seen of their point guard on film."
JaMychal Green led Alabama on Wednesday with 20 points and nine rebounds. He is 34-of-60 (.566) from the field in his last four games and in his four career games against the Razorbacks he has averaged 16.5 points. Since returning to the lineup eight games ago, Green has averaged 16.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 53.9 percent from the field and 74.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Clarke leads Arkansas this season with 13.5 points per game on 40.5 percent shooting from the arc with 73 percent of his shots coming from three-point range.
Saturday's game is the 51st meeting between the two foes and the 41st meeting as SEC opponents. Arkansas leads the all-time series by a 27-23 margin and neither team has won on the road in the series since 2007.
SEC Network Affiliates
Birmingham-Tuscaloosa-Anniston, AL WTTO CW
Dothan, AL GTVY MNT
Huntsville-Decatur-Florence, AL WZDX FOX
Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt), AL WJTC IND
Montgomery (Selma), AL WSFA NBC
Ft. Smith-Fay-Sprngdl-Rgrs, AR KHOG ABC
Ft. Smith-Fay-Sprngdl-Rgrs, AR KHBS ABC
Jonesboro, AR KAIT 8.1 ABC
Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR KATV ABC
Columbus, GA WTVM ABC
Macon, GA WGXA FOX
Wichita-Hutchinson Plus, KS KSCW-DT CBS
Lexington, KY WKYT CBS
Lafayette, LA LA KADN FOX
Lake Charles, LA KVHP FOX
Shreveport, LA KSHV MNT
Biloxi-Gulfport, MS WXXV FOX
Columbus-Tupelo-West Point, MS WCBI MNT
Greenwood-Greenville, MS WABG-A ABC
Jackson, MS WJTV-DT3 RTV
Meridian, MS WGBC NBC
Tulsa, OK KGEB IND
Chattanooga, WFLI CW
Jackson, TN WJKT FOX
Memphis, TN WLMT CW
Nashville, TN WUXP MNT
Tyler-Longview-Lfkn & Ncgd, TX KLPN MNT
