Men's Basketball Set to Face Auburn Saturday
1/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2011
| Alabama Basketball Preview - at Auburn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alabama (11-7, 3-1 SEC) at Auburn (7-11, 0-4 SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama men's basketball team will be seeking its first 4-1 start in SEC play since the 2004-05 season when it takes on the Auburn Tigers Saturday at Auburn Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST with the game being televised regionally by CSS and carried via radio by the Crimson Tide Sports Network. The game will also be streamed live by ESPN3.
The Crimson Tide currently sits alone atop the SEC West at 3-1 and 11-7 overall after a thrilling 68-66 win over No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday. Auburn is coming off a 45-40 home loss to the Florida Gators on Thursday to fall to 7-11 and 0-4 in the SEC.
"Auburn has got a team that is playing very well right now," UA head coach Anthony Grant said. "Last night's game was a tremendous performance and in a lot of ways they outplayed Florida with a great defensive effort. We understand we are playing a team that is playing very good basketball right now."
Alabama boasts the SEC's top defense, allowing just 57.3 points per game. The Crimson Tide has held three of its four SEC opponents (Mississippi State, South Carolina and Kentucky) to their lowest point totals of the year. Auburn, who has the SEC's lowest scoring offense at 62.7 points per game, will be seeking its first SEC win at the new Auburn Arena.
"We're expecting a great atmosphere, and with a sold out building and with all the people on campus, there will be a lot of energy and emotion running through the building," Grant said. "Our guys need to be prepared for that. We've played in some hostile environments over the course of the season and it comes down to what you do between the lines. We've got to make sure we're prepared to control the things we can control."
Junior forward JaMychal Green continued his recent tear with his fourth double-double of the season and 17th of his career with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Kentucky. Green hauled in a season-high seven offensive boards that led to seven additional points for the Tide. He currently ranks ninth in scoring in the SEC at 15.5 points per game.
Sophomore guard Earnest Ross leads the Tigers in scoring and rebounding at 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The game will be the Tide's last before a weeklong hiatus with no games before returning home to host LSU on Jan. 29.
