Men's Basketball to Open SEC Play at Mississippi State
1/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2011
| Alabama Basketball Preview - at Mississippi State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alabama (8-6, 0-0 SEC) at Mississippi State (8-6, 0-0 SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -
The University of Alabama men's basketball team begins Southeastern Conference play on Saturday afternoon when it faces Western Division rival Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum with the game being televised on SEC Network affiliates and broadcast via radio on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
The Crimson Tide travels to Humphrey Coliseum riding a three-game win streak to close out non-conference play and give the squad an 8-6 record heading into the league opener.
"Our guys are excited about starting SEC play and we're looking forward to the challenge of going on the road in a hostile environment and playing a very good team," Alabama head coach Anthony Grant said of Saturday's game.
The Tide will again try to bank on its defense as the team's first 14 opponents mustered just 56.5 points per game, the eighth-best average in the nation this season.
"On a daily basis, you don't know offensively, but you should be able to give a consistent effort on defense," Grant said. "The ante gets upped here now that we're starting SEC play since we're dealing with one of the most explosive scoring teams in our conference. They can come at you in a variety of ways with a lot of different weapons so we'll have to do a great job of taking away the things that they want to do."
Mississippi State begins the conference slate with a matching 8-6 record but is 1-4 in its last five outings, all on the road. Ravern Johnson has led the Bulldogs to date with 20.1 points per game and will be joined in the back court for the first time this season by veteran point guard Dee Bost.
For the Tide, JaMychal Green is 20-of-29 (.690) from the field in his last three games and since returning to the lineup six games ago he has averaged 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line.
On the perimeter, Charvez Davis returned to form as the team's top three-point threat, connecting on 16-of-24 (.667) in the last three games, and averaging 19.3 points per game in those contests.
The series with the Bulldogs is the oldest active series in UA history with the teams meeting for the 185th time in the 96-year old series. UA leads the series by a 112-72 margin.
Alabama at Mississippi State 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 12.2 RTV
Ft. Smith-Fay-Sprngdl-Rgrs, AR KHOG ABC
Ft. Smith-Fay-Sprngdl-Rgrs, AR KHBS ABC
Jonesboro, AR KAIT 8.1 ABC
Alexandria, LA LA KLAX ABC
Lafayette, LA LA KADN FOX
Lake Charles, LA KVHP FOX
Biloxi-Gulfport, MS WXXV FOX
Columbus-Tupelo-West Point, MS WCBI MNT
Greenwood-Greenville, MS WABG-A ABC
Hattiesburg-Laurel, MS WHLT CBS
Jackson, MS MS WJTV CBS
Meridian, MS EGBC FOX
Toledo, OH WMNT MNT
Jackson, TN TN WJKT FOX
Memphis, TN WLMT CW
