Men's Basketball Closes Out 2011 Against Jacksonville
12/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Alabama Basketball Preview - Alabama vs. Jacksonville
Alabama (9-3) vs. Jacksonville (2-9)
Crimson Tide Basketball Central
Basketball Home | Season Statistics | Roster | Media Guide | TideTV - Watch the games online! | SEC Basketball | NCAA BasketballDec. 28, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -
The University of Alabama men's basketball returns to campus for the final game of the 2011 portion of its schedule when it hosts Jacksonville in Coleman Coliseum on Thursday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on CSS and on radio courtesy of the Crimson Tide Sports Network affiliates. Tickets for the Crimson Tide's final home game before the New Year are available for $5.
In its last outing, UA handled Oklahoma State, 69-52, in Birmingham. The Tide converted on 7-of-15 shots from the three-point arc in the win. That win was without the benefit of All-SEC forward JaMychal Green who missed the contest with a shoulder injury and remains day-to-day heading into Thursday.
Jacksonville is 2-9 this season and comes to Tuscaloosa for its second straight game in the state of Alabama. The squad has wins over Samford and Bethune-Cookman. The Dolphins most recently suffered a 70-65 loss at UAB on Dec. 22.
"When you look at their record, it doesn't really tell the true story in terms of the type of team they are," UA head coach Anthony Grant said of the Dolphins. "They've played great competition with a very tough schedule up to this point. I've been impressed watching them on film with the intensity they play with and how hard their guys play on every possession regardless of the score. First and foremost, we have to understand how hard we have to compete against this team in order to have a chance to win."
The Tide's defense remains one of the top in the nation by allowing just 56.3 points per game this season, the 12th best average in the nation. Only four of UA's opponents have even reached the 60-point mark this season and three have failed to score 50 points. Of UA's 12 opponents, eight scored their season low against the Tide's defense and only two have scored more than one point per possession against UA.
UA's Trevor Releford returned to form against Oklahoma State with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, three assists and four steals. Fifteen of his points came in the second half as he provided much of UA's offense to keep Oklahoma State at bay when the Tide's offense faltered. Freshman Trevor Lacey was one of three newcomers in the starting lineup against Oklahoma State and responded in his first start with 12 points, two three-pointers and four assists.
Jacksonville is paced by Glenn Powell and Keith McDougald's 11.3 points per game with the team scoring 63.1 points per game. Powell also leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game.
Thursday's game is just the second ever between the two programs with the last coming on Dec. 13, 1965. The Tide won that contest in Jacksonville, 91-76.
Following the Jacksonville contest, the Tide returns to action on Jan. 3 at Georgia Tech before beginning Southeastern Conference play on Jan. 7 at Georgia.
