Men's Basketball Welcomes Missouri on Wednesday Night
2/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama will open the month of February when it hosts the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network. It will mark the lone meeting between the Tide and Tigers during the regular season.
THE coaches
Alabama head coach Anthony Grant is in his sixth season at the helm of the men's basketball program. He owns a record of 112-79 (.586) during his time at the Capstone and is 188-104 (.644) now in his in ninth season as a head coach. Head coach Kim Anderson, who earned both his undergraduate (1979) and master's (1981) degree from the University of Missouri, is in his first season at the helm of the men's basketball program. In 12 seasons as the head coach of the University of Central Missouri, Anderson owned an overall record of 274-95 and led the Mules to the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship.
THE SERIES
Alabama and Missouri will meet for the only time this season, the fourth time as SEC rivals and for the ninth time overall in series history on Wednesday night. The Tide owns a 5-3 edge in the all-time series, however, the Tigers have captured wins in three of the last four games played between the two teams.
MORE ABOUT WEDNESDAY'S MATCH-UP
Alabama will be playing Missouri for the 10th time in series history on Wednesday, which is the fewest match-ups between the Tide and any SEC opponent ... it will be the fourth match-up between the squads as SEC foes ... Alabama owns a 2-0 edge over Mizzou when playing in Coleman Coliseum ... Anthony Grant owns a 1-2 record when playing the Tigers as the head coach of the Crimson Tide ... the teams split a pair of games last season, with each winning on its home court ... senior guard Levi Randolph went for a career-high 33 points in last season's contest against Missouri in Tuscaloosa, Ala., connecting on 11-of-15 shots from the floor and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc - all career-best numbers.
WEDNESDAY'S PROMOTIONS
· First Responder Night: Free Admission for 1st responders w/ valid ID, additional family members $5;
Promo Code: MBBRESP
UP NEXT
Alabama will begin a stretch where it will play three of the next four games away from home when the Tide travels to take on LSU in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
? Alabama (13-8, 3-5 SEC) will begin the month of February when it hosts the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network. It will mark the lone contest between the two teams during the regular season.
? Senior guard Levi Randolph leads Alabama in scoring (14.6 ppg), assists (2.4 apg), steals (1.5) and minutes (34.3 mpg) through the Tide's 21 contests. The Madison, Ala., native currently ranks fifth in the SEC in free throw percentage (.816), seventh in steals and ninth in scoring entering Wednesday's contest.
? Junior guard Ricky Tarrant, who missed the Tide's last game due to a lower right leg injury, ranks second on the team with 13.1 ppg and leads UA in SEC games in scoring, also averaging 13.1 ppg. He leads the squad in threes attempted (97) and is second in threes made (29). Senior guard Rodney Cooper is third on this year's squad with 10.5 ppg this season and leads the squad in threes made (30), while ranking second in 3-point shooting percentage (41.7 percent).
? Sophomore forward Shannon Hale is the fourth on the team in scoring, contributing 7.8 points along with 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists a contest. In addition, sophomore forward Jimmie Taylor leads the team in blocks per game (1.8) and field goal percentage (.603) and ranks third with 4.6 rebounds per game, while also chipping in with 4.5 points per contest.
? As a team, the Tide is outscoring the opposition by 4.4 points per game (67.9-63.5) through its 21 games. Alabama is also averaging 7.0 steals and 3.9 blocks per game.
ALABAMA-MISSOURI - SERIES NOTES
? Alabama and Missouri will meet for the only time this season, fourth time as SEC rivals and ninth time overall in series history when the teams square off on Wednesday night.
? The Tide owns a 5-3 edge in the all-time series, however, the Tigers have captured victories in three of the last four games played between the two teams.
? Wednesday's game will also mark the Tigers' third trip to Tuscaloosa, with the Tide winning both contests. Alabama owns a 2-0 record when hosting Missouri, claiming an 80-73 victory last year on Feb. 22, 2014 and a 72-49 victory over Missouri in the second round of the NIT on March 18, 1996.
? Five of the eight games played between the two teams have been decided by less than 10 points.
NOTES FROM ALABAMA-KENTUCKY GAME
? Alabama and Kentucky played for the 143rd time in series history last Saturday and the second time this season. The Wildcats improved to 2-0 this season against the Tide with a 70-55 victory.
? Alabama has now lost six straight games when playing Kentucky in Lexington. The last time Alabama won at Rupp Arena came on Jan. 14, 2006 (won, 68-64).
? When Alabama played Kentucky, it marked the 11th time in program history the Tide has faced the Associated Press' No. 1-ranked team in the nation. The Tide fell to 4-7 when playing the top team in the AP poll.
? Saturday's contest will mark the second time this season facing the Wildcats when they were ranked No. 1 nationally. Prior to this season, the last time an Alabama team played against the No. 1 team in the nation twice in same season came during the 1993-94 season. That year, the Tide lost a pair of games to then-No. 1 Arkansas.
? Alabama outrebounded Kentucky, 26-21, on the night, becoming just the fourth team to win the battle of the boards vs. the Wildcats this season. The only other teams to accomplish the same feat this season were North Carolina, Texas and South Carolina.
? The Tide shot 45.9 percent in the setback vs. the Wildcats, which was the second-highest shooting percentage allowed by the nation's top defense this season. The only team that shot a higher percentage than Alabama this season was Ole Miss, which shot 49.2 percent in an overtime loss at Kentucky on Jan. 6.
? UA had just four assists at Kentucky, which tied for a season-low mark. The previous low came on Jan. 17 when Alabama hosted the Wildcats. UK leads the nation in opponents assists per game (7.0).
? Alabama shot 45.9 percent from the floor against one of the nation's top-ranked defenses. It was the second-highest field goal percentage the Wildcats have allowed this season was Ole Miss, who shot 49.2 percent from the floor in an 89-86 overtime loss at Kentucky.
? Kentucky big men Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns combined to go 8-of-8 from the floor and score 24 points in the win over the Tide.
ALABAMA UPCOMING MILESTONES TO WATCH
? Senior Levi Randolph enters the Missouri game with 1,119 career points and currently ranks 40th among the school's all-time leading scorers. Randolph needs 10 points to move past Tony Mitchell (1,128 points from 2010-12) into 39th on the school's all-time list.
? With one more steal, Randolph would crack the top 10 among the program's all-time steals leaders. Randolph enters the Missouri game with 133 career steals, which ranks 11th in program history. Former standout Eddie Phillips currently ranks 10th in Alabama history with 134 career steals.
? Senior Rodney Cooper is nearing the 1,000-point milestone. He currently has 965 points and needs 35 points to achieve the feat. In doing so, he would become the 48th player in school history, and second this season, to reach the 1,000-point scoring milestone.
? Sophomore Jimmie Taylor has 77 blocks for his career, just 23 shy of becoming the first Alabama player since JaMychael Green (2009-12) to record 100 blocks for his career.
? Freshman forward Riley Norris needs five points to reach 100 points on the season.
? Grant is eight games shy of his 300th career game as a head coach (VCU and Alabama). Grant is also just nine games from coaching his 200th game at The University of Alabama.
? Alabama has 1,594 wins in program history, The Tide needs six wins to become the 31st D-I program to reach the 1,600-win plateau.
CLOSE CALLS
? Four of Alabama's eight losses have come down to a final possession, three of which have occurred over the Tide's last six games.
? Three of Alabama's five defeats in conference play have been by two points each. In fact, the only team to defeat the Tide by more than a basket in league play has been the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
? Alabama lost at Wichita State by one point (53-52) on Dec. 16, which was the only one-point loss of the four. The Tide has lost three two-point games, all coming within its last five games (lost 68-66 at South Carolina, 93-91 in overtime at Arkansas and 52-50 vs. Florida).
? Below is a breakdown of the four games and how the Tide lost the game.
Date Opponent Final Game's Final Shot
12/16 at Wichita State L, 53-52 Cooper missed 3-pointer at buzzer
1/13 at South Carolina L, 68-66 Randolph missed 3-pointer at the buzzer
1/22 at Arkansas L, 93-91 (ot) Arkansas' Bobby Portis hits tip-in at the buzzer
1/27 vs. Florida L, 52-50 Randolph gets shot blocked with two seconds left
