Alabama
USC Upstate
Alabama Men’s Basketball Returns Home to Square Off with USC Upstate Thursday Night
12/14/2016 2:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Spartans tip off at 7 p.m. CT on SECN+
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama returns to the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum for the first time this month when it hosts the USC Upstate Spartans on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT. It will be the first meeting in program history between the two teams.
Alabama is coming off a second straight tough defeat, falling at No. 24/24 Oregon, 65-56, last Sunday. The Tide battled back from an 11-point second half deficit to take a lead in the final minutes. However, with the score tied at 56-56, the Ducks went on a 9-0 run over the final 1:41 to result in the final score.
Thursday's game will be televised on SECN+ with Eli Gold (play-by-play), Wimp Sanderson (analyst) and Hannah Chalker (sideline) on the call. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast on the Crimson Tide Sports Network as Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) will call all the action. Live stats for the contest can accessed through RollTide.com, while in-game updates and photos will be made available on Twitter on @AlabamaMBB.
HOW TO WATCH
RADIO: Crimson Tide Sports Network
TV: SECN+ (Watch ESPN)
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/alabama/mbball/
SOCIAL MEDIA: @AlabamaMBB
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Alabama is led on the year by redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram, who tops the team in scoring (10.0 ppg), assists (4.0 apg), steals (1.3 spg), minutes (27.1 mpg) and three-point field goal percentage (.455). Freshman Braxton Key is second on the team in scoring (9.9 ppg), rebounds (4.0 rpg), minutes (26.0 mpg) and three-point field goal percentage (.429).
- The Crimson Tide comes into Thursday's game holding opponents to 62.8 points per game. That number ranks second in the SEC and 32nd nationally (as of Dec. 13).
- The Alabama bench has been a strength of this year's team. Twice this season, the Tide's reserves have equaled the total scoring output of the opposition. First, the UA reserves scored 59 points in a 77-59 victory over Ball State on Nov. 18. Most recently, Alabama's bench put up 46 points in a 76-46 win over Charleston Southern on Nov. 29.
- Through eight games, Alabama has proved to be a deep team. The Tide boasts 10 players averaging at least 12 minutes per game. Moreover, Alabama has nine players averaging four or more points per game.
- Alabama will next be in action on Sunday, Dec. 18, when it takes on the Clemson Tigers in the BBVA Compass Vulcan Classic. The game will be played in Birmingham, Ala., at Legacy Arena. Despite not playing at Coleman Coliseum, Sunday's game is considered an Alabama home game.
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
• The Spartans were picked to finish in eighth place in the annual ASUN Preseason Poll as voted on by the league's head coaches. USC Upstate Deion Holmes and Michael Buchanan were both recognized last season by the conference as Buchanan garnered Second Team All-Conference accolades and Holmes was voted to the All-Freshman Team.
• The Spartans returned 10 letterwinners returning from last season and five of those were starters. Only two players were not back, giving Upstate the most experienced offenses returning in the ASUN this season. The Spartans welcome back 90.3% of their scoring offense from 2015-16 including five of their top six scorers. Upstate averaged 72.3 points per game last season and ranked fourth in the ASUN with a 44.9% field goal percentage.
• Thursday's game at Alabama will mark the 13th game of the season for USC Upstate, nine of which have been played away from home. The Spartans have played six true road contests and three games in three days at the Holy City Hoops Classic in Charleston, S.C.
• USC Upstate will be playing its third game in six days when it takes on the Crimson Tide on Thursday night. The Spartans defeated Virginia-Wise, 99-67, on Dec. 10 and followed that with a 76-48 victory over Presbyterian College on Dec. 13.
• USC UPSTATE PROBABLE STARTERS (based off previous game): Guard: Mike Cunningham (13.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.1 apg); Forwards: Ramel Thompkins (10.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, .397 3FG%), Josh Cuthbertson (9.5 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.4 rpg), Malik Moore (10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, .524 FG%); Center: Michael Buchanan (14.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, .642 FG%).e
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama will return home for the first time in the month of December when the Tide hosts USC Upstate on Thursday night. UA only played at home one time over its last five games (Nov. 29 vs. Charleston Southern).
• Only one Alabama player averages in double figures, but boast eight players who are averaging more the five points a game. Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram leads the Tide at 10.0 points per game, while true freshman Braxton Key is second in scoring at 9.9 ppg. Graduate senior Corban Collins is third on the team, averaging 8.6 points.
• Ingram ranks tops on the team in three-point field goal percentage (.455), assists (4.0 apg), steals (1.3 spg) and minutes (27.1). Meanwhile, Key is second on the squad in rebounding (4.0 rpg), three-point shooting (.429).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall tops the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and field goal percentage (.654), while ranking second in blocks (1.4 bpg).
• As a team, Alabama is outscoring the competiton by 4.8 points per game (67.6-62.8) and outrebounding opponents by 1.7 rebounds per game (34.8-33.1). The Tide is shooting .426 from the field and .337 from beyond the arc as a team.
ALABAMA-OREGON: AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
• What Lost The Game For UA: For the second straight game, Alabama allowed a late run to decide the outcome. Oregon went on a 9-0 run over the final 1:41 to break a 56-56 tie and result in the final score. Over the final two minutes, Alabama went 0-of-4 from the floor, while Oregon finished the game 2-of-2 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
• The Difference Maker: Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey, who finished with a game-high 19 points, connected on 4-of-7 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for 13 points over the final 20 minutes of play.
• The Wow Stat: Alabama committed a season-high 18 turnovers. In addition, the Tide had its worst shooting performance from beyond the arc this season. Alabama hit just two three-pointers and shot a season-low 10.2 percent (2-of-19) from three-point range.
BENCH SUPPORT
• The Alabama bench has been a weapon through the Tide's opening eight contests, highlighted by the reserves scoring 59 of the team's 77 points in a 77-59 win over Ball State on Nov. 18.
• The 59 points scored by the bench marked the most scored by any Tide reserve group this century. In fact, it was the most points scored by Alabama's reserves since going for 59 points in a 95-48 victory over Florida A&M on Dec. 17, 1994.
• Alabama's bench outscored Charleston Southern's reserves, 46-20. The Tide bench has now outscored its counterparts in six of its first eight games this season.
• For the year, Alabama's reserves has outscored its counterpart by a total margin of 250-128. That averages out to +15.3 points per game (31.3-16.0).
HOME SWEET HOME
• Dating back to the 2009-10 season, Alabama owns a record of 99-27 (.786) on the Coleman Coliseum floor, including a 10-5 mark during the 2015-16 season. During the 2013-14 season, the Tide finished with a 13-4 mark at home, while finished with a 14-5 record in home games during the 2014-15 campaign.
• Since the start of the 2010-11 campaign, the Tide has won 88 of the last 109 games played under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum (88-21; .807).
• Overall, Alabama owns a record of 557-130 (.811) in the facility's 48th season of use.
• Since 2009, Alabama owns a home record of 43-17 (.717) against SEC competition. Since 2011, the Tide boasts a 38-13 (.745) mark at home against the conference.
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