2016 SEC Tournament Awaits Alabama Men's Basketball

March 9, 2016

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Alabama men's basketball team will begin play in the 2016 Southeastern Conference Tournament Thursday night as the No. 10 seed Tide will face No. 7 seed Ole Miss at 6 p.m. CT in Nashville, Tenn., at Bridgestone Arena.

Thursday's game will mark the 176th meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is the second-most games UA has played against any one opponent. It will be the second time the teams will square off this season. The two teams met back on Jan. 7 -- the Tide's first SEC league game -- in Oxford, Miss. The Rebels came back from an eight point halftime deficit to capture a 74-66 victory.

Ole Miss and Alabama will meet for the seventh time in the SEC Tournament, with the Tide owning a 4-2 record. Thursday's game will be the first postseason match-up between the two teams since March 10, 2005 when Alabama took a 69-52 decision over the Rebels in the 2005 SEC Tournament in Atlanta, Ga.

Alabama has an all-time record of 61-49 in SEC Tournament play and has won six SEC Tournament titles (1934, 82, 87, 89, 90, 91). The six tournament championships rank second in league history.

Thursday's game will air on SEC Network as John Saunders (play-by-play), Jon Sundvold (analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sideline) will be on the call. The contest will also be available via the Crimson Tide Sports Network, with Chris Stewart and Bryan Passink calling all the action. Fans will be able to follow along on gametracker (via RollTide.com), and game updates will be available on Twitter via @AlabamaMBB.

OPENING TIP

Senior guard Retin Obasohan earned first team all-conference honors, all-defensive team honors and was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, the league office announced on Tuesday. Obasohan becomes the second Crimson Tide player in as many years to earn Scholar Athlete of the Year (Levi Randolph) and is the first Alabama player to earn both first team honors and all-defensive league accolades in the same season since Trevor Releford did so in 2013.

Obasohan is one of the most improved players in the nation when looking at just his numbers alone. He has nearly tripled his per game scoring average from a year ago, while all of his other numbers have had drastic improvements. Last season, Obasohan averaged 6.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 19.5 minutes per game, while collecting 12 games with double figures and failed to reach 20 points in a game. During his senior year, he comes into the SEC Tournament game averaging 17.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 32.7 minutes per contest, while collecting 14 games of 20 or more points -- 11 of which came during SEC play -- and 24 double-digit scoring games.

Obasohan finished the SEC season averaging 20.6 points per game in SEC play. In doing so, he became the first Alabama player to average 20 or more points per game in league play since former great Buck Johnson achieved the feat when he averaged 20.4 ppg during league play back in the 1986 SEC season. Obasohan recorded 11 games of 20 or more points vs. SEC teams and has scored in double figures in all but one game in conference play.

Alabama has lost 13 games this season, seven of which have come against RPI top 50 teams, including five ranked in the top 20 in the latest ESPN.com RPI (March 7). Those teams include No. 4 Oregon, No. 6 Xavier, No. 13 Kentucky (twice) and No. 20 Dayton.

Alabama is one of just 15 teams in the nation to have beaten four wins teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season. In the four years prior to this season (2011-15), the Tide was a combined 0-18 vs. top-25 opponents.

Alabama has played seven ranked opponents this season and has won four of those games, which leads the SEC. It's the first time since the 2001-02 season that an Alabama team has four victories over AP top-25 teams during the regular season. In addition, Alabama has faced an additional four opponents who were receiving votes to be ranked at the time they played (Dayton, Oregon, at South Carolina and at LSU), making 11 of its 30 opponents this year ranked or receiving votes in the AP top-25 poll at the time the game was played.

OBASOHAN EARNS A TRIO OF ALL-LEAGUE HONORS

Senior guard Retin Obasohan was named the 2016 Southeastern Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year and First Team All-SEC, the league office announced on Tuesday morning. In addition, the Antwerp, Belgium, native earned a spot on the league's all-defensive team, giving him a trio of all-conference awards to cap what has been an outstanding season.
Obasohan is the third player in program history, and the second in as many years, to claim the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, joining former standouts Levi Randolph (2015) and Justin Knox (2009) as past recipients. Furthermore, Obasohan is the second player in program history to be named to both the league's first team and all-defensive team in the same season. Trevor Releford accomplished that feat back in 2013.
Obasohan, the Tide's senior captain, ranked third in the SEC with an average of 20.6 points per game in league contests on his way to becoming the first player in 30 years to average more than 20 points per game in league play. The last player to accomplish the feat was Buck Johnson, who averaged 20.4 ppg in SEC play during the 1985-86 season. Obasohan finished the conference season ranked third in scoring average, fifth in field goal percentage (.496) and eighth in steals per game (1.4).
For the season, Obasohan enters the SEC Tournament leading the Tide and ranking fifth in the SEC with 17.7 pointer per game. He has collected 14 games of 20 or more points -- 11 of which came during SEC play -- and 24 double-digit scoring games.

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama enters the SEC Tournament having dropped four of its last five games after falling at Georgia, 70-63, in the regular season finale on March 7 in Athens, Ga. Junior Shannon Hale scored a season high 25 points in the loss, including a span of 15 consecutive points in the second half.
Senior guard Retin Obasohan, who boasts a team-leading 14 games of 20 or more points and two 30-point games, leads Alabama in scoring (17.7 ppg), steals (1.4) and minutes (32.8 mpg) through the Tide's 30 contests. The Antwerp, Belgium, native enters the SEC Tournament ranks fifth in the SEC in scoring average, sixth in field goal percentage (.473, which also leads all guards in the conference) and is seventh in both steals per game minutes per game.
Hale and senior guard Arthur Edwards rank second and third on this year's team in scoring average at 11.2 ppg and 9.2 ppg, respectively. Hale, who has missed five games on the season, is tied with Edwards for second on the team in double-figure scoring games (15) and is second in free throw percentage (.747). Meanwhile, Edwards ranks leads the team and ranks eighth in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage at 39.0 percent (62-of-159) for the year.
Sophomore Riley Norris stepped up his play during the SEC season. The Albertville, Ala., native pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in the win at LSU on Feb. 17 and led the team in league play in rebounding (6.1 rpg), ranked second in three-point field goal percentage (.380), while ranking fourth in scoring (8.3 ppg) and second in minutes per game (31.6).
As a team, Alabama is being outscored by the competition for the season by 0.5 points per game (66.6-67.1). The Tide comes into the SEC Tournament ranked among the top defensive teams in the SEC. Entering the event, Alabama ranks second in the league in scoring defense (67.1) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.318) and is fifth in blocked shots per game (5.1) and field goal percentage defense (.403). Offensively, the Tide is fifth in three-pointers made per game (7.7).

ALABAMA-OLE MISS - SERIES NOTES

Thursday's game will mark the 176th meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is the second-most games UA has played against any one opponent.
It will be the second time the teams will square off this season. The two teams met back on Jan. 7 -- the Tide's first SEC league game -- in Oxford, Miss. The Rebels came back from an eight point halftime deficit to capture a 74-66 victory.
The Crimson Tide owns a 118-57 lead in the all-time series, however, the Rebels have won three consecutive games when playing Alabama entering Thursday's game.
Alabama and Ole Miss will play in the SEC Tournament for the seventh time in series history and the just the second time since 1990. The only other postseason game played between the two teams in the last 26 years came on March 10, 2005, when Alabama took a 69-52 victory. The Tide owns a 4-2 record in all-time games played vs. Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament.
Alabama comes into the contest having dropped three straight and five of its last six games played between the two teams. The Rebels have beaten the Tide in eight of the last 11 contests dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.
Ole Miss is one of three teams, along with Mississippi State (120) and LSU (104) that UA has won 100 or more games against.
The series began during the 1920-21 campaign.

ALABAMA FALLS AT GEORGIA IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE, 70-63

The Alabama men's basketball team lost the final game of the regular season at Georgia, 70-63, on Saturday. Junior forward Shannon Hale finished with a game-high and season-high 25 points.
The Crimson Tide kept the game close despite losing the rebounding battle, 48-26. The Bulldogs pulling down 19 offensive rebounds, compared to eight for Alabama, resulting in a 13-3 advantage in second-chance points
With 7:53 left to play, Georgia used a 9-2 run to take a 58-52 lead. Still trailing, 60-54, with 2:30 on the clock, Alabama began fouling. The Bulldogs' leading scorer J.J. Frazier sunk 10 consecutive free throws to keep the Tide at bay.
The teams played a close first half, with Georgia leading 27-25 at the break. Junior forward Jimmie Taylor blocked five shots in the opening frame and Hale put up eight points.
The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the second half to lead 33-25, but the Tide immediately answered with a 15-5 run over the next five minutes to take the lead, 40-38. Including the last five points of the Tide's run, Hale scored 15 straight points before Georgia regained the lead for good.
Hale fouled out late in the game along with junior Michael Kessens. Senior Retin Obasohan added 15 points, and sophomore Riley Norris led the Tide with six rebounds. Obasohan recorded two steals to move into sole possession of eighth place in school history in the category.
COACH AVERY JOHNSON'S THOUGHTS: "When you get beat up on the boards like we got beat up tonight, you're going to have a hard time winning. You're going to have to hit more threes than we did tonight and they beat us up on the boards pretty good. When you give up that many offensive rebounds it is going to be a hard time. But we had our chances. We're in the game and then Arthur (Edwards) goes down with the cramps and we turned the ball over a couple of times there at the worst times. It was another game where we're right there in the last seven or eight minutes of the game and just couldn't pull through."

ALABAMA-GEORGIA: AN INSIDE LOOK BEHIND THE NUMBERS

What Won The Game For Georgia: Clutch free throws. Alabama hit some big shots down the stretch, but the Bulldogs continued to hit from the charity stripe to hold on for the win. Georgia went 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from the foul line in the second half, including a perfect 10-of-10 by J,J. Frazier over the final 2:30.
The Difference Maker: Rebounding. Alabama was dominated on the boards against Georgia. The Bulldogs nearly doubled up the Tide on the glass, owning a 48-26 advantage, including an 19-8 edge on the offensive boards. As a result, the Bulldogs had a 13-3 lead in second chance points.
The Wow Stat: Retin Shannon Hale finished with 25 points off the bench on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Hale had eight points in the first have and 17 over the final 20 minutes. In fact, Hale scored 15 consecutive points during the second half, which is the most consecutive points by an Alabama player in a game this season.

TOPPLING THE TOP 25

Alabama leads the SEC with four top-25 victories on the year and owns a record of 4-3 when playing ranked for the year. In the four years prior to this season (2011-15), the Tide was a combined 0-18 vs. top-25 opponents.
Most recently, Alabama captured a 63-62 win over then-No. 15/13 Texas A&M on Feb. 10. It marked the first time since the 2001-02 season that the Tide has secured four top-25 wins during the regular season.
It is the highest ranked team the Tide has toppled since defeating then-No. 12 Kentucky, 68-66, back on Jan. 18, 2011.
Other ranked teams Alabama has defeated include then-No. 21 Wichita State (64-60) on Nov. 27 followed by a 74-73 victory over then-No. 17 Notre Dame on Nov. 29. The Tide also defeated then-No. 19 South Carolina, 73-50, on Jan. 13.
Alabama's first two victories over ranked teams against Wichita State and Notre Dame came in back-to-back contests. It marked the first time Alabama had won consecutive games against ranked opponents since they defeated then-No. 12 Florida on Feb. 26, 2006, after downing then-No.8 Tennessee on Feb. 18.
The victory over Wichita State snapped a 21-game losing streak to ranked opponents dating back to Jan. 18, 2011, when Alabama beat then-No. 12 Kentucky at home (68-66). It also marked the first win over a ranked opponent at a neutral site since Nov. 29, 2009, when the Tide beat then-No. 15 Michigan.

MOST 20-POINT GAMES IN SCHOOL HISTORY

Senior Retin Obasohan ranks among the all-time leaders in games with 20 or more points in a season. He enters this week with 14 20-point games, which included 11 during the 18-game league slate.
Obasohan currently ranks ninth in school history for most 20-point games in a season. In fact, Obasohan has recorded the most 20-point games in a season by a Tide player since Kennedy Winston had 14 in 2004-05.
Below is a breakdown of the players with the most 20-point games in program history.

PLAYER 20-POINT GAMES SEASON

Reggie King 23 1978-79
Reggie King 19 1977-78
James "Hollywood" Robinson 18 1992-93
James "Hollywood" Robinson 17 1991-92
Wendell Hudson 17 1972-73
Mike Nordholz 17 1967-68
Michael Ansley 16 1988-89
Eric Washington 15 1995-96
Retin Obasohan 14 2015-16
Kennedy Winston 14 2004-05
Latrell Sprewell 14 1991-92
Buck Johnson 14 1985-86

University of Alabama Athletics

2016 SEC Tournament Awaits Alabama Men's Basketball

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Players Mentioned

Shannon Hale

Michael Kessens

Riley Norris

Retin Obasohan

Levi Randolph

Jimmie Taylor

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