Alabama
Florida
Alabama Men’s Basketball Welcomes No. 23/23 Florida Tuesday Night for SEC Showdown
1/9/2017 3:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Gators both riding hot streaks entering Tuesday’s game, which will air on ESPNU at 8 p.m. CT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama closes its two-game homestand to begin SEC play on Tuesday night vs. No. 23/23 Florida. The contest will mark the lone meeting between the two teams this season.
Alabama will come into Tuesday's contest having won four consecutive games and five of its last six following a 59-56 win over Vanderbilt last Saturday in the SEC home opener. The Tide trailed by as many as 14 points early in the second half before outscoring the Commodores, 23-8, over the final 12-plus minutes to pull out the three-point win. Meanwhile, the Gators have claimed five straight and seven of their last nine entering tomorrow night's game.
Florida and Alabama will meet for the 141st time in series history on Tuesday night, which ranks as the eighth-most games the Tide has played against any one opponent. The Tide owns a record of 74-66 in the all-time series following last year's 61-55 victory over Florida at the Stephen O'Connell Center. Last year's win not only snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Gators, but it was also the Tide's first win at Florida in 20 years dating back to a 69-66 win on Feb. 25, 1995.
Tuesday's game will be televised on ESPNU with Mike Couzens (play-by-play) and Brooke Weisbrod (analyst) 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: ESPNU
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/alabama/mbball/
SOCIAL MEDIA: @AlabamaMBB
GAME PROMOTIONS
Giveaway: First 1,500 students will receive foam mitt buckets
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Alabama is looking for its first 3-0 start in SEC play since starting 8-0 inthe 1986-87 season.
- Alabama comes into Tuesday's game holding opponents to 61.1 points per game. The number ranks second in the SEC and 13th in the nation.
- Over its last three contests, Alabama has outrebounded the opposition by an average of +19.3 per game (48.7-29.3). For the year, the Tide leads the SEC and 34th nationally in rebounding margin (+6.4).
- Alabama is a perfect 9-0 when holding teams to fewer than 62 points, but falls to 0-5 when allowing the opposition to score more than 62.
- Nationally, Alabama ranks among the top 50 in several categories, including 13th in scoring defense (61.1), 34th in rebound margin (+6.4) and blocked shots (5.2) and 39th in field goal percentage defense (.395).
- For the year, the Crimson Tide reserves is outscoring the opposition's bench by an average of 11.8 points a game (29.7-17.9).
- Next, Alabama will begin a stretch of playing three of its next four games away from Tuscaloosa when it travels to Baton Rouge, La., to take on the LSU Tigers on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 2:30 p.m. CT. The contest will be televised on SEC Network.
SCOUTING FLORIDA
• Alabama and Florida will meet for the 141st time in series history – the eighth most times the Tide has played any one opponent. Alabama leads the all-time series, 74-66. Despite snapping an 11-game losing streak to the Gators with a 61-55 victory last season, Florida has won 22 of the last 26 games between the two teams including five straight at Coleman Coliseum.
• Florida head coach Mike White is in his second year as head men's basketball coach. While, who was officially hired on May 7, 2015, was named the 2014-15 Conference USA Coach of the Year and came to Gainesville after leading Louisiana Tech to a 101-40 record (.716) over the past four seasons, including three straight conference championships.
• Per KenPom.com, Florida comes into Tuesday's contest with an RPI of No. 14 in the nation, while the NCAA RPI has the Gators ranked No. 3 in the nation. According to KenPom.com, the Gators' non-conference schedule is rated the toughest of any power conference team and 17th-hardest in Division I.
• Three players average in double figures for the Gators, led by guard KeVaughn Allen's 14.7 ppg. Forward Devin Robinson averages 12.1 ppg, while guard Canyon Berry adds 11.8 ppg. Guard Kasey Hill leads the team with 5.0 assists per contest, while forward John Egbunu adds a team-best 7.2 rebounds a game.
• Florida probable starters (starting five from last game): Guards: Kasey Hill (9.1 ppg, 5.0 apg1.7 spg), KeVaughn Allen (14.7 ppg, 1.4 spg, .427 3FG%. Forwards: Devin Robinson (12.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, .530 FG%), Justin Leon (7.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg). Center: Kevarrius Hayes (5.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.3 bpg).
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama will conclude its two-game homestand on Tuesday night when it hosts No. 23/23 Florida. Both teams enter the game on winning streaks, as the Gators have won five consecutive, while the Tide are winners of four straight. It will be the lone meeting between the two teams in regular season play.
• Alabama does not have a player averaging double figures through its 14 games on the season, but boast 11 players average double-digit minutes (10 of which are active) and nine guys who average between 5.3 and 9.9 points per game.
• The Tide's top two scorers are both freshmen, as guard Dazon Ingram (9.9. ppg) and forward Braxton Key (9.4 ppg) lead the team in scoring average. The two are the only players to average more than nine points a game for the Tide.
• Ingram also leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (.389), assists (3.9 apg), steals (1.1 spg) and minutes (27.1 mpg). Meanwhile, Key shares the team lead in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and ranks second in assists (1.9 apg) and minutes (26.0 mpg).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall is tied with Key for tops the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and leads the Tide field goal percentage (.640), while ranking second in blocks (1.6 bpg). Graduate senior Corban Collins, who missed two games (Arkansas State and Stetson) with a groin injury, is third in scoring (7.5 ppg).
• As a team, Alabama is outscoring the competition by 6.7 points per game (67.9-61.1) and outrebounding opponents by 6.4 rebounds per game (39.1-32.7). The Tide is shooting .425 from the field and .311 from beyond the arc as a team. Alabama leads the SEC and ranks 34th nationally in rebounding margin. In addition, the Tide ranks second in the league and 13th in the nation in scoring defense.
ALABAMA-FLORIDA - SERIES NOTES
• Tuesday's game will mark the 141st meeting on the hardwood between Alabama and Florida, which is the eighth-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Tide owns a 74-66 edge in the all-time series.
• The Crimson Tide snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Gators with a 61-55 win in Gainesville in the lone meeting between the two teams last season. With that win, Alabama also snapped a 10-game losing streak when playing Florida in Gainesville. Prior to last year's victory, the last time the Tide won on the Gators home floor came on Feb. 25, 1995.
• Despite last year's victory, the Gators have defeated the Tide in 22 of the last 26 contests played between the two schools.
• The last time Alabama defeated Florida at home came on Feb. 26, 2006. The Tide has lost five straight and seven of the last nine to the Gators at Coleman Coliseum. Alabama owns an all-time record of 48-19 when playing Florida in Tuscaloosa and is 27-9 in games against the Gators in Coleman Coliseum.
• Fourteen of the last 17 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.
ALABAMA-VANDERBILT: AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
• What Won The Game For UA: Alabama dominated the boards. The Crimson Tide outrebounded Vanderbilt, 50-35, including a 20-8 advantage on the offensive glass. As a result, Alabama owned an 18-8 edge in second chance points. It was the second time in the last three games that the Tide collected 50 or more rebounds in a game.
• The Difference Maker: With Alabama trailing by 14 early in the second half, it needed a spark. That was provided by junior guard Ar'Mond Davis. Davis, who for the first time this year did not see any action when the Tide played vs. Mississippi State on Jan. 3, scored his first basket on a four-point play and finished with a team-high 12 points in just 14 minutes of action – all coming over the final 20 minutes of play.
• The Wow Stat: The Alabama defense shut down one of the league's top offenses. Vanderbilt entered the game averaging 73.4 points a game on the year and 88.0 points per game in its two SEC games. However, the Tide held the Commodores to just 56 points. Moreover, Vandy's Matthew Fisher-Davis, who was coming off a 33-point performance in his previous game against Auburn, entered the contest averaging a team-best 17.6 ppg and was third in the SEC and 37th nationally in three-point shooting. However, Alabama limited the Commodores' sharp-shooter to just seven points and 1-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
• Coach Avery Johnson Quote: "This was a big time win for us. I'm really proud of our guys – the way we withstood some adversity tonight. We struggled to score there for a big stretch, but we consistently played defense. Vanderbilt is a well-coached team in Coach (Bryce) Drew that has scored 80-plus points in some of their games. So for us to do the job we did defensively, I'm just proud of our guys."
REBOUNDING FROM WORST TO FIRST
• Alabama has gone from the one of the worst rebounding teams in the nation to tops in the league entering Tuesday's Florida game.
• Last season, the Tide ranked 13th in the SEC and 293rd in the nation in rebound margin at -3.6 (34.6-38.2). However, through 14 games this season, Alabama leads the conference and ranks 34th in the nation in rebounding margin at +6.4 (39.1-32.7).
• During the four-game winning streak, Alabama has been even better on the boards. The Tide boasts two games of 50 or more rebounds (53 vs. Stetson and 50 vs. Vanderbilt) and has outrebounded the opposition by +15.2 rebounds a game (47.2-32.0).
• The last time the Tide collected 50 or more rebounds twice in the same season came during the 2008-09 campaign when Alabama pulled down 51 vs. Alabama A&M on Dec. 2, 2008 and 54 vs. Mississippi State on Feb. 21, 2009.
• Furthermore, the last time an Alabama team had 50 or more rebounds in a game came when the Tide pulled down 51 boards on Nov. 23, 2011 against Alabama A&M. The last time Alabama pulled down at least 53 boards came on Nov. 12, 2010 with 58 boards against Florida A&M.
• In two league games, Alabama leads the conference in nearly every rebounding category, which includes: rebounding offense (46.5), rebounding defense (30.5), rebounding margin (+16.0) and offensive rebounds (16.0) per game.
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