Alabama
Alabama A&M
Alabama Men’s Basketball Hosts Alabama A&M on Friday Night
11/16/2017 3:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Bulldogs tip at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 25 Alabama men's basketball team will continue its three-game homestand when it welcomes Alabama A&M on Friday night at Coleman Coliseum. The contest is slated to tip off at 6 p.m. CT and will air on SEC Network+.
PROMOTIONS
• Friday's game will be Bama Salute night. All past or present members of the military, along with all first responders will receive free admission with valid ID.
THE BROADCAST
• Friday's game will air on SEC Network+ with Roger Hoover (play-by-play) and Wimp Sanders (analyst) on the call.
• The radio broadcast can be found on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call, with the pregame show beginning at 5 p.m. CT. Tide fans can check their local listings for the exact station.
OPENING TIP
• Alabama is off to its first 2-0 start since the 2014-15 season.
• The Crimson Tide has scored 168 points (84.0 ppg) through two contests. The last time an Alabama team scored that many points after two games to start the year occurred in 2007-08 when it totaled 174 points in the opening two games (defeated Troy 84-72 and Mercer 90-83).
• Alabama and Alabama A&M will meet for the sixth time in series history. The Tide owns a 5-0 lead vs. the Bulldogs, all of which have been played in Tuscaloosa (Series info on page 3).
• Freshman guard Collin Sexton scored 22 points in his collegiate debut vs. Lipscomb. The last time a true Crimson Tide freshman scored that many points in his debut came on Nov. 24, 1978, when Eddie Phillips went for 25 points in his first career game in a 96-74 loss to Wagner.
• Alabama connected on 59.6 percent (34-of-57) of its shots from the field against Lipscomb, including 62.1 percent (18-of-29) in the second half alone. It was the best shooting half for the Tide since March 17, 2015 when UA connected on 63.0 percent in the first half vs. Illinois.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama is off to its first 2-0 start in the Avery Johnson tenure after collecting back-to-back double-digit victories to open the 2017-18 campaign. Should the Tide defeat Alabama A&M, it will mark the first 3-0 start to the season since 2014-15.
• Through its two games, the Tide is connecting on 52.6 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 84.0 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 17.0 points per contest (84.0-67.0).
• Defensively, Alabama is allowing opponents to shoot just 35.4 percent from the field and 20.5 percent from deep. In addition, the Tide is averaging 8.5 steals and 8.5 blocks per game.
• Five players are averaging double-figure scoring for the Tide, led by freshman Collin Sexton's 22.0 ppg. Sophomore Dazon Ingram is averaging 16.5 ppg, while freshman John Petty (12.5 ppg), sophomore Avery Johnson (11.0 ppg) and junior Donta Hall (10.5 ppg) are all averaging double digits for the Tide.
• Freshman Alex Reese leads Alabama with 9.0 rebounds per game, while Hall is second with 8.0 rpg, followed by Ingram's 6.0 rpg. As a team, however, the Tide is getting outrebounded by 5.0 boards per contest (40.0-45.0).
ABOUT ALABAMA A&M
• Alabama and Alabama A&M will meet for the sixth time in series history when the two teams square off on the hardwood Friday night. The Tide owns a perfect 5-0 record against the Bulldogs, with all five previous contests taking place in Coleman Coliseum.
• The last meeting between the two teams came on Nov. 23, 2011 when the Tide captured an 82-45 victory. In fact, Alabama has won four of the five meetings by 23 points or more, with the closest game being decided by just eight points (won 64-56 on Dec. 2, 2008).
• Alabama A&M enters the contest winless on the year, having lost at Ohio, 61-53, on Nov. 11 and at Samford, 87-68, on Nov. 13. The Bulldogs are led by junior guard Arthur Johnson, who is averaging team highs of 17.0 ppg and 7.0 rebounds per game. Johnson has connected on 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the field and 50 percent (5-of-10) from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard De'Ederick Petty also averages double figures at 13.5 ppg.
• First year head coach Donnie Marsh took over the helm of the Alabama A&M men's basketball program on April 12, 2017. Marsh served as the associate head coach at South Florida (2013-15), UAB (2006-12), Indiana (2004-06), Virginia Tech (1997-2000) and Florida State (1995-97). He was head coach at Florida International from 2000-04.
• Alabama A&M was founded in 1875 by a former slave, William Hooper Councill, and opened as the "Huntsville Normal School" in downtown Huntsville. In 1946, Alabama A&M received a "Class A" rating by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Today, Alabama A&M boasts 4,940 undergraduate and 874 graduate students.
ALABAMA RANKED AMONG THE TOP 25
• The expectations are high in Tuscaloosa, as the Crimson Tide men's basketball team is ranked No. 25 in the nation in the USA Today/Coaches Preseason Poll, which was released on Oct. 19 (the coaches poll did not release an updated rankings this week). Additionally, Alabama is the first team out of the Associated Press Top-25 poll, whihc was relesed on Nov. 12.
• Among the other top-25 polls that have been updated this week, the Tide checks in at No. 19 in the nation according to CBSSports.com. Alabam was rated No. 24 by Blue Ribbon's Preseason Top 25, while NBC Sports ranked Alabama No. 23 nationally in its preseason rankings.
• ESPN.com lists Alabama at No. 28 in the nation, according to the ESPN.com BPI index.
SEXTON EARNING PRESEASON RECOGNITION
• Alabama freshman guard Collin Sexton has been receiving a number of preseason awards as the 2017-18 campaign gets underway.
• The Mableton, Ga., native has been named a preseason second team All-SEC performer by both the coaches and media polls, which came out in early November.
• Nationally, Sexton has been named to several watch lists. He was one of 20 players named to the Cousy Award watch list, which given to the nation's top point guard. Sexton was one of 32 players from around the nation on the watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, awarded to the top player in the nation by the United States Basketball Writers Association. Finally, he was one of 50 named to the watch list for the coveted Naismith Trophy, which is awarded to the player of the year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
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