Alabama
BYU
Alabama Men’s Basketball Begins Play at the Barclays Classic on Friday Afternoon
11/23/2017 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide opens event by taking on BYU at 1:30 p.m. on the campus of LIU Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The No. 25 Alabama men's basketball team will open play at the Barclays Classic on Friday afternoon when it takes on the BYU Cougars at 1:30 p.m. CT (2:30 p.m. ET). The contest will be televised on Stadium Television through facebook, which can be accessed online by going to watchstadium.com by clicking HERE.
Due to the Brooklyn Nets being slated for a home game on Friday night, the Cougars and the Tide will play Friday's contest on the campus of LIU Brooklyn, which is located nearby the Barclays Center.
The Tide will close the event on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. CT (5 p.m. ET) against No. 14 Minnesota, which will be played at the Barclays Center. That contest will also be televised on watchstadium.com or by clicking HERE.
THE BROADCAST
• Both Friday and Saturday's contests will air on Stadium Television with Chris Hassel (play-by-play) Tim Doyle (analyst) and Kristen Balboni sideline) on the call.
• The radio broadcast can be found on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Brian Clark (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call, with the pregame show beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT on Friday and 3 p.m. CT on Saturday. Friday's contest will be broadcast on the Crimson Tide Sports Network. Saturday's game can be heard 102.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, 100.5 FM in Birmingham, or by using the Tune In Radio app.
OPENING TIP
• Alabama is off to its first 4-0 start since the 2012-13 season. That season, the Tide began the year by winning its first six contests of the year.
• Alabama is ranked No. 25 in the nation in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll. It's the Tide's first appearance in the AP poll since the week of Dec. 17, 2011.
• Entering Friday's contest, Collin Sexton leads the SEC with 25.3 points per game; John Petty leads the league with 4.3 threes made per game.
• Freshman Collin Sexton has scored 22 or more points in each of the three games he has suited up for the Tide. He is the first Alabama player in the modern era to accomplish that feat. Freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity team until the 1975-76 season. Prior to that, former great Charles Cleveland began his career with three consecutive 20-point games at the start of the 1971-72 campaign.
• The Tide has scored 349 points in its four games this year. The last time UA scored that many points after four games to start the year was in 2004-05 when it totaled 350 points in the opening four games.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama's 4-0 start is the best beginning to a season under head coach Avery Johnson, who is in his third year at the helm in 2017-18. The last time the Crimson Tide began a season with four straight wins came during 2012-13 when it opened with six consecutive wins before losing.
• Through its four games, the Tide is averaging 87.2 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 18.0 points per contest (87.2-69.2). As a team, Alabama is connecting on 55.2 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Tide also owns a +2.3 rebounding advantage (38.8-36.5) and averaging 17.5 assists per contest.
• Defensively, Alabama is allowing opponents to shoot 41.1 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from deep. In addition, the Tide is averaging 7.3 steals and 6.8 blocks per game.
• Three players are averaging double-figure scoring for the Tide, led by freshman Collin Sexton's 25.3 ppg. Sexton also tops Alabama in assists (4.7 apg). Freshman John Petty ranks second on the team with 15.8 ppg and tops UA in threes made (17) and attempted (40). Sophomore Dazon Ingram is also averaging double figure at 12.3 ppg, while adding 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game.
• Sophomore Donta Hall leads Alabama in field goal percetage (.818, 18-of-22), dunks (10), rebounds (6.8 rpg) and blocks (3.0 bpg), while adding 9.3 points a game.
SCOUTING BYU
• Alabama and BYU will meet for just the second time in series history when the two teams square off on the hardwood on Friday afternoon. The only other meeting between the schools came on Dec. 30, 1957 when the Tide captured a 77-74 victory over the Cougars in Tuscaloosa.
• BYU was picked to finish third in the 2017-18 West Coast Conference Preseason Poll, as selected by the league's 10 head coaches. Saint Mary's was picked to finish first with nine first-place votes and Gonzaga was picked to finish second and received one first-place vote.
• Cougar sophomores Yoeli Childs and TJ Haws were picked to the 2017-18 All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Team. Childs earned All-WCC Freshman Team honors while averaging 9.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 2016-17. Haws became the first BYU freshman since Danny Ainge to earn first-team all-conference honors and also earned a spot on the All-WCC Freshman Team. For the season he averaged 13.8 points, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steal while hitting a team-best 76 3-point field goals.
• BYU head coach Dave Rose has led the Cougars to one of the most successful eras in program history since taking over in 2005. His career record of 308-112 ranks him second in BYU history in total victories and first in winning percentage (.733). Rose has been named conference coach of the year three times, led the Cougars to four conference titles, eight NCAA tournament appearances, four NIT appearances, eight 25-win seasons and 12 20-win seasons.
ALABAMA RANKED AMONG THE TOP 25
• The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 25 in the nation in the newest Associated Press Top-25 poll, which was released on Nov. 20. It is the first time Alabama is ranked in the AP poll since Dec. 17, 2011.
• After the Tide was ranked in the preseason USA Today/Coaches Preseason Poll, Alabama drops out of the rankings falls out of the top 25 and is the first team out (No. 26) in the updated poll, released Nov. 20.
• Among the other top-25 polls that have been updated this week, ESPN.com's Power rankings lists Alabama at No. 24 in the nation. The Tide checks in at No. 18 in the nation according to CBSSports.com.
• Alabama was rated No. 24 by Blue Ribbon's Preseason Top 25, while NBC Sports ranked Alabama No. 23 nationally in its preseason rankings.
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