Alabama
Texas A&M
Alabama Returns to Action Saturday for SEC Opener Against No. 5/6 Texas A&M
12/29/2017 12:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Aggies set to tip off at 5 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will open Southeastern Conference play when it welcomes Texas A&M to Coleman Coliseum on Saturday night. The contest will tip at 5 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.
The contest between Alabama and Texas A&M on Saturday night will mark the 16th meeting in series history and the seventh time the two teams will meet as SEC rivals.
Alabama owns a 10-5 edge in the previous 15 games, including having won three of the last four in the series.
The two teams not only open league play, but will also square off in the regular season finale on March 3 in Reed Green Coliseum.
Tickets for Saturday night's showdown are still available and can be purchased through RollTide.com.
THE BROADCAST
• Friday's game will air on ESPN2 with Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (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 4 p.m. CT on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
OPENING TIP
• Head coach Avery Johnson is one win shy of his 300th career coaching victory. Johnson, who coached for seven-plus seasons in the NBA, racked up 254 wins in the league and 45 wins in just over two years at Alabama.
• Alabama last played on Dec. 22 when it dropped a 66-50 decision to Texas in Birmingham at Legacy Arena for the Vulcan Classic. The Tide was never able to get its offense going, connecting on just 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the floor and finishing with 50 points – both season low numbers.
• The Tide was led by freshman John Petty's 14 points, while sophomore Daniel Giddens was the only other player in double figures with 10 points on the night. Freshman Collin Sexton added eight points, five rebounds, four assists and a season-best three steals in the loss.
• Each of the last three games, and four of the last six, between the Tide and Aggies have been decided by three points or less.
• According to ESPN.com, the Tide comes into Saturday's contest with the No. 29 RPI in the country and the No. 8 non-conference strength of schedule – the highest in the SEC (as of 12/27).
• Six of Alabama's last seven games, and seven of the last nine, have been decided by six points or less. For the year, the Tide has a record of 4-2 in games decided by five or fewer points.
• Alabama will next play its first road conference contest when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores on Jan. 2. That contest will tip at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama dropped to 8-4 following its 66-50 loss to Texas in the Vulcan Classic in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 22. The Longhorns held the Crimson Tide to season lows in points, field goals made (21), field goal percentage (.344), free throws made (5) and attempted (9) and assists (9) in the loss.
• Through its 12 contests, the Tide is averaging 76.9 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 5.1 points per contest (76.9-71.8). As a team, Alabama is connecting on 47.2 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Tide also owns a +1.2 rebounding advantage (37.5-36.3). Additionally, Alabama ranks fifth the SEC and 22nd in the nation in blocked shots per game (5.9).
• In addition to blocking shots, the Alabama defense is allowing opponents to shoot 42.3 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from deep, while also averaging 6.5 steals a contest. Despite struggling at the foul line this season (shooting 66.0 percent on the year), the Tide leads the league in free throws attempted (306) and is fifth in free throws made (202). In fact, 22 percent of Alabama's point total (202 of 923 points) have come from the charity stripe.
• Four players are averaging double-figure scoring for the Tide, led by freshman Collin Sexton's 20.7 ppg. That number not only leads the team, but also leads the SEC and ranks 42nd nationally. Sexton also tops the team in assists (3.5 apg) and field goals made (66) and attempted (142). Freshman John Petty ranks second on the team with 12.9 ppg and tops UA in threes made (35) and attempted (94), while his 2.9 treys made per game is third-best in the SEC.
• Junior Donta Hall leads the Tide in field goal percentage (.727, 56-of-77), dunks (29), rebounds (7.5 rpg) and blocks (2.6 bpg). Hall ranks third on the team with 11.1 points per game. Sophomore guard Dazon Ingram is averaging 10.9 ppg, and ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and assists (3.1 apg) a game.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
• Alabama leads Texas A&M, 10-5, in the all-time series and owns a 4-2 when playing one another as SEC rivals. The Tide has won three of the last four games in the series entering Saturday night. Four of the last six games between the two teams have been decided by three points or less, with three of the last six coming down to a single point.
• Billy Kennedy, who was named the 2016 SEC Coach of the Year, is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Aggie basketball program. During his head coaching career (20 seasons), Kennedy's teams have averaged 20 wins over his last 12 seasons as a head coach, earning four league titles and making six trips to the postseason (3 NCAA, 2 NIT, 1 CBI). He owns a record of 126-86 (.594) at Texas A&M and boasts a career mark of 337-265 (.560).
• Texas A&M will be without two of its top three scorers and the two teams square off on Saturday night. Leading scorer D.J. Hogg (14.5 ppg – suspended) and third-leading scorer Admon Gilder (12.7 ppg – injured) are both sidelined for the game against Alabama.
• Aggies' big man Tyler Davis currently leads the team with 13.9 points per game, while also adding 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a contest. He also tops the team in field goal percentage (.619). Point guard Duane Wilson also averaged double figures (12.3 ppg) and tops the team with 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
• Sophomore center Robert Williams leads Texas A&M with 10.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, while also connecting on 60 percent of his shots from the floor.
• As a team, Texas A&M enters the contest at Alabama ranked as one of the top defensive teams in the league. The Aggies lead the SEC in field goal percentage defense (.361), three-point field goal percentage defense (.268) and ranks second in scoring defense (64.4). A&M also leads the league in scoring margin (81.6-64.4/+17.2 ppg) and rebounding margin (45.1-34.9/+10.2).
ALABAMA-TEXAS A&M – SERIES NOTES
• Alabama owns a 10-5 edge in the previous 15 games, including having won three of the last four in the series.
• The two teams not only open league play, but will also square off in the regular season finale on March 3 in Reed Green Coliseum. That contest will tip at 1 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.
• The Tide and Aggies played just once last season, as Texas A&M hung on to take a 56-53 win over Alabama in College Station, Texas. The recap and box score from that contest can be found on page 10.
• Alabama owns a record of 5-1 when playing Texas A&M in Coleman Coliseum. The Tide's long loss to the Aggies came in Dec. 13, 2008 when A&M came to Tuscaloosa and captured an 86-78 overtime victory over the Tide.
• Ten of the 15 contests in the series have been decided by single digits, including one overtime contest (12/13/08). Four of the last six games between the two teams have been decided three points or less, including three consecutive. Alabama has won three of the four contests, with the lone loss coming last season (56-53).
• The first game in the series was played in 1958-59.
CLOSE CALLS
• Alabama has been in a number of close games this season. Seven of the 12 games played this year were decided by less than 10 points. Six of those games came down to five points or less, with the Tide owning a mark of 4-2 in those contests.
• Six of the Tide's last seven games that have been decided by six or fewer points, with Alabama going 3-3 in those contests.
• UA owns a mark of 3-1 in games decided by three or fewer points, with three of those four decisions coming over the Tide's last six games.
ALABAMA NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
• The Crimson Tide has played arguably one of the toughest non-conference schedules this season. Alabama has one game remaining on its non-conference slate, which come on Jan. 27 against No. 12 Oklahoma in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
• According to ESPN.com's latest RPI rankings, the Tide checks in at No. 29 in the nation and boasts the No. 8 non-conference strength of schedule as of Dec. 28. WarrenNolan.com ranks the Tide No. 31 in its RPI with the No. 4 non-conference strength of schedule. Meanwhile, CBSsports.com rates the Tide at No. 28 in the RPI, while and NCAA.com ranks the Tide at No. 31 in its RPI.
• Alabama has been receiving votes to be ranked throughout the first seven weeks of the season, and was ranked as high as No. 24 nationally by the AP poll (week 4).
• 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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