Alabama
Missouri
Alabama Men’s Basketball Travels to take on Missouri on Wednesday Night
2/14/2017 2:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Tigers tip at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its lone road game in the current four-game stretch when it travels to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. CT.
It will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. Alabama took a 68-56 victory over the Tigers on Jan. 18 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Avery Johnson Jr. and Riley Norris led the Tide with 13 points each in the victory.
Missouri and Alabama will meet for just the 12th time in program history and the seventh time as conference rivals. The Tide has won four straight games over the Tigers and leads the all-time series 8-3 entering the contest. Alabama owns a record of 1-2 when playing at Missouri.
Wednesday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Daymeon Fishback (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/LISTEN
RADIO: Crimson Tide Sports Network
TV: SEC Network
LIVE STATS: Missouri-Alabama Live Stats
SOCIAL MEDIA: @AlabamaMBB
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Alabama will play its first game at Mizzou Arena since Jan. 18, 2014. Since its last appearance in Columbia, Mo., the Crimson Tide has hosted the Tigers in four straight contests, winning all four.
- Alabama faced its second consecutive top-25 opponent when it battled No. then-15/12 Kentucky to Coleman Coliseum, falling by a score of 67-58 last Saturday. The Tide went 1-1 on the week, defeating then-No. 19/16 South Carolina in quadruple overtime, 90-86, on Feb. 7. Alabama had an opportunity to make it two victories over ranked teams in the same week, but converted just 9-of-26 free throws in the nine-point defeat to the Wildcats.
- Alabama is second in the SEC with four road victories in league play (4-2). As a whole, road teams are 41-42 (.494) in conference play this year.
- The Tide, which leads the SEC and ranks 25th nationally with a +6.2 rebounding margin, has outrebounded its opponents in 19 of its 24 games this year, including 10 of its 12 SEC foes.
- A pair of freshman lead the Tide offensively. Forward Braxton Key, who is one of eight freshmen in the nation to lead their team in both scoring and rebounding, averages team highs of 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while also topping the team in minutes (28.5 mpg). Guard Dazon Ingram, who ranks second in points (10.2 ppg), leads UA in assists (3.5 apg), steals (1.2 spg) and 3-point shooting (.464). Six of Alabama's top seven scorers are underclassmen.
- According to KenPom.com, Alabama ranks 29th in the nation in both average team height and 32nd in bench production. The same site also lists the Crimson Tide 231st out of 351 Division I programs in overall experience.
- Alabama is a perfect 12-0 when holding teams to 62 or fewer points, but falls to 2-10 when allowing the opposition to score more than 62.
- Alabama will return home to take on the LSU Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 2:30 p.m. on SEC Network. It will mark the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Crimson Tide captured an 81-66 victory at LSU back on Jan. 14 in Baton Rouge, La.
SCOUTING MISSOURI
• Alabama leads the all-time series with Missouri, 8-3. The Tide is 5-0 against Missouri in Tuscaloosa and just 1-2 when playing in Columbia, Mo. Alabama enters Wednesday night's contest having won four straight games over the Tigers.
• Now in his third season leading the Mizzou men's basketball program, head coach Kim Anderson owns a record of 26-61. Now in his 15th season as a head coach, Anderson boasts a career coaching record of 300-157.
• Mizzou is once again cultivating a talented, but young roster during the 2016-17 season. According to KenPom.com, the Tigers rank 331st out of 351 NCAA Division I teams in terms of experience.
• In his 15 games this season, junior forward Jordan Barnett has been a force to reckon with. He currently leads the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (6.3 rpg). In SEC play, Barnett ranks 14th in the league in scoring and 13th rebounding with his 14.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Mizzou was powered through its non-conference schedule by the strong play of sophomore forward Kevin Puryear. The Blue Springs, Mo., native ranks second on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) and leads Mizzou in rebounding (6.4 rpg).
• In conference play, sophomore guards Terrence Phillips and Puryear are also averaging double figures at 11.6 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Phillips, who scored a game-high 16 points in the first meeting between the Tide and Tigers, is averaging 9.8 ppg on the year, also leads the team in assists (4.7 apg) and steals (1.4 spg),
• As a team, Missouri is averaging 69.5 points per game, and is being outscored by 2.0 points per game (69.5-71.5). The Tigers also are being outrebounded by a slight margin of -0.9 boards per game (38.1-39.0). Mizzou has struggled on the offensive side of the ball, as the team ranks 13th in the league in scoring average, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage.
• Missouri probable starters (starting five from last game): Guards: Terrence Phillips (9.8 ppg, 4.7 apg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 spg), K.J. Walton (7.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Cullen Vanleer (5.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.5 apg). Forwards: Kevin Puryear (11.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg), Rusell Woods (7.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 52.8 FG%).
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama, which is 14-10 on the year and tied for fourth in the SEC with a 7-5 league record, will play its lone road game in a current four-game stretch when the Tide squares off against the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday night.
• Alabama has 11 players that average double-digit minutes (10 of which are active) and eight guys who average between 5.3 and 12.2 points per game. The Tide's top two scorers are both freshmen, while six of the top seven are underclassmen.
• True freshman Braxton Key, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the week of Jan. 30, leads the Tide in scoring (12.2 ppg), rebounding (5.9 rpg), double figure scoring games (14), 20-plus point scoring games (3) and minutes (28.5 mpg). Key also ranks second in assists (2.0 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.356).
• Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram leads the team in assists (3.5 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.464), assist-turnover ratio (1.2:1) and steals (1.2 spg), while ranking second in scoring (10.2 ppg) and double figure scoring games (12).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall tops the team in field goal percentage (.651) and blocks (1.5 bpg), while ranking third in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Junior Riley Norris ranks second in threes made (31) and is third in scoring (9.0 ppg), while graduate senior Corban Collins tops the team in threes made (33), ranks third in three-point field goal percentage (.351) and is fourth in scoring (7.5 ppg).
• As a team, Alabama is outscoring the competition by 3.7 points per game (69.8-66.1) and outrebounding opponents by 6.2 rebounds per game (40.0-33.8). The Tide is shooting .424 from the field and .318 from beyond the arc as a team. Alabama leads the SEC and ranks 25th nationally in rebounding margin. In addition, the Tide ranks third in the league and 49th in the nation in scoring defense.
• Alabama owns a record of 6-5 when playing in all road contests this season. The Tide is 4-4 in true road games and 2-1 when playing in a neutral site. In SEC play, Alabama owns a record of 4-2 in road contests.
ALABAMA-MISSOURI - SERIES NOTES
• Alabama and Missouri will square off for the second time this season. The Tide captured a 68-56 victory over the Tigers back on Jan. 18 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday's game will be the seventh meeting between the two teams as SEC rivals and 12th contest overall in the series history.
• The Tide owns an 8-3 edge in the all-time series, with the Tide having won four straight games over the Tigers – all coming in Coleman Coliseum. Alabama has never lost to Missouri in Tuscaloosa, owning a 4-0 edge in Coleman Coliseum.
• Wednesday's contest will mark the first time in the last five contests between the teams that the Tide will play the Tigers at Mizzou Arena. Alabama's last appearance in Columbia, Mo., came on Jan. 18, 2014.
• Six of the 11 games played between the two teams have been decided by less than 10 points.
ALABAMA-KENTUCKY: AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
• What Won The Game For Kentucky: Kentucky held Alabama to just 20 points in the first half – the second fewest points in a half this season for the Tide. During the opening 20 minutes of action, Alabama shot just 32 percent (8-of-25) from the field and 14.3 percent (1-of-7) from beyond the arc. To make matters worse, the Tide connected on just 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) foul shots in the opening stanza.
• The Difference Maker: Isaiah Briscoe. The sophomore guard collected team highs of 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes of action. Briscoe scored seven straight points from the 4:24 mark to the 2:08 mark of the second half, as the Tide was trying to rally late in the game.
• The Wow Stat: Alabama converted on just 9-of-26 free throws which resulted in a season-low 34.6 percent shooting from the charity stripe. In comparison, the Wildcats converted 10-of-18 foul shots for the game. It was just the second time this season that the Tide lost a game when having more free throw attempts than the opposition (13-2).
• Coach Avery Johnson Quote: "I thought this was going to be a very winnable game, but unfortunately, we didn't have a great first half. We dug ourselves a hole, didn't have great body language and played on our heels. We were a little fearful for some reason in the first half. Hopefully, we will continue to mature. As a coaching staff we will continue to try to coach them up better, but we were on our heels in the first half for some reason. We acted like we didn't know where to go or what to do with the basketball. Give [Kentucky] credit; coach (John) Caliapari does a terrific job with all of these kids."
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