Alabama Men’s Basketball Begins Two-Game Homestand with LSU on Saturday
2/17/2017 2:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Tigers tip at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will begin a two-game homestand when it takes on the LSU Tigers on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. It's the first time the Tide will play back-to-back home games since the beginning of SEC play when it hosted Vanderbilt on Jan. 7 and Florida on Jan. 10.
LSU and Alabama will meet for the 177th time in program history, with the Tide leading the all-time series, 105-71. The 177 meetings is second and the Tide's 105 wins rank third against any one opponent. Alabama comes into the game having won two straight over the Tigers and owns an all-time record of 71-20 when playing LSU in Tuscaloosa, including a 39-8 mark at Coleman Coliseum.
Most recently, Alabama captured its fifth road victory in SEC play (5-2) with a 57-54 come-from-behind win at Missouri last Wednesday night. Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram led the Crimson Tide with a career-high 18 points, 15 of which came in the second half, to lead his team to the three-point win. The victory gave Alabama a series sweep of Missouri and marked the fifth consecutive win the series.
Saturday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Pat Bradley (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: LSU-Alabama Live Stats
WATCH LIVE: LSU-Alabama Watch Live
SOCIAL MEDIA: @AlabamaMBB
PROMOTIONS
Go Green Bama Night
- Alabama Athletics has partnered with UA Energy Management & the Office of sustainability to help encourage Alabama fans to recycle and conserve energy in their daily lives.
- Fans an encouraged to bring Aluminum and Paper to Coleman to recycle. The first 500 fans that donate will receive eco-friendly Alabama socks.
- The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a free Green Spirit Noodle.
- Fun Factory will be on-site to do Green Only Face painting for fans.
- Students will also have a chance to be a lucky winner in the Go Green Bama Prize drawing.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Alabama will attempt to claim its first season series sweep of LSU since beating the Tigers twice during the 2010-11 campaign.
- It will mark the second meeting between Alabama and LSU this season. In the first meeting, graduate senior Corban Collins struck for a season-high 24 points to lead the Crimson Tide to an 81-66 victory at LSU back on Jan. 14 in Baton Rouge, La.
- Alabama improved to 8-5 in SEC play with the win at Missouri, matching last season's eight league victories (8-10).
- The Tide, which leads the SEC and ranks 27th nationally with a +6.1 rebounding margin, has outrebounded its opponents in 20 of its 25 games this year, including 11 of its 13 SEC foes.
- Alabama is tied for tops in the SEC with five road victories during league play (5-2). The last time a Crimson Tide team had five league road wins came during the 2004-05 campaign.
- A pair of freshman lead the Tide offensively. Forward Braxton Key averages team highs of 12.1 points per game and 18.7 minutes a contest, while also ranking second in rebounds (5.8 rpg) and assists (2.1). Guard Dazon Ingram, who ranks second in points (10.5 ppg), leads UA in assists (3.4 apg), steals (1.1 spg) and 3-point shooting (.485). Six of Alabama's top seven scorers are underclassmen.
- According to KenPom.com, Alabama ranks 28th in the nation in average team height and 30th in bench production. The same site also lists the Crimson Tide 231st out of 351 Division I programs in overall experience.
- Jimmie Taylor has 193 career blocks and needs just seven more swats to become only the sixth player in program history to record 200 blocks in his career.
- Alabama is a perfect 13-0 when holding teams to 62 or fewer points, but falls to 2-10 when allowing the opposition to score more than 62.
- Alabama will close out a two-game homestand when it welcomes the Georgia Bulldogs to Coleman Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. CT. The Tide will be looking for a season sweep of the Bulldogs after taking an 80-60 victory in Athens, Ga., on Jan. 25.
SCOUTING LSU
• LSU and Alabama will meet for the 177th time in program history, which ranks as the second-most games the Tide has played against any single opponent. Alabama leads the all-time series, 105-71, as the 105 wins by UA in the series rank as the third-highest number in the category. Alabama has played Mississippi State 196 times for 122 wins which ranks first in the record books, while the 119 wins against Ole Miss rank second.
• LSU head coach Johnny Jones is now in his fifth year at the helm of the Tigers' program. With the win against North Florida earlier this season (11/18), Jones moved into fourth on the all-time coaching win list at LSU. He enters Saturday's game with 89 wins (89-67) in his five seasons at LSU. The only three coaches above him are the three mentors that combined to coach LSU basketball for 65 of the 109 seasons and took LSU to four NCAA Final Fours: Dale Brown (25 years – 448 wins), Harry Rabenhorst (29 years – 340 wins) and John Brady (11 years – 192 wins). Jones' win total has already given him the most wins by any LSU coach in their first five years on the job.
• Sophomore Antonio Blakeney enters the game leading the team in scoring (17.0 ppg), three-point shooting (44-of-115, .383) and field goals made (159) and attempted (340). Blakeney has scored in double figures in 12 of the last 15 straight games, including over 20 points in three straight contests. For the year, he has had 20 games in double figures, which leads the team.
• Junior forward Duop Reath is second on this year's team in scoring (12.8 ppg), while leading the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg), blocked shots (1.6 bpg) and field goal percentage (.523). Sophomore Brandon Sampson is also averaging double figures for the Tigers, entering Saturday's game at 11.3 ppg.
• LSU probable starters (starting five from last game): Guards: Antonio Blakeney (17.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .383 3FG%), Branden Sampson (11.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Skylar Mays (7.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.8 apg). Forwards: Duop Reath (12.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, .523 FG%), Wayde Sims (6.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg).For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama, which is 15-10 on the year and tied for fourth in the SEC with an 8-5 league record, will begin a two-game homestand when it welcomes the LSU Tigers to Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
• Alabama has 11 players that average double-digit minutes (10 of which are active) and eight guys who average between 5.4 and 12.1 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 (12.1 ppg), double figure scoring games (14), 20-plus point scoring games (3) and minutes (28.7 mpg). Key also ranks second in rebounding (5.8 rpg), assists (2.1 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.347).
• Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram leads the team in assists (3.4 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.485), steals (1.1 spg) and double figure scoring games (14), while ranking second in scoring (10.5 ppg).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall tops the team in field goal percentage (.636) and blocks (1.5 bpg), while ranking third in rebounding (5.6 rpg). Junior Riley Norris ranks second in threes made (32) and is third in scoring (9.0 ppg), while graduate senior Corban Collins tops the team in threes made (33), is tied for second in three-point field goal percentage (.347) and is fourth in scoring (7.2 ppg).
• As a team, Alabama is outscoring the competition by 3.6 points per game (69.2-65.6) and outrebounding opponents by 6.1 rebounds per game (39.9-33.8). The Tide is shooting .422 from the field and .316 from beyond the arc as a team. Alabama leads the SEC and ranks 27th nationally in rebounding margin. In addition, the Tide ranks second in the league and 44th in the nation in scoring defense.
• Alabama owns a record of 8-4 when playing at Coleman Coliseum this year (8-5 in all home games, which includes the game vs. Clemson in Birmingham's Legacy Arena) and is 3-3 in SEC play.
ALABAMA-LSU - SERIES NOTES
• Alabama and LSU will meet for the 177th time in series history in a series that began during the 1915-16 season.
• The Tide owns a 105-71 lead in the all-time series. The 177 meetings rank second in the UA record books, while the 105 wins are the third-most Alabama has captured against any single opponent
• Following an 81-66 victory back on Jan. 14, Alabama has claimed back-to-back wins in the series for the first time since five straight during a stretch from 2010 through 2012. The Crimson Tide will be looking for its first series sweep of LSU since winning twice during the 2010-11 campaign.
• Alabama owns a record of 71-20 when playing LSU in Tuscaloosa, including a 39-8 mark in Coleman Coliseum. The Tigers had lost 10 consecutive games when playing at Alabama, but captured a 72-70 victory over the Tide in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 23, 2016. It was just the third victory for LSU in its last 17 games played at Coleman Coliseum.
• Alabama and LSU have played in 10 overtime games in series history, including two triple overtime contests (2/10/90 & 2/23/13) and a quadruple overtime contest (2/12/72) – the first four-overtime game in school history. Alabama has an impressive 8-2 record when it has played LSU in overtime.
• Four of the last eight games played between the two teams have been decided by three or fewer points, while six of the last nine have been decided by less than 10 points.
ALABAMA-MISSOURI: AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
• What Won The Game For Alabama: Trailing 46-39 with just over seven minutes remaining in the contest, Alabama went on a 14-1 run over the next three-plus minutes to take a 53-47 lead. Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram scored 15 of his career-high 18 points in the second half, 12 of which came during the final 5:49 of the contest.
• The Difference Makers: Dazon Ingram and Bola Olaniyan. Both players helped the Tide to its fifth road win in seven SEC games this season. Ingram accounted for a career-high 18 points and while also pulling down nine boards. In addition, Olaniyan was a force on the glass on both ends of the floor, collected a season-best 14 rebounds, six of which were on the offensive glass, and a team-best two steals. Combined, the duo collected 23 of the Tide's 39 rebounds and 10 of the team's 14 offensive boards on the night.
• The Wow Stat: After the Tigers took a 46-39 lead with 7:05 left to play, Alabama's defense shut down Missouri. Over the final seven minutes, the Tide limited the Tigers to 1-of-8 shooting, including five straight missed shots. As a result, Alabama outscored Missouri, 18-8, down the stretch to pull out the victory.
• Coach Avery Johnson Quote: "We rebounded better in the second half, and Braxton Key and Dazon Ingram triggered a comeback with their decision-making and their shot making. A lot of guys on our team deserve credit like Bola, but no more than these two young guys. I'm really proud of our guys, and of these two guys, because they really grew up tonight, especially in the last five to seven minutes of the game."
