Alabama
Georgia
Alabama Men’s Basketball Closes Two-Game Homestand Thursday Against Georgia
2/22/2017 4:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Bulldogs tip at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama closes its two-game homestand when it hosts the Georgia Bulldogs at Coleman Coliseum on Thursday night 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.
Georgia and Alabama will meet for the 145th time in series history, with the Crimson Tide leading the all-time series, 94-50. The 144 previous meetings ranks seventh and the 94 victories is fourth all-time in program history. Despite Alabama winning 80-60 at Georgia earlier this season, the Bulldogs have claimed three of the last four games over the Tide including a 66-65 overtime victory the last time the two teams met at Coleman Coliseum back on Feb. 21, 2015 (Complete series information can be found on page 4).
Most recently, Alabama captured its third win over the last four games with a 90-72 victory over LSU last Saturday. It was just the fifth time in the last 10 years that the Tide reached the 90-point mark in an SEC game, and marked the most points scored by Alabama in a non-overtime conference game since putting up 90 on Ole Miss on Feb., 28, 2009 (won, 90-69).
Thursday's game will be televised on ESPN2 with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Sean Farnham (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: ESPN2
LIVE STATS: Georgia-Alabama Live Stats
SOCIAL MEDIA: @AlabamaMBB
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- A pair of freshman lead the Tide offensively. Forward Braxton Key averages team highs of 12.0 points per game and 28.7 minutes a contest, while also ranking second in rebounds (5.6 rpg) and assists (2.2). Guard Dazon Ingram, who ranks second in points (10.4 ppg), leads UA in assists (3.4 apg), steals (1.1 spg) and 3-point shooting (.459). Six of Alabama's top seven scorers are underclassmen.
- Alabama's Avery Johnson will be coaching in his 500th career game Thursday night. Johnson, who coached in the NBA (Dallas and Brooklyn) for 440 games (254-186), is coaching his 60th game (34-25) in two seasons at Alabama.
- Alabama and Georgia will meet for the second time this season, as the Tide captured an 80-60 win in Athens, Ga., back on Jan. 25. UA will be going for its first series sweep of the Bulldogs since the 2012-13 campaign.
- Graduate senior Bola Olaniyan is averaging 13.3 rebounds a game and 5.7 offensive rebounds per contest over Alabama's last three games played.
- The Tide, which leads the SEC and ranks 26th nationally with a +6.1 rebounding margin, has outrebounded its opponents in 21 of its 26 games this year, including 12 of its 14 SEC foes.
- Alabama is a perfect 13-0 when holding teams to 62 or fewer points, but falls to 3-10 when allowing the opposition to score more than 62.
- 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 230th 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 will play its penultimate road contest this season when it travels to face Texas A&M on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2. It will be the only meeting this season between the two teams.
SCOUTING GEORGIA
• Georgia is the seventh most-common opponent in Alabama history. This year marks the teams' 145th meeting, with the Tide holding a 94-50 edge in the all-time series. The 94 wins is tied for fourth-most victories by Alabama over any single opponent.
• This marks the second meeting between Alabama and Georgia this season. The Crimson Tide captured an 80-60 victory in Athens, Ga., back on Jan. 25. Freshman Braxton Key scored a career-high 26 points in that contest. Alabama will be looking for its first series sweep of the Bulldogs since taking both games during the 2012-13 regular season.
• Head coach Mark Fox has guided Georgia to 20 wins in each of the past three years, which is just the second time in 111 seasons of basketball the Bulldogs have done so. Fox, who is in his eighth season at Georgia, owns a 141-115 (.551) record and has a career record of 264-158 (.626) in 13 seasons as a head coach.
• Forward Yante Maten suffered a sprained right knee during Georgia's game vs. Kentucky last Saturday and will be out of action indefinitely, Fox announced this past Sunday. Maten, who leads the Bulldogs and ranks third in the SEC in scoring, was injured just 95 seconds into the first half of Saturday night's game. On the season, Maten is averaging 18.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 1.5 bpg. He has a team-high 24 double-digit scoring games, with 10 20-point and three 30-point performances.
• J.J. Frazier will come in as the team's leading scorer, averaging team highs of 17.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. His numbers have improved during league play, averaging 19.4 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game against SEC competition. Frazier is coming off a season-high scoring output with 36 points in the loss to Kentucky.
• Nine of the 15 players on Georgia's 2016-17 roster are Peach State prep products. That list includes eight of the 14 active players on the Bulldogs' roster.
• Georgia probable starters (starting five from last game): Guards: Juwan Parker (9.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.9 apg), J.J. Frazier (17.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.0 spg). Forwards: Yante Maten** (18.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.5 bpg), Derek Ogbeide (6.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, .561 FG%), E'Torrion Wilridge (1.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg).
**indicates Maten was injured in previous game and is out indefinitely
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama, which is 16-10 on the year and tied for fourth in the SEC with a 9-5 league record, will close out its two-game homestand when it welcomes the Georgia Bulldogs to Coleman Coliseum on Thursday night.
• Alabama has 11 players that average double-digit minutes (nine of which are currently active) and eight guys who average between 5.6 and 12.0 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 (12.0 ppg), double figure scoring games (15), 20-plus point scoring games (3) and minutes (28.7 mpg). Key also ranks second in rebounding (5.6 rpg), assists (2.2 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.346).
• Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram leads the team in assists (3.4 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.459), steals (1.1 spg), while ranking second in scoring (10.4 ppg) and double figure scoring games (14).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall tops the team in field goal percentage (.641) and blocks (1.4 bpg), while he is tied for second in rebounding (5.6 rpg). Junior Riley Norris leads the team in threes made (36) and attempted (112) and is third in scoring (9.3 ppg). Graduate senior Bola Olaniyan is the Tide's top rebounder(6.4 rpg) and averages 2.8 offensive boards per game. In SEC games only, he leads the league in offensive rebounds a game (3.7) and is fourth in the league in rebounding (8.1 rpg).
• As a team, Alabama is outscoring the competition by 4.2 points per game (70.0-65.8) and outrebounding opponents by 6.1 rebounds per game (39.7-33.6). The Tide is shooting .428 from the field and .320 from beyond the arc as a team. Alabama ranks second in the league and 44th in the nation in scoring defense.
• Alabama owns a record of 9-4 when playing at Coleman Coliseum this year (9-5 in all home games, which includes the game vs. Clemson in Birmingham's Legacy Arena) and is 4-3 in SEC play.
ALABAMA-GEORGIA - SERIES NOTES
• Thursday's game will be the 145th meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is be the seventh-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Crimson Tide owns a 94-50 lead in the series, with the 94 victories ranking fourth in program history.
• It's the second meeting this season between the two teams. Back on Jan. 25, Alabama captured an 80-60 victory over Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum, behind a career-high 26 points from Braxton Key.
• Twenty of the last 24 meetings have been decided by under 10 points, including 12 of the last 14 contests played between the two schools.
• Alabama has won 13 of the last 21 meetings overall in the series.
• The Tide has an all-time record of 51-13 when playing Georgia in Tuscaloosa, Ala., including a mark of 25-11 in games played in Coleman Coliseum. The last time the Bulldogs played under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum came on Feb. 21, 2015 when they captured a 66-65 overtime victory. With the victory, Georgia snapped a five-game losing streak to the Tide in Tuscaloosa.
• The series has seen 13 overtime games, with Alabama owning an 8-5 lead in such contests.
• The series began during 1921-22 campaign.
ALABAMA-LSU: AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
• What Won The Game For Alabama: Alabama converted 10-of-25 shots from beyond the arc, including 9-of-18 in the opening half, in the victory. It was just the fifth time this season the Crimson Tide have made at least 10 threes in a game. In fact, Alabama has made 10 three-pointers just twice during conference play, with both of those contests coming in wins over LSU (10 made threes on Jan. 14 and Feb. 18).
• The Difference Makers: Bola Olaniyan. The graduate senior transfer established his presence on the boards, pulling down a career high-tying 16 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass en route to the win. In addition, Olaniyan recorded his first double-double of the season and 11th of his career, as he finished with 11 points in addition to his 16 rebounds. He now has seven double-figure rebounding games on the year and 28 in his career.
• The Wow Stat: Alabama had five players reach double figures on the night, marking the first time this season that has occurred. The last time the Crimson Tide played a game in which five players reached double digit scoring came against Missouri on Feb. 2, 2016.
• Coach Avery Johnson Quote: "We have a lot of guys that I can talk about tonight, but Bola was huge for us. There is no coincidence since his arrival how our rebounding numbers have changed and where we rank now both in the SEC and the country in rebounding. We saw that both sides of the ball he can be pretty imposing. So, Bola was big for us tonight, Riley made some shots, Ar'Mond was a huge lift off the bench; everybody contributed. I'm proud of our guys, but I cannot wait to get back to practice."
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS
• Graduate senior Bola Olaniyan has been a force on the glass as of late. Against conference competition, the Lagos, Nigeria, native leads the SEC with 3.7 offensive rebounds per game and ranks fourth in the conference with 8.1 rebounds a contest.
• According to KenPom.com, Olaniyan's offensive rebounding percentage is currently at 20.6 percent. That number would lead the country, ranking more than 2 percent higher than the nation's current leader (18.5 percent by Derrick Griffiths of Texas Southern). However, to qualify for the statistic, one has to play at least 40 percent of his team's minutes and Olaniyan is at 37 percent.
• Olaniyan has three straight and seven total double-figure rebounding games on the season. He has 26 such games in his career, 20 of which have come last two seasons (13 at Southern Illinois in 2015-16).
• Over his last three games, Olaniyan is averaging 13.3 rebounds per game and averaging 5.7 offensive rebounds per contest.
• In his last two games, he has pulled down a total of 30 rebounds (15.0 rpg), including 13 (6.5 orpg) on the offensive glass.
