Alabama
Auburn
Alabama Men’s Basketball Hosts Rival Auburn Saturday Night
2/3/2017 2:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Tigers tip at 7:30 p.m. CT in front of a sellout crowd
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will begin a stretch of playing four of its next six games at home when it welcomes rival Auburn to Coleman Coliseum on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT. It will mark the second meeting between the two teams this year, with the Tigers claiming an 84-64 win over the Tide on Jan. 21 in Auburn, Ala.
The contest is sold out, which marks the second consecutive game that the Crimson Tide will play in front of a capacity crowd. The first sellout of the season was last Saturday's game against Mississippi State, in which Alabama captured a 71-62 victory.
Auburn and Alabama will meet for the 155th time in series history, with the Crimson Tide leading the all-time series, 93-61. The 154 previous meetings and the 93 victories each rank fourth all-time against any one opponent in program history. Alabama has claimed 10 of the last 14 meetings between the two teams, including winning seven straight over the Tigers in Coleman Coliseum.
Saturday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Barry Booker (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: Auburn-Alabama Live Stats
SOCIAL MEDIA: @AlabamaMBB
PROMOTIONS
"Crimson Out" – Free Crimson T-Shirts
Joe Everson – "Anthem Painter"
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Alabama fell for just the third time in its last 11 games with an 87-68 defeat at Arkansas last Wednesday night. Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram led the Tide with 14 points – 11 of which came in the opening 20 minutes – while freshman Braxton Key (12) and junior Ar'Mond Davis (10) both reached double figures.
- 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 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while also topping the team in minutes (27.8 mpg). Guard Dazon Ingram, who ranks second in points (10.0 ppg) and minutes (26.6 mpg), leads UA in assists (3.7 apg), steals (1.0 spg) and 3-point shooting (.444). Six of Alabama's top seven scorers are underclassmen.
- Key was named the SEC Freshmen of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. Key is the first Crimson Tide player to earn a weekly honor this season and became the first Alabama player to win the weekly freshman award since Shannon Hale earned the honor back on March 3, 2014.
- Alabama has won seven straight over Auburn in Coleman Coliseum. The last time the Tigers were victorious on the Tide's home floor came on March 3, 2009 when Auburn claimed a 77-73 victory.
- Alabama forward Braxton Key is one of eight freshmen from around the country who currently leads his team in both scoring and rebounding this season.
- Jimmie Taylor has 191 career blocks and needs just nine more swats to become only the sixth player in program history to record 200 blocks in his career.
- Alabama is a perfect 12-0 when holding teams to 62 or fewer points, but falls to 1-8 when allowing the opposition to score more than 62.
- According to KenPom.com, Alabama ranks 27th in the nation in both average team height and bench production. The same site also lists the Crimson Tide 227th out of 351 Division I programs in overall experience.
- Next up, Alabama will begin a tough two-game stretch when it takes on a pair of ranked opponents. The Tide will open the week on Tuesday, Feb, 7, when it travels to Columbia, S.C., to take on the No. 19/20 South Carolina Gamecocks. The game it set to tipoff at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) on SEC Network.
SCOUTING AUBURN
• Bruce Pearl, who claimed his 500th career coaching victory in the Tigers' 78-74 win over LSU on Jan. 18, is in his third season at Auburn and owns a record of 40-48 (.455). Now in his 22nd season as a collegiate coach, Pearl owns an overall mark of 502-193 (.722). Pearl's 185-109 (.629) record as a SEC head coach is the third-best winning percentage out of the league's current head coaches.
• Auburn comes into Saturday's contest with a 14-8 record on the season. The Tigers began the year with 10 wins in their first 12 games of the year. It was the first time an Auburn team won 10 games prior to Christmas since the 1999-2000 season when the Tigers reached the NCAA Tournament second round.
• Similar to Alabama, Auburn is led on the year by a true freshman. Guard Mustapha Heron, who joins Crimson Tide freshman Braxton Key and two of only eight players in the country to lead their respective teams in both scoring and rebounding, enters Saturday's contest averaging team highs of 15.3 ppg and 5.9 rpg, while also leading Auburn in field goals made (102) and attempted (242). He is one of three players to average double-figure scoring, along with freshman guard Jared Harper (12.8 ppg) and freshman forward Danjel Purifoy (11.5 ppg).
• According to KenPom.com, Auburn is the one of the youngest teams in the nation, ranked 330th in experience. In fact, the Tigers are one of seven SEC teams who rank among the top 50 of the NCAA Division I 351 programs in terms of experience.
• Auburn returned 41.2 percent of its scoring and 31.1 percent of its rebounding from last season, which ranked 10th and 12th in the SEC, respectively.
• Auburn probable starters (starting five from last game): Guards: T.J. Dunans (9.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.5 apg), Jared Harper (12.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg), Mustapha Heron (15.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg). Forward: Horace Spencer (4.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .561 FG%). Center: Austin Wiley (9.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, .620 FG%).
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama will begin a stretch of playing four of its next six games under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum when it hosts rival Auburn on Saturday night. It will mark the second meeting between the two teams this season. Just two weeks ago, on Jan. 21, the Tigers scored 54 second half points on their way to an 84-64 victory in Auburn, Ala.
• Alabama has 11 players that average double-digit minutes (10 of which are active) and eight guys who average between 5.5 and 11.9 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 recorded a career high of 26 points in the win at Georgia on Jan. 25, leads the Tide in scoring (11.9 ppg), rebounding (5.9 rpg) and minutes (27.9 mpg). Key also ranks second in assists (2.0 apg) and three-points field goal percentage (.381).
• Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram leads the team in assists (3.7 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.444), assist-turnover ratio (1.5:1) and steals (1.0 spg), while ranking second in scoring (10.0 ppg) and minutes (26.6 mpg).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall tops the team in field goal percentage (.662), while ranking second in blocks (1.5 bpg) and third in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Junior Riley Norris shares the team lead in threes made (29) and is third in scoring (8.9 ppg), while graduate senior Bola Olaniyan, who is averaging a team-leading 7.2 rebounds per game in league play, is second on the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg).
• As a team, Alabama is outscoring the competition by 4.7 points per game (69.0-64.3) and outrebounding opponents by 5.9 rebounds per game (38.7-32.8). The Tide is shooting .423 from the field and .328 from beyond the arc as a team. Alabama leads the SEC and ranks 37th nationally in rebounding margin. In addition, the Tide ranks second in the league and 33rd in the nation in scoring defense.
• Alabama owns a record of 8-2 when playing at Coleman Coliseum this year (8-3 in all home games, which includes the game vs. Clemson in Birmingham's Legacy Arena) and is 3-1 in SEC play.
ALABAMA-AUBURN - SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's game will mark the 155th meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is the fourth-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Crimson Tide owns a 93-61 edge in the series.
• It marks the second meeting between the two teams this season. Auburn captured an 84-64 win in the first contest, which was played just two weeks ago (Jan. 21) in Auburn, Ala.
• UA owns an all-time record of 40-7 when playing Auburn in Coleman Coliseum. The Tide is 47-8 when hosting AU in Tuscaloosa.
• With that defeat at Auburn earlier this season, Alabama owns a record of 26-30 when playing on the Tigers' home floor.
• Alabama has won 10 of the last 14 games played between the two teams, including seven straight at home. The last home loss suffered by the Crimson Tide to Auburn came on March 3, 2009 (L, 77-73).
• The two teams have played in 11 overtimes in series history, with the last one coming Feb. 21, 2001. Auburn has won eight of the 11 games that have went to extra time.
• The series began during 1923-24 campaign.
ALABAMA-ARKANSAS: AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
• What Won The Game For Arkansas: Arkansas caught fire early in the second half, going on a 28-8 run over the span of eight-plus minutes that turned a 35-31 lead into a 63-39 advantage with just over 10 minutes remaining. For the second half alone, the Razorbacks connected on 19-of-33 (.576) shots from the floor and 7-of-12 (.583) from beyond the arc.
• The Difference Maker: Dusty Hannahs. The senior sharp-shooter from Arkansas was a force off the bench, scoring a game-high 19 points in just 17 minutes of action. Hannahs torched the Tide defense, connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from deep. Thanks in large part to his presence, the Razorback bench outscored the Tide's, 40-23, on the night.
• The Wow Stat: During the decisive 28-8 run early in the second half that began at the 18:45 mark and lasted until the 10:23 mark – a span of 8:22 – Alabama went just 1-of-12 from the field and committed six turnovers. Meanwhile, Arkansas connected on 11-of-15 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
• Coach Avery Johnson Quote: "We didn't take great care of the ball. We didn't finish our shots in the paint. A couple of our guys are now priorities that might have been unknowns going into the season. Some of them have been getting a lot of attention in the SEC and nationally, other teams are keying in on now. That means other guys need to step up. We didn't have great balance and were on our heels all night tonight. You have to man-up. We weren't as mature as we needed to be on the road at Arkansas tonight."
REBOUNDING FROM WORST TO FIRST
• Alabama has gone from the one of the worst rebounding teams in the nation one of the tops in the league entering the Auburn contest.
• Last season, the Tide ended the year ranked 13th in the SEC and 293rd in the nation in rebound margin at -3.6 (34.6-38.2). However, through 21 games this season, Alabama leads the conference and ranks 37th in the nation in rebounding margin at +5.9 (38.7-32.8).
• Those numbers have gotten even better against SEC competition. In nine league games, Alabama leads the conference in nearly every rebounding category, including rebounding average (39.7), offensive rebounds (13.4) and rebounding margin (+7.2) while ranking second in rebounds allowed (32.4) and third in defensive rebounds (26.2).
• Twice this season, Alabama has pulled down 50 or more rebounds in a game (vs. Stetson on 12/29 and Vanderbilt on 1/7). The last time the Tide collected 50 or more rebounds twice in the same season came during the 2008-09 campaign when Alabama pulled down 51 vs. Alabama A&M on Dec. 2, 2008 and 54 vs. Mississippi State on Feb. 21, 2009.
• Furthermore, the last time an Alabama team had 50 or more rebounds in a game came when the Tide pulled down 51 boards on Nov. 23, 2011, against Alabama A&M. The last time Alabama pulled down at least 53 boards came on Nov. 12, 2010, with 58 boards against Florida A&M.
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.
