Alabama
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Mississippi State
Alabama Begins SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament Play Thursday Afternoon
3/8/2017 10:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Fifth-seeded Crimson Tide will take on either No. 12 Mississippi State or No. 13 LSU at 2:30 p.m. CT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Alabama earned the No. 5 seed in the 2017 Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and will take on the winner of No. 12 seed Mississippi State and No. 13 seed LSU on Thursday afternoon at approximately 2:30 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs and Tigers will face off Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT for the right to advance and play the Crimson Tide.
Alabama tied for fifth place overall in the final 2017 SEC standings. That's a five-spot improvement from last season's 8-10 record and 10th-place finish in league play. The five-spot improvement is tied for second-best in the SEC this season (Arkansas went from T-8th last year to T-3rd this season) and trails Florida, who improved six spots from a year ago (T-8th in 2016 and second in 2017).
Alabama swept the season series from both Mississippi State and LSU this season. The Tide opened and closed the month of January by facing the Bulldogs. Alabama began SEC play on Jan. 3 in Starkville, Miss., and left with a 68-58 win, followed by a 71-62 victory in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 28. Against the Tigers, the Crimson Tide took an 81-66 win in Baton Rouge, La., on Jan. 14, and then won 90-72 on Feb. 18 in Tuscaloosa. Complete series information with both teams can be found on pages six and seven.
Thursday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Sean Farnham (analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sideline) on the call. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast on the Crimson Tide Sports Network (CTSN) 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: Live Stats
LIVE VIDEO: Watch Here
SOCIAL MEDIA: @AlabamaMBB
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Alabama has an all-time record of 62-50 in SEC Tournament play and has won six SEC Tournament titles (1934, 82, 87, 89, 90, 91). The six tournament championships rank second in league history.
- A pair of freshmen lead the Tide offensively. Forward Braxton Key averages team highs of 12.3 points per game and 29.3 minutes a contest, while also ranking second in assists (2.4) and third in rebounds (5.7) and three-point field goal percentage (.333). Guard Dazon Ingram, who ranks second in points (10.3 ppg), leads UA in assists (3.3 apg), steals (1.0 spg) and 3-point shooting (.476). Six of Alabama's top seven scorers are underclassmen.
- Nine of Alabama's 13 losses on the season have been decided by nine points or fewer. Five of those nine contests came down to five points or less, four of which occurred during SEC play alone.
- Alabama owns a record of 6-3 when facing Mississippi State in the postseason. The last time the two teams met in the SEC Tournament came on March 14, 2008. Should Alabama meet LSU, it will be the ninth postseason meeting, with UA leading 5-3. The last time the squads squared off in the league tournament was three years ago on March 13, 2014.
- Alabama has an overall record of 62-50 in SEC Tournament play. The Tide's .554 winning percentage in the tournament ranks second among SEC schools.
- Alabama ended the regular season with a 59-54 loss at Tennessee on March 4. The Crimson Tide held a 14-point halftime lead and led by as many as 16 points early in the second half before the Volunteers rallied to pull off the come-from-behind win. The Tide was led by Riley Norris' 13 points – all of which came in the opening 20 minutes of play – while Braxton Key added 12 points in the losing effort.
- Freshman Braxton Key was selected to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team, becoming the first Crimson Tide freshman honoree since Shannon Hale earned the nod during the 2013-14 campaign. The Charlotte, N.C., native comes into the SEC Tournament leading the Tide in scoring (12.3), double-figure scoring games (18) and minutes (29.3), ranks second in assists (2.4) and third in rebounds (5.7) and three-point shooting (.333).
- The Tide finished SEC play as one of the top defensive teams in the conference. Alabama ended the league season leading in scoring defense (66.7), field goal percentage defense (.398) and was fourth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.322). For the season, UA enters the SEC Tournament ranked second overall in scoring defense on the season (64.7), field goal percentage defense (.399) and sixth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.336).
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama, which is 16-12 on the year and tied for fifth in the SEC with a 9-7 league record, will host Ole Miss on Wednesday in the final home game of the regular season.
• Alabama has 11 players that average double-digit minutes (nine of which are currently active) and eight guys who average between 5.5 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 (16), 20-plus point scoring games (3) and minutes (29.1 mpg). Key ranks second in assists (2.3 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.329) and is third in rebounding (5.7 rpg).
• Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram leads the team in assists (3.4 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.459) and steals (1.1 spg), while ranking second in scoring (10.0 ppg) and double figure scoring games (14).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall tops the team in field goal percentage (.644) and blocks (1.4 bpg), while ranking second in rebounding (5.8 rpg). Junior Riley Norris leads the team in threes made (38) and attempted (118) and is third in scoring (9.0 ppg). Graduate senior Bola Olaniyan is the Tide's top rebounder (6.4 rpg) and averages 2.9 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 (7.9 rpg).
• As a team, Alabama is outscoring the competition by 3.6 points per game (68.9-65.3) and outrebounding opponents by 6.0 rebounds per game (39.6-33.6). The Tide is shooting .419 from the field and .312 from beyond the arc as a team. Alabama ranks second in the league and 37th in the nation in scoring defense.
• Alabama owns a record of 9-5 when playing at Coleman Coliseum this year (9-6 in all home games, which includes the game vs. Clemson in Birmingham's Legacy Arena) and is 4-4 in SEC play.
ALABAMA-MISSISSIPPI STATE – SERIES NOTES
• Mississippi State and Alabama would meet for the 197th time in series history if the two should square off on Thursday night.
• Alabama owns an all-time record of 122-74, and has won 11 of the last 14 overall meetings between the two programs. The Crimson Tide has not defeated the Bulldogs three times in the same year since doing so during the 1985-86 campaign.
• The 197 games played and the 122 wins against Mississippi State marks the most for Alabama against any single opponent in each category in program history.
• It will mark the third meeting between the two teams this season. In the first game, Alabama captured a 68-58 victory in Humphrey Coliseum back on Jan. 3 in the SEC opener for both teams. The Tide followed that with a 71-62 victory over the Bulldogs on Jan. 28.
• Ben Howland, who is in his second season at Mississippi State has a record of 29-32 (.475). In four different stints as a head coach, Howland has a 430-238 (.644) record – Northern Arizona (79-59), Pittsburgh (89-40), UCLA (233-107) and Mississippi State (27-23). He led UCLA to three-consecutive Final Fours, including a national runner-up finish in 2006.
ALABAMA-LSU – SERIES NOTES
• If the Tigers defeat the Bulldogs, LSU and Alabama would meet for the 178th 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, 106-71, as the 105 wins by UA in the series rank as the third-highest number in the category. Alabama has played Mississippi State 197 times for 122 wins which ranks first in the record books, while the 120 wins against Ole Miss rank second.
• Alabama has not defeated LSU three times in the same season since doing so during the 1986-87 campaign.
• LSU head coach Johnny Jones is in his fifth year at the helm of the Tigers' program. Jones owns a record of 90-71 (.559) while at LSU and is 295-233 (.559) in 17 seasons as a head coach.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama, which is 17-13 on the year, finished fifth in the SEC with a 10-8 league record – the best league finish since placing fourth in the standings during the 2012-13 campaign.
• Alabama clinched the No. 5 seed in this year's SEC Tournament, which will be held in Nashville from March 8-12. The Tide, which will play the winner of Wednesday's contest between No. 12 Mississippi State and No. 13 LSU, will play in the second game of Thursday's first session.
• The Tide boasts a balances offensive attack as eight guys who average between 5.4 and 12.3 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 to the SEC All-Freshman team, leads the Tide in scoring (12.3 ppg), double-figure scoring games (18), 20-plus point scoring games (3) and minutes (29.3 mpg). Key ranks second in assists (2.4 apg) and is third in three-point field goal percentage (.333) and rebounding (5.7 rpg).
• Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram leads the team in assists (3.3 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.476) and steals (1.0 spg), while ranking second in scoring (10.3 ppg) and double figure scoring games (15).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall tops the team in field goal percentage (.650), is second in blocks (1.5 bpg) and rebounds (5.8 rpg). Junior Riley Norris leads the team in threes made (42) and attempted (125) and is third in scoring (9.0 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 led the league in offensive rebounds a game (3.6) and is fourth in the league in rebounding (7.8 rpg).
• As a team, Alabama is outscoring the competition by 3.7 points per game (68.4-64.7) and outrebounding opponents by 5.5 rebounds per game (39.4-33.9). The Tide is shooting .421 from the field and .315 from beyond the arc as a team. Alabama ranks second the league and ranks 33rd in the nation in scoring defense.
• Alabama owns a record of 7-7 when playing in all road contests this season. The Tide is 5-6 in true road games and 2-1 when playing in a neutral site.
KEY NAMED TO SEC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
• Alabama forward Braxton Key has been selected to the 2017 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team by a vote of the league's head coaches, the league office announced on March 7. With the honor, Key becomes the first Crimson Tide men's basketball student-athlete to earn a spot on the team since Shannon Hale achieved the feat in 2013-14.
• Key, a Charlotte, N.C. native, comes into this week's SEC Men's Basketball Tournament leading the Tide with 12.3 points and 29.3 minutes per game, while also topping the team in double-figure scoring games (18) and games scoring more than 20 points (3). He also ranks second on the team in assists with 2.4 per game and is third in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and three-point field goals percentage (.333).
• Key has been even better in SEC play, ranking 17th in league games only with 14.0 points per game and 14th with 6.1 rebounds per contest.
• Earlier in the season, Key was named the league's freshman of the week on Jan. 30, after leading the Crimson Tide to wins at Georgia (1/25) and vs. Mississippi State (1/28). In those games, he averaged 22.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, while shooting 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from the floor, 4-of-8 (50.0 percent) from three and 19-of-27 (70.8 percent) from the charity stripe.
• Key is the 16th player in Alabama program history to be named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.
COLLINS EARNS SPOT ON SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM
• Graduate senior Corban Collins was named to the Southeastern Conference's Men's Basketball Community Service team, the league office announced on March 2. The annual award handed out from the league office recognizes the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition.
• Collins has made an impact in his short time in the Tuscaloosa community. During his limited spare time, the High Point, N.C., native has volunteered to help locally at food shelters, spending time to help the less fortunate. He has also become a regular with local elementary schools, where he has read to the children and talked about the importance of education. Just recently, Collins spent time at a local hospital visiting with cancer patients.
• In addition to his volunteer work in the community, Collins was named one of 14 members of the SEC Men's and Women's Basketball Leadership Council, which provides student-athletes with additional opportunities to engage with campus leaders and Conference office staff. Collins was also nominated for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team for his community outreach efforts and is a member of the Alabama Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
• Collins, who is working towards his master's degree in sports management, has played in 28 contests for the Tide this season, making 14 starts. He currently ranks second on the team in three-pointers made (35), is fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.318) and ranks sixth in scoring (6.4 ppg).
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
