Alabama
McGill University
Alabama Men’s Basketball Departs Friday for Canadian Tour
8/3/2017 2:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide will play three games over its six days in Canada
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will depart Tuscaloosa on Friday, Aug. 4 where it will spend a total of eight days and play three games against Canadian Universities throughout its time in Montreal and Ottawa.
The Tide's first game will be played on Aug. 7 against McGill University at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) in Montreal. The Tide will then play a pair of games in Ottawa, beginning with a contest on Aug. 9 at Carleton University at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) followed by facing the University of Ottawa on Aug. 10 at 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. CT).
The games against McGill and Ottawa will be live streamed on the internet, while RollTide.com will have daily features, including recaps, video highlights, photos and more from each day the team spends in Canada.
ALABAMA BEGINS 105th SEASON OF BASKETBALL
• Alabama will begin its 105th season of basketball in 2017-18. The Tide's first season of basketball came in 1912-13. There was not a season in 1943-44 due to World War II.
• The Tide has an all-time record of 1,636-1,014-1 (.615), which includes a 775-596 (.565) record in SEC play. The program's first year of play was in 1912-13.
• Alabama ranks second in the SEC in league victories and all-time winning percentage.
• UA has made 34 NCAA (19) or NIT (15) appearances and has won seven SEC regular-season titles and six SEC Tournament championships.
ALABAMA RANKED AMONG PRESEASON TOP-25
• The expectations are high in Tuscaloosa, as the Crimson Tide men's basketball team is expected to be a preseason top-25 team this year. The last time an Alabama team entered the season ranked among the nation's top-25 teams came in 2011.
• Among the current preseason top-25 polls that have been released, the Tide checks in at No. 19 in the nation according to CBSSports.com, while USA Today gives Alabama a preseason ranking of No. 25 nationally.
• ESPN.com has not released their preseason top 25 at the time of the Canadian Tour, however, the site lists Alabama at No. 20 in the nation, according to the ESPN.com BPI preseason index.
A GLANCE OF WHAT'S RETURNING
• This year's trip to Canada is a much anticipated one, as the 2017-18 Alabama squad will be on display for the first time.
• In addition to returning four starters and seven letterwinners from last season's 19-15 team that reached the National Invitation Tournament, the Crimson Tide will return approximately 73 percent of its total scoring output, 58 percent of its rebounding and 77 percent of its assist totals from a year ago.
• Below is a breakdown in terms of percentage of the returning numbers from last season's team:
Category Amount Returning Percentage
Games Started 117 of 170 68.8
Minutes Played 4,673 of 6,900 67.7
Points 1,717 of 2,330 73.4
Rebounds 768 of 1,326 57.9
Assists 300 of 390 76.9
Steals 133 of 200 66.5
Blocks 84 of 141 59.6
Field Goals Made 596 of 809 73.7
3-Point FG Made 169 of 225 75.1
Free Throws Made 356 of 487 73.1
SCOUTING ALABAMA'S 2016-17 SEASON
• Alabama ended the year with a 19-15 overall record and finished fifth in the SEC with a 10-8 league record. It was the best league finish for the Tide since placing fourth in the standings during the 2012-13 campaign.
• In the postseason, Alabama reached the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2013 and won two games in the same tournament for the first time since 2002. Alabama earned an at-large invitational to the 2017 National Invitation Tournament. UA, which reached its fifth NIT appearance in the last seven years and 15th overall, was the No. 3 seed, but fell to sixth-seeded Richmond in the opening round to end the season.
• As a team, Alabama outscored the competition by 3.8 points per game (68.5-64.7), which is the highest scoring advantage since 2012-13. Moreover, the Tide ranked as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, outrebounding opponents by 5.6 rebounds per game (39.0-33.4). It was the best rebounding advantage by an Alabama team since 2000-01 when it owned a +7.2 (42.2-35.0) edge on the boards.
• Nationally, the Crimson Tide ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in a number of categories. Alabama ended the season ranked 25th in field goal percentage defense (.405), 27th in rebounding offense (39.0), 28th in scoring defense (64.7), 31st in rebounding margin (+5.6) and 46th in offensive rebounds per game (12.3).
• The Tide boasted a balanced offensive attack as eight guys averaged between 5.0 and 12.0 points per game. The Tide's top two scorers were both freshmen, while six of the top seven were underclassmen.
• True freshman Braxton Key, who was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, led the Tide in scoring (12.0 ppg), double-figure scoring games (20), 20-plus point scoring games (3) and minutes (29.8 mpg). Key ranked second in assists (2.5 apg), rebounding (5.7 rpg) and three-point field goal percentage (.337).
• Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram, who was the only player to start all 34 games on the year, led the team in assists (3.3 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.429) and steals (0.9 spg), while ranking second in scoring (10.6 ppg) and double figure scoring games (18).
• Sophomore center Donta Hall topped the team in field goal percentage (.658) and in blocked shots (48), while he ranked third in rebounds (5.5 rpg). Junior Riley Norris ranked as the team's leader in threes made (47) and attempted (141) and was third in scoring (9.0 ppg). Graduate senior Bola Olaniyan was the Tide's top rebounder (6.4 rpg) and averaged a team-leading 2.7 offensive boards per game. In SEC games only, Olaniyan led the league in offensive rebounds a game (3.6) and was fourth in the league in rebounding (7.8 rpg).
TIDE HAD BEST SEC TOURNAMENT SHOWING SINCE 2002
• Alabama had a successful 2017 SEC Tournament showing in which the Tide, which entered as the No. 5 seed, captured a pair of victories on its way to the first semifinal appearance in the event since 2013.
• Alabama opened the event with a 75-55 victory over 12th-seeded Mississippi State on March 9, followed by a 64-53 win against No. 4 seed South Carolina on March 10. The Tide dropped a hard-fought 79-74 decision against top-seeded Kentucky on March 11.
• It was Alabama's first time winning two games in the same tournament since achieving the feat in 2002.
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