Alabama
Auburn
Alabama Men's Basketball Welcomes Mississippi State for Saturday Night Showdown
1/19/2018 3:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Bulldogs set to play in front of a sold out Coleman Coliseum
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will put its three-game winning streak on the line when it welcomes the Mississippi State Bulldogs to Coleman Coliseum on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CT. The contest is officially sold out, marking the second consecutive sellout for the Crimson Tide.
Wednesday's contest will be the first of two meetings between Alabama and Mississippi State. The Tide will make the return trip to Starkville, Miss., on Feb. 6 (6 p.m. CT on SEC Network).
Alabama has won three straight contests coming into Saturday night's game. The Tide defeated South Carolina, 76-62, on Jan. 10, won at LSU, 74-66, on Jan. 13 and upset No. 17 Auburn, 76-71, last Wednesday night.
THE BROADCAST
• Saturday's game will air on SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Sean Harrington (analyst) on the call.
• The radio broadcast can be found on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Wimp Sanderson (analyst) on the call, with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
OPENING TIP
• Alabama won its third consecutive contest and claimed its fourth win in its last six games when the Tide captured a 76-71 victory over No. 17 Auburn on Wednesday night in Coleman Coliseum. With the victory, the Crimson Tide snapped the Tigers' nation-leading 14-game winning streak and captured the second win over an AP Top-25 team this season (also defeated then-No. 5 Texas A&M, 79-57, on Dec. 30). In addition, Alabama held Auburn, the top scoring team in the SEC, to a season-low point total en route to the victory.
• Alabama was led by freshman guard John Petty's 27 points on the strength of eight threes. Sophomore Dazon Ingram (16 points) and freshman Herbert Jones (11 points) also reached double figures. The Tide won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Auburn 37-35 to improve to 8-0 this season when it outrebounds the opposition.
• Ken Pomeroy ranks Alabama's experience at 348 out of 351 teams in the nation. According to his formula which is determined by a player's eligibility class (a freshman has zero years of experience, a sophomore has one year of experience, etc.), Alabama owns a 0.78 rating, which is the least experienced team in school history. The previous record in the rankings, which began in 2007, was the Tide's 2012 squad which was ranked No. 322 with 1.01 years of experience.
• Through the first nine games, Alabama ranked as one of the worst foul shooting teams nationally, connecting on just 63.0 percent (155-of-246) from the charity stripe. However, over its last nine contests, the Tide has been one of the top free throw shooting teams nationally. During the stretch, Alabama is shooting 78.7 percent (137-of-174) from the foul line, led by Collin Sexton who has hit 50 of his last 55 free throws (90.9 percent).
• The Tide has benefitted from a challenging non-conference schedule. Coming into Saturday's game, Alabama owns an RPI of No. 25 in the nation and a No. 7 overall strength of schedule, according to ESPN.
• Alabama ranks as one of the top defenses in the SEC in league games only. Coming into the Mississippi State game, the Tide leads the conference in blocks (7.0) and steals per game (8.2), while ranking second in field goal percentage defense (.364), third in scoring defense (66.2) and fifth in 3-point defense (.300).
• Alabama is one of the few teams in the nation that does not have a senior on its active roster. In fact, according to KenPom.com, the Crimson Tide ranks 348th out of 351 teams in terms of experience on its roster with an average of 0.78 years of experience.
• Due to a variety of issues (injuries, illnesses, ailments, etc.), Alabama has used 10 different starting lineups while a total of 41 games have been missed by Crimson Tide players this season.
• Alabama will play its lone road contest in the current five-game stretch when it travels to face the Ole Miss Rebels on Tuesday night. The game will tip at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama won its third consecutive contest when it captured a 76-71 victory over No. 17 Auburn last Wednesday night. The Tide played without leading scorer Collin Sexton, who was sidelined with an abdominal injury, while leading rebounder and shot blocker Donta Hall made a surprise return to the lineup five days after having wrist surgery, but played limited minutes.
• The Tide is averaging 74.9 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 5.0 points per contest (74.9-69.9). As a team, Alabama is connecting on 46.7 percent from the field and 33.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Tide owns +1.0 advantage on the boards, 37.0-36.0 per game. Additionally, Alabama leads the SEC and ranks 10th in the nation in blocked shots per game (6.3).
• In addition to blocking shots, the Alabama defense is allowing opponents to shoot 40.5 percent from the field and 32.0 percent from deep, while also averaging 7.1 steals a contest. The Tide ranks second in the SEC in league games only in free throw percentage at 78.9 percent, is shooting 69.5 percent at the line for the season. Furthermore, Alabama ranks 71st nationally in free throws attempted (420) and is 76th in the nation in free throws made (292). In fact, 21.6 percent of Alabama's point total (292 of 1,349 points) has come from the charity stripe.
• Four players are averaging double-figure scoring for the Tide, led by freshman Collin Sexton's 19.3 ppg. That number not only tops the team, but also ranks second in the SEC and ranks 62nd nationally. Sexton also tops the team in assists (3.4 apg) and field goals made (92) and attempted (208). Freshman John Petty ranks second on the team with 12.6 ppg and tops UA in threes made (54) and attempted (139), while his 3.0 treys made per game is second-best in the SEC.
• Junior Donta Hall, who missed the LSU game and played limited minutes against Auburn due to a wrist injury, leads the Tide in field goal percentage (.752, 79-of-105), which would lead the country but he's just shy of meeting the minimum requirement of 5.0 or more field goals made per game (Hall is at 4.65 made per game). Hall also tops the team in dunks (37), rebounds (7.1 rpg) and blocks (2.4 bpg), while ranking fourth with 10.9 points per game. Sophomore guard Dazon Ingram is averaging 11.4 ppg, and ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and assists (2.9 apg) a game. Meanwhile, Ingram's 5.6 defensive rebounds per contest is the best in the SEC.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
• Mississippi State and Alabama will meet for the 198th time in series history when the teams square off on Saturday night. It will be the first of two meetings between the two teams. The Crimson Tide will make the return trip to Starkville, Miss., on Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
• Alabama owns an all-time record of 123-74, and has won nine of the last 10 meetings and 13 of the last 16 overall between the two programs. The Crimson Tide has won seven of the last eight meetings over the Bulldogs in Coleman Coliseum, however, it was Mississippi State coming away with a 67-61 win in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 20, 2016 – MSU's first win at Alabama since Jan. 19, 2008.
• The 198 games played and the 123 wins against Mississippi State marks the most for Alabama against any single opponent in each category in program history.
• Junior Quinndary Weatherspoon leads the Bulldogs with a 14.6 points and 4.2 assists per game. He also tops the squad with 1.4 steals and 28.9 minutes per game. Junior Aric Holman is second on the team in scoring average (12.2 ppg) and tops State in rebounds (7.2 rpg) and blocked shots (1.3 bpg). Freshman Nick Weatherspoon, the younger brother of Quinndary, is the third Mississippi State player to average double figures at 10.5 points a game, while ranking second in minutes (28.6 mpg).
• As a team, Mississippi State (14-4, 2-3) is outscoring the opposition by 10.6 points per game (75.2-64.6) and outrebounding the opposition by 5.1 boards a contest (39.6-34.5). The Bulldogs lead the SEC in scoring defense, rank third in field goal percentage defense (.394) and fifth in three-point defense (.319).
• Ben Howland, who is in his third season at the helm of the program, was named the 20th head coach in Mississippi State history on March 23, 2015. In four different stints as a head coach, Howland has a 445-243 record – Northern Arizona (79-59), Pittsburgh (89-40), UCLA (233-107) and Mississippi State (34-23). He led UCLA to three-consecutive Final Fours, including a national runner-up finish in 2006.
ALABAMA-MISSISSIPPI STATE – SERIES NOTES
• Alabama and Mississippi State will meet for the 198th time in series history then the teams square off on Saturday night. The Tide owns a 123-74 edge in the all-time series, including wins in seven of the last eight contests played between the two teams.
• The 197 games played and the 123 wins against Mississippi State marks the most for Alabama against any single opponent in each category in program history.
• The Crimson Tide won all three contests between the two teams last season. Alabama claimed a 68-58 win in Starkville on Jan. 3, followed by a 71-62 victory in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 20. The two teams also met in the second round of the SEC Tournament, with the Tide capturing a 74-55 victory over the Bulldogs on March 9.
• Alabama owns a record of 76-17 in all-time games against the Bulldogs at home, including a 39-9 mark at Coleman Coliseum.
• Alabama has won four straight and five of the last six games over Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum. The Tide has an overall mark of 40-54 in games played in Starkville, Miss.
• Alabama won three straight, nine of the last 10 games and 13 of the last 16 contests over Mississippi State
• The 99-year-old series has seen 14 overtime contests including the 2008-09 season's double-overtime affair. The Tide owns an 8-6 lead in such games.
• Sixty-four of the meetings have been decided by five or fewer points.
VARIETY OF ISSUES CAUSING A VARIETY OF CHANGES
• Alabama has battled a variety of issues throughout the 2017-18 season that has caused players to miss a multitude of games. In fact, Crimson Tide players have missed a combined total of 41 games throughout the campaign.
• The players who have missed time this season include Ar'Mond Davis (18), Braxton Key (10), Riley Norris (9), Collin Sexton (2), Donta Hall (1) and Dazon Ingram (1).
• Not one Alabama player has started all 18 contests, while only Collin Sexton has started every game in which he was able to suit up.
• Head coach Avery Johnson has been forced to use 10 different starting lineups in the Tide's 18 games, while nine different players has started at least one contest this season for Alabama.
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