Alabama
Ole Miss
Alabama Men’s Basketball Travels to Square Off at Ole Miss on Tuesday Night
1/22/2018 2:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Crimson Tide puts four-game winning streak on the line Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will put its four-game winning streak on the line when it travels to Oxford, Miss., that square off with the Ole Miss Rebels on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. CT. The contest, which will be televised on SEC Network, will be the only game played between the two teams this season.
Alabama won its fourth consecutive contest and claimed its fifth victory in its last seven games with a 68-62 win over Mississippi State last Saturday night in Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide dominated the first half and held a 19-point lead at intermission. The Bulldogs would battle back and tied the game twice down the stretch, but Alabama never relinquished the lead and held on for the for the six-point victory.
THE BROADCAST
• Tuesday's game will air on SEC Network with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Daymeon Fishback (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's victory over Mississippi State marked the third straight game the Tide has won by less than 10 points. In fact, Alabama has played in 10 contests that have been decided by less than 10 points, holding a record of 6-4 in such contests.
• Alabama was led by sophomore Braxton Key's season-high 16 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. It marked the first time this season that the Charlotte, N.C., native, who missed the first 10 games of the year with an injured knee, scored in double figures. Sophomore Daniel Giddens added a career-best 13 points en route to the victory.
• 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.
• Alabama ranks as one of the top defenses in the SEC in league games only. Coming into the Ole Miss game, the Tide leads the conference in blocks (6.9), ranks second in steals per game (8.0) and field goal percentage defense (.403), is third in scoring defense (65.6) and sixth in 3-point defense (.301).
• The Crimson Tide is a perfect 9-0 this season when it wins the rebounding battle. Furthermore, Alabama is 9-1 on the year when holding the opposition to 40 percent or less shooting from the floor.
• 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 44 games have been missed by Crimson Tide players this season.
• Alabama will step outside of conference play to participate in the Big 12/SEC Challenge where it will take on No. 12 Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. The contest will tip at 1:15 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama won its fourth consecutive contest when it captured a 68-62 victory over Mississippi State last Saturday night. The Tide played without leading scorer Collin Sexton for a second straight game, who has been sidelined with an abdominal injury. In addition to Sexton's injury, leading rebounder and shot blocker Donta Hall suffered a wrist injury which caused him to miss the LSU game. He has played limited minutes since returning to the lineup against Auburn on Jan. 17, just five days after wrist surgery.
• The Tide is averaging 74.6 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 5.1 points per contest (74.6-69.5). As a team, Alabama is connecting on 46.4 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Tide owns +1.1 advantage on the boards, 37.2-36.1 per game. Additionally, Alabama leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the nation in blocked shots per game (6.3).
• In addition to blocking shots, the Alabama defense is allowing opponents to shoot 40.4 percent from the field and 32.0 percent from deep, while also averaging 7.1 steals a contest. In league games, the Tide ranks as one of the top defensive teams in the SEC. Through seven conference games, Alabama leads the league in blocks (6.9), ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.370) and steals (8.0), is third in scoring defense (65.6) and is sixth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.301).
• The Tide ranks sixth in the SEC in league games only in free throw percentage at 75.2 percent and is shooting 68.8 percent at the line for the season. Furthermore, Alabama ranks 74th nationally in free throws attempted (443) and is 95th in the nation in free throws made (305). In fact, 21.5 percent of Alabama's point total (305 of 1,417 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 58th 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 12.4 ppg and tops UA in threes made (56) and attempted (146), while his 2.9 treys made per game is second-best in the SEC.
• Junior Donta Hall leads the Tide in field goal percentage (.735, 83-of-113), 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 4.61 made per game). Hall also tops the team in dunks (38), rebounds (6.9 rpg) and blocks (2.3 bpg), while ranking fourth with 10.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Dazon Ingram is averaging 11.2 ppg, and ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and assists (2.9 apg) a game. Meanwhile, Ingram's 5.7 defensive rebounds per contest is the best in the SEC.
SCOUTING OLE MISS
• Ole Miss and Alabama will play for the 178th time in series history on Tuesday night. That is tied for the second most games against any opponent in Crimson Tide program history. UA owns a 120-57 lead in the all-time series, with the 120 wins ranking second against any opponent in program history.
• Head coach Andy Kennedy is the all-time winningest coach in school history. Now in his 12th season at Ole Miss, Kennedy owns a record of 244-149 (.621) in Oxford and 265-162 (.621) in 13 years as a head coach. A two-time SEC Coach of the Year (2007 and 2011), Kennedy has led the Rebels to nine 20-plus win season in his 12 years after the program recorded seven such seasons in first 96 years. He is also the all-time winningest coach in Ole Miss history and a two-time SEC Coach of the Year (2007, 2013).
• The Rebels come into Tuesday night's contest with a 10-9 overall record and a 3-4 mark in SEC play. Ole Miss has lost two consecutive contests entering the game with Alabama, but sport a perfect 3-0 record at home in league play. The Rebels gave league-leading Florida its only loss in SEC play in their most recent home game, defeating the Gators, 78-72, on Jan. 13.
• Senior guard Deandre Burnett leads the team in both scoring (14.3 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg) entering the contest against Alabama. Junior guard Terence Davis is second on the team with 14.0 assists and 2.5 assists per game, while topping the team with 6.1 rebounds per contest. Junior forward Bruce Stevens (10.6 ppg) and sophomore guard Breein Tyree (10.4 ppg) also average in double figures.
• As a team, Ole Miss is outscoring the opposition by 2.9 points per game (78.8-75.9). The Rebels are shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from beyond the arc while allowing the opposition to shoot 42.7 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three. Ole Miss is getting outrebounded by 0.3 rebounds per game (37.9-37.6), while averaging 6.6 steals and 4.9 rebounds per contest.
• Ole Miss currently ranks fifth in the league in scoring average and has scored 80 or more points nine of the 19 games it has played. The Rebels also rank third in the SEC in assists per game (16.1), while also ranking second in turnover margin (1.4).
ALABAMA-OLE MISS – SERIES NOTES
• Tuesday's game will mark the 178th meeting on the hardwood in series history and the only meeting between the two schools this year.
• The Crimson Tide owns a 120-57 lead in the all-time series. The 178 all-time games is tied with LSU for the second-most games UA has played against any one opponent while the 120 victories by the Tide is the second-most in program lore, only ranking behind the 124 wins over Mississippi State.
• Alabama will make its second appearance in the Pavilion at Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide opened the arena back on Jan. 7, 2015, falling by a final score of 74-66. The Rebels own an all-time lead of 43-38 in games played against Alabama in Oxford.
• Last season, Alabama captured a 70-55 victory over the Rebels in Coleman Coliseum in the lone meeting between the two teams. Dazon Ingram scored a career-high 22 points, while Braxton Key added 19. The box score and recap from that game can be found on page 11.
• Alabama boasts a record of 38-7 when playing Ole Miss in Coleman Coliseum. Despite the success at home against the Rebels, Alabama is 4-2 in its last six home playing Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa.
• The Crimson Tide has won two consecutive games in the series, but the Rebels have had the upper hand as of late. Despite falling in two straight games, Ole Miss has beaten the Tide in five of the last eight and eight of the last 13 contests dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.
• Ole Miss is one of three teams, along with Mississippi State (123) and LSU (107), that UA has won 100 or more games against.
• The series began during the 1920-21 campaign.
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 44 games throughout the campaign.
• The players who have missed time this season include Ar'Mond Davis (19), Braxton Key (10), Riley Norris (10), Collin Sexton (3), 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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