Alabama Takes on Samford in Chick-fil-A Birmingham Classic on Wednesday Night in Legacy Arena

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama continues its three-game stretch away from Tuscaloosa when it takes on the Samford Bulldogs on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Chick-fil-A Birmingham Classic which is being played at Legacy Arena. Wednesday night's contest, which is considered a true road game for the Crimson Tide, will mark the sixth time in its 10 non-conference games that UA has played away from its home court.

Wednesday's contest marks the 33rd time that Alabama and Samford will meet in series history, but it is just the fourth time since 1969 they will square off head-to-head. UA owns a 29-3 lead in the all-time series and has won 28 of the last 29 meetings. The last time the teams faced off came nearly 10 years ago to the day, on Dec. 16, 2009, when the Tide defeated the Bulldogs, 60-45.

Alabama is making its fourth appearance in the last five years in Birmingham's Legacy Arena, but this will mark the Tide's 71st game played in the Magic City. The Tide owns an all-time record of 46-24 (.657) when playing in Birmingham.

Most recently, the Crimson Tide had its two-game winning streak snapped when it dropped a narrow 73-71 contest at No. 23 Penn State last Friday night. Alabama led for a majority of the contest before the Nittany Lions outscored the Tide 30-19 over the final 14-plus minutes to turn a nine-point deficit into a two-point win.

The Broadcast

Saturday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ with Curt Bloom (play-by-play), Murray Bartow (analyst) and Jarece Tillery (sideline) on the call.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, Roger Hoover (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

The game vs. Samford is the third of five games the Crimson Tide will play in the month of December. In addition to the contests against the Bulldogs, Stephen F. Austin and Penn State, Alabama will square off vs. Belmont (Huntsville, Ala. on Dec. 21) and the Spiders (Tuscaloosa on Dec. 29) to close out the month.
Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. leads the Crimson Tide and ranks among the league leaders in scoring (T6th – 17.3 ppg), assists (T-8th – 4.6 apg) and minutes (1st – 37.6 mpg) coming into the Samford game. He is one of only two players in the conference to average more than 17 points and 4.5 assists per game, joining Mississippi State's Tyson Carter (5th – 17.4 ppg, T-8th – 4.6 apg).
Alabama is one of the fastest playing teams in the country. According to kenpom.com, UA ranks fourth in the nation in tempo, averaging 78.6 possessions per game, while its average offensive possession is eighth-fastest in the country at 14.8.
Alabama continues a three-game stretch away from Tuscaloosa when it takes on Samford on Wednesday night in the Chick-fil-A Birmingham Classic. Wednesday's contest between the two teams marks 33rd meeting in series history, but is just the fourth time the two in-state foes will square off on the hardwood since 1969.
In addition to playing three straight games away from Tuscaloosa, the Tide plays only one home game between the Nov. 19 (vs. Furman) and Dec. 29 (vs. Richmond) contests inside Coleman Coliseum. Alabama's only home game during the 40-day span came on Dec. 6 when it captured a 78-68 victory over Stephen F. Austin.
UA will make its fourth appearance in the last five years in Birmingham's Legacy Arena, but this will mark the Tide's 71st game played in the Magic City. The Tide owns an all-time record of 46-24 (.657) when playing in Birmingham. Despite losing three straight in the BJCC, Alabama has won 12 of its last 18 games played there. Coming into Wednesday night's contest, Alabama has lost three consecutive games at Legacy Arena entering Wednesday night's contest. The last time the Tide won a game at the BJCC came nearly nine years to the day on Dec. 21, 2010 when it defeated Oklahoma State, 69-52.
The Tide enters the contest leading the SEC and ranked 21st in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (10.0). As a team, Alabama is 90-of-266 (.338) and leads the SEC in threes made and attempted while ranking 74th and 69th, respectively, in the nation.

About Alabama

Three Alabama players average double figures, while seven average at least 7.4 points per game through its nine contests played. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. tops the squad and ranks sixth in the SEC with 17.3 points per game. He leads UA and is tied for eighth in the league with 4.6 assists, while he also tops the team in steals (1.7 spg), minutes (37.6) and field goals made (59) and attempted (134). A first-team All-SEC preseason honoree, Lewis is shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 34.0 percent (17-of-50) from beyond the arc.
John Petty Jr. is second on the team in scoring average at 14.1 points per contest which includes six consecutive double-digit contests, which ranks 15th in the SEC. The junior guard ranks second in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (43.1 percent) and is third in threes made per game (2.8). Additionally, he leads the squad and ranks ninth in the conference in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and also tops UA in threes made (25) while ranking second in steals (1.3 spg) and minutes (32.0 mpg) per game.
Freshman Jaden Shackelford also average in double figures at 11.2 ppg. He leads the team in threes attempted as 61 of 88 field goal attempts have come from beyond the three-point line.
Graduate senior Beetle Bolden (9.7 ppg), redshirt freshman Javian Davis (8.8 ppg) and juniors Alex Reese (8.0 ppg) and Herbert Jones (7.4 ppg) are all contributing offensively.
As a team, the Crimson Tide has been outrebounded in just three of its nine games played this year. Alabama owns a +1.5 advantage on the glass (40.2-38.7). Alabama has outscored the opposition by +1.2 points (78.4-77.2) and is shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from beyond the arc and 69.2 percent from the foul line.
The Tide enters the contest leading the SEC and ranked 21st in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (10.0). Alabama is one of the fastest playing teams in the country. According to kenpom.com, UA ranks fourth in the nation in tempo, averaging 78.6 possessions per game, while its average offensive possession is eighth-fastest in the country at 14.8.

About Samford

Samford comes into Wednesday's contest sporting a 6-6 record on the season. Most recently, the Bulldogs flew over 4,000 miles to Honolulu where they fell to Hawaii, 94-73, on Sunday night. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak, as the Bulldgos closed a stretch of playing four true road games over its last five games.
Four players average in double figures to lead the Bulldogs' offensive attack. Senior guard Josh Sharkey leads the charge at 16.8 points a contest, while his 9.1 assists and 4.1 steals per game not only lead Samford, but ranks second and first in the nation, respectively (as of 12/16). Sharkey, who missed three games earlier in the season, also leads the team in minutes per game (34.1).
Joining Sharkey in double figures is former Alabama guard and current Samford senior Brandon Austin, who averages 13.8 ppg. The 6-5, 200-pound guard played was at the Capstone for two years from 2015-17 and saw action in 36 total games for the Tide. He leads the Bulldogs in three-point shooting (31-of-68, .456), ranks second in minutes (33.2), steals (20) and field goals made (60) and is third in rebounding (5.3 rpg). Sophomore Robert Allen (13.3 ppg) and senior Jalen Dupree (12.9 ppg) also average in double figures.
As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 77.8 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 4.3 points per game (77.8-73.4) entering the contest with the Crimson Tide. Samford is shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from beyond the arc and 68.2 percent from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs also own a +1.4 edge in the battle of the boards (40.1-38.7).
Head coach Scott Padgett is in his sixth season at the helm of the Bulldogs' program, compiling a record of 80-98 (.449) during his tenure.

Alabama's Rich History In Birmingham

The Alabama men's basketball team will make its fourth appearance in the last five years in Birmingham's Legacy Arena, but this will mark the Tide's 71st game played in the Magic City.
The Tide owns an all-time record of 46-24 (.657) when playing in Birmingham. Despite losing three straight in the BJCC, Alabama has won 12 of its last 18 games played there.
UA has lost three consecutive games at Legacy Arena entering Wednesday night's contest. The last time the Tide won a game at the BJCC came nearly nine years to the day on Dec. 21, 2010 when it defeated Oklahoma State, 69-52.
Alabama's largest margin of victory when playing in Birmingham came on Dec. 9, 1955 vs. TCU, when the Tide captured an 85-46 victory (39 points). Alabama's largest margin of defeat is 26 points which happened on two occasions, both coming against Kentucky. The Tide fell 57-31 to the Wildcats on Jan. 31, 1938 and 80-54 on March 15, 1992.

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.