Alabama Closes Road Swing on Saturday vs. Belmont at 2019 Rocket City Classic

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will conclude its three-game stretch away from Tuscaloosa when it squares off against Belmont on Saturday afternoon in the 2019 Rocket City Classic. The contest, which is being played in Huntsville, Ala., at Propst Arena, is set to tip off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.

Saturday's match-up marks just the second meeting in series history. The Bruins won the only other game played between the two teams back on Nov. 19, 2007 in Tuscaloosa (Belmont 85, Alabama 83).

This year's contest between Alabama and Belmont is the fourth consecutive year of the Rocket City Classic. Alabama has never lost in three years of the event, which were all played at the Propst Arena in the Von Braun Center in front of sellout crowds. The Crimson Tide defeated Arkansas State, 67-52, in first year of the event in 2016, followed by an 80-79 victory over Mercer in 2017 and an 84-75 win over Liberty in 2018.

The Crimson Tide captured its third win over its last four contests with a 105-87 victory over Samford Wednesday night inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala. Junior guard John Petty Jr. scored a career high 39 points and tied his own school record of 10 made threes in a game (10-of-13) to help Alabama set a program record for total points scored in a true road game.

The Broadcast

Saturday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Dane Bradshaw (analyst) 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

Most recently, Alabama captured a dominating 105-87 victory over Samford in a true road contest that was played in Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., last Wednesday night. The Tide, which collected the third win in its last four games, also set a program record as highest scoring output in a true road game in school history. The previous mark of 101 points came in a triple overtime loss at Charlotte on Dec. 4, 2004.
Alabama leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (10.8). As a team, Alabama is 107-of-299 (.358) from beyond the arc and leads the SEC in threes made and attempted while ranking 23rd and 38th, respectively, in the nation.
Saturday's game will feature two of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation when Belmont and Alabama meet. The Crimson Tide currently leads the SEC and ranks No. 7 in the nation in threes made per game at 10.7, while the Bruins are No. 6 nationally and tops in the SoCon in the same category at 10.8.
Naturally, good-shooting teams will have some of the best shooters in the nation and the facts holds true in this instance. Petty, who is the top three-point shooter in the SEC, ranks No. 8 in the nation in 3s made a game (3.50) and 11th in three-point shooting percentage (.493). Meanwhile, Belmont's Adam Kunkel ranks 10th nationally in 3s made per game (3.45) and 24th three-point percentage (.458)
Alabama is one of the fastest playing teams in the country. According to kenpom.com, UA ranks third in the nation in raw tempo, averaging 79.2 possessions per game, while its average offensive possession is seventh-fastest in the country at 14.8.
Alabama's pace of play ranks among the national leaders entering the game with Samford. The Crimson Tide averages 79.2 possessions per 40 minutes ranks third-best in the country. Furthermore, UA's average possession length is at 14.8 which ranks as the seventh-fastest in the nation.
Head coach Nate Oats has brought an entertaining style of play to the Capstone. That much became evident in the season-opening contest vs. Penn when the Crimson Tide put up 76 shots (27-of-76, 35.5 percent), which is more than any game since it posted 76 shots in a triple overtime loss at LSU on Feb. 13, 2013.
In 10 contests this season, the Tide has posted more than 30 shots from beyond the arc six times while Alabama has attempted more than 65 shots from the field in six separate contests.

About Alabama

Alabama closes its stretch of three straight games away from home when it takes on Belmont in the fourth annual Rocket City Classic, which is being played in Huntsville, Ala. The Crimson Tide has won each of the three previous Rocket City Classic contests, which began in 2016 with a 67-52 win over Arkansas State, followed by wins over Mercer (80-79) in 2017 and Liberty (84-75) last season.
Three Alabama players average double figures, while seven average at least 7.6 points per game through its 10 contests played. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. tops the squad and ranks seventh in the SEC with 16.7 points per game. He leads the SEC in minutes per game (37.6), while also leading UA and ranking among the league leaders in assists (7th - 4.6 apg) and steals (9th - 1.8 spg). A first-team All-SEC preseason honoree, he also tops the team in field goals made (63) and attempted (143), and is shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from beyond the arc.
John Petty Jr. is second on the team and eighth in the league in scoring average at 16.6 points per contest which includes six double-digit contests over his last seven games. The junior guard is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. He leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (49.3 percent) and is second in threes made per game (3.5), while ranking 11th and 8th, respectively, in the categories nationally. Additionally, he leads the squad and ranks ninth in the conference in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and also tops UA in threes made (35) and attempted (71) while ranking second in steals (1.4 spg) and minutes (32.3 mpg) per game.
Freshman Jaden Shackelford also average in double figures at 11.4 ppg. He ranks second on the team in threes attempted as 66 of 95 field goal attempts – approximately 69.5 percent – have come from beyond the three-point line.
Graduate senior Beetle Bolden (9.6 ppg), redshirt freshman Javian Davis (8.5 ppg) and juniors Alex Reese (8.8 ppg) and Herbert Jones (7.6 ppg) are all contributing offensively.
As a team, the Crimson Tide has been outrebounded in just three of its 10 games played this year. Alabama owns a +1.8 advantage on the glass (39.9-38.1). Alabama has outscored the opposition by +2.9 points (81.1-78.2) and is shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from beyond the arc and 71.1 percent from the foul line.

About Belmont

Belmont comes into Saturday's contest having won four consecutive games to improve to 8-3 on the season. Most recently, the Bruins toppled Kennesaw State by 39 points, 83-44, last Wednesday night in Nashville. Prior to that game, Belmont had another impressive offensive outing with a 49-point win, 105-56, over Carson-Newman. Over the two-game stretch, the Bruins have outscored the opposition by a combined total of 95 points – an average of 47.5 points per game.
The Bruins are led by sophomore sharp-shooter Adam Kunkel, who is averaging 19.1 points per game. Kunkel also ranks as one of the top three-point shooters in the nation, knocking down 38-of-83 treys on the year to lead the SoCon and rank 24th in the nation in three-point percentage (45.8 percent). Sophomore center Nick Muszynski, who earned freshman all-american honors last season, is second in the team in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg) while leading in blocks (2.5 bpg) and field goal percentage (59.1 percent).
Sophomore guard Grayson Murphy averages team highs of 8.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game entering Saturday's contest. He also contributes 8.5 points a game and ranks second with 27.7 minutes a game. Graduate senior Tyler Scanlon also contributes offensively with 9.5 ppg and a team-best 28.4 minutes per game.
As a team, the Bruins are outscoring the competition by 16.4 points per game (82.4-66.0) and own a +3.4 advantage on the glass (39.7-36.4). Belmont ranks third in the nation in assists per game at 19.0 coming into the Rocket City Classic, while the team's 10.8 threes made per game average ranks sixth nationally.
Head coach Casey Alexander is in his first season at the helm of the Bruins' program. Now in his ninth year as a head coach with previous stops at Lipscomb (six seasons) and Stetson (two seasons), Alexander owns a career record of 144-123 (.539).

Petty Is Ready

Guard John Petty Jr. has been on a tear as of late entering the Tide's last game before the Christmas break. Having scored in double figures in six of his last seven contests, Petty is knocking down 57.1 percent (32-of-56) of his three-point attempts and averaging 20.4 points and 4.6 threes made per contest over his last seven games played.
The stretch includes the Tide's three games played in the Battle 4 Atlantis, where Petty averaged 22.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while shooting 54 percent from the floor and 61 percent from beyond the arc. That included a career night when he accounted for 34 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to Iowa State.
Thanks in large part to his sudden surge, Petty leads the SEC and ranks 11th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.493) and is second in the league and 8th nationally in threes made per game (3.5). The Huntsville, Ala., native also ranks among the league leaders in scoring (8th - 16.6 ppg) and rebounding (9th - 7.2 rpg).

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