Alabama Men’s Basketball Returns Home to Host Richmond Sunday Night in Final Game of 2019

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team returns to Coleman Coliseum to play just its second home contest since Nov. 19 – a span of 40 days – when the Crimson Tide welcomes the Richmond Spiders on Sunday night. It will be the first game for UA in eight days due to the Christmas holiday.

The Tide (6-5) enters the contest having won four of its last five games, with the lone defeat coming in a true road game at No. 23 Penn State by two points, 73-71. The streak is even more impressive considering four of the five games which were played away from Tuscaloosa.

In its most recent contest, Alabama defeated Belmont, 92-72, back on Dec. 21 in the 2019 Rocket City Classic in Huntsville, Ala., at the Von Braun Center. The Crimson Tide had six players reach double figures – all scoring between 12 and 16 points – as UA finished with 20 assists to just 13 turnovers and a season-high 34 made field goals in the victory.

Promotions

$10 tickets in UA student section for basketball doubleheader (Alabama women's team vs. SE Louisiana at 2 p.m. CT).

The Broadcast

Sunday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (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

Alabama is one of the fastest-paced teams in the nation, ranking 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. The Tide has reached 80 or more points in 55 percent of its games and attempted 30 or more threes 64 percent of its contests on the year.
The Crimson Tide's offense has been hitting on all cylinders over its last two contests, which has resulted in Alabama scoring its two highest point totals of the season. The 92 points scored vs. Belmont on Dec. 21 were the second-most scored in game this season, behind the 105 scored vs. Samford on Dec. 18. The Tide has now finished with 80 or more points in seven of its 11 games on the year.
John Petty Jr. was named the SEC Co-Player of the Week after leading the Crimson Tide to a pair of victories last week. Petty averaged 26.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in wins against Samford and Belmont as he became the first Alabama player to earn SEC Player of the Week honors since Retin Obasohan earned the accolade the week of Feb. 8, 2015.
After not registering a double-double through his first 76 career games, Petty has achieved the feat in three of his last five games including two consecutive contests. He comes into Sunday's game having reached double figures in seven of his last eight contests.
The Crimson Tide has established season high scoring totals in each of its last two games, scoring 105 points vs. Samford on Dec. 18 and 92 points against Belmont on Dec. 21. Over the two-game span, Alabama is outscoring the competition by 19.5 points a game, 98.5-79.5, while shooting 51.1 percent from the floor, 47.0 percent from beyond the arc and shooting 76.2 percent from the charity stripe over the two-game stretch.
Alabama ranks fourth in the nation in three-point field goals made per game at 11.0 made per game and is 20th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (36.6 percent), leading the SEC in both categories. As a team, Alabama is 121-of-331 (.366) from beyond the arc on the year and leads the SEC in threes made and attempted while ranking 20th and 36th, respectively, in the nation.
The contest vs. Richmond will mark the Tide's fifth and final game in December and only the second true home game in the month. Alabama owns a record of 3-1 for the month with the lone defeat coming in a two-point road loss at No. 20 Penn State on Dec. 14.

About Alabama

Alabama returns home for just the second time in its last eight contests when it welcomes the Richmond Spiders to Coleman Coliseum in what will be the Crimson Tide's final contest in 2019. UA enters the contest having won four of its last five games, most recently capturing a 92-72 win over Belmont back on Dec. 21 in the Rocket City Classic which was played in Huntsville, Ala.
Three Alabama players average double figures, while seven average at least 8.3 points per game through its 11 contests played. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. tops the squad and ranks eighth in the SEC with 16.5 points per game. He leads the SEC in minutes per game (37.4), while also leading UA and ranking among the league leaders in assists (8th - 4.9 apg) and steals (t6th - 1.8 spg). A first-team All-SEC preseason honoree, he also tops the team in field goals made (68) and attempted (155), and is shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 33.9 percent (19-of-56) from beyond the arc.
John Petty Jr. is second on the team and ninth in the league in scoring average at 16.6 points per contest which includes seven double-digit contests over his last eight 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 (50.0 percent, 39-of-78) and is second in threes made per game (3.5), while ranking eighth and sixth, respectively, in the categories nationally. Additionally, he leads the squad and ranks eighth in the conference in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and also tops UA in threes made (39) and attempted (78) while ranking second in steals (1.5 spg) and minutes (32.6 mpg) per game.
Freshman Jaden Shackelford also average in double figures at 11.8 ppg. He ranks second on the team in threes attempted as 72 of 107 field goal attempts – approximately 67.3 percent – have come from beyond the three-point line.
Graduate senior Beetle Bolden (8.9 ppg), redshirt freshman Javian Davis (8.8 ppg) and juniors Alex Reese (9.2 ppg) and Herbert Jones (8.3 ppg) are all contributing offensively.
As a team, the Crimson Tide has been outrebounded in just three of its 11 games played this year. Alabama owns a +2.3 advantage on the glass (40.3-38.0). Alabama has outscored the opposition by +4.5 points (82.1-77.6) and is shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from beyond the arc and 70.5 percent from the foul line.

About Richmond

Richmond comes into Sunday's contest having gotten off to a 10-2 start on the season. However, the Spiders fell to Radford, 73-58, in the team's previous game which took place Dec. 22 in Washington, D.C., at the D.C. Hoops Fest. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Spiders, who were receiving votes to be ranked at the time.
Junior guard Blake Francis leads four Spiders who average in double figures at 18.2 points per game while also topping the squad in field goals made (75) and attempted (175) and threes made (37) and attempted (90). Junior guard Jacob Gilyard leads Richmond in minutes per game (36.8), three-point field goal percentage (29-of-63, 46.0 percent), assists (6.3) and steals (3.6) while ranking second in scoring average (14.8 ppg).
Juniors Nick Sherod (13.5 ppg) and Grant Golden (12.5 ppg) also average in double digits to held Richmond's offensive attack. Golden is the team's leader in rebounds per game (7.9) and blocks (8), while Sherod is second on the team in three-point shooting (36-of-85, 42.4 percent) and rebounding (5.3).
As a team, Richmond is outscoring the competition by 8.9 points per game (76.2-67.3) but average a -2.3 rebounding margin (33.5-35.8) coming into Sunday's contest. Three Spiders average over 42 percent shooting from beyond the arc to help the team to a 39.5 percent average, which ranks second in the league and 18th nationally, while the 9.8 threes made per game is 26th in the country. Richmond ranks third in the nation in assist-turnover ratio at 1.54, averaging 17.3 assists to 11.2 turnovers per game.
Head coach Chris Mooney is in his 15th season at the helm of the Richmond men's basketball program and owns a record of 260-217 (.545). He is the winningest basketball coach in program history. Now in his 16th season as a Division I head coach, Mooney is 278-229 (.548).

Tide Tidbits

Alabama leads the SEC in three-points field goals made per game (11.0) and total threes made (121) and attempted (331). Nationally, the Tide ranks fourth in threes made per game, 20th in threes made, 36th in threes attempted and 56th in three-point percentage (.366).
Over its last five games, four of which were wins, the Crimson Tide's defense has stepped up as it has held the opposition to 28.2 percent from beyond the arc and 73.6 points per game.
The Tide's average of 40.3 rebounds per game ranks third in the SEC and 42nd in the nation.
Kira Lewis Jr. not only leads the SEC in minutes per game, his 37.2 minutes per game average ranks ninth in the nation.
John Petty Jr. leads the SEC and ranks eighth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (50.0), while his 3.55 threes made per game average is sixth in the nation and tops in the league.
Alabama was picked to finish sixth in the Southeastern Conference by a vote of the league's media and head coaches.

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