Alabama
Ole Miss
Alabama Begins Postseason Play Thursday Night with Ole Miss in SEC Tournament Opener
3/13/2019 12:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide and Rebels will tip off at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network
Ole Miss and Alabama will play for the 180th time in series history on Thursday night. That ranks as the third-most games against any opponent in Crimson Tide program history. UA owns a 121-58 lead in the all-time series, with the 121 wins ranking second against any opponent in program history. In the only meeting between the two teams this season, Alabama captured a 74-53 win over then-No. 20 Ole Miss back on Jan. 22 inside Coleman Coliseum. It was the Tide's largest margin of victory in SEC play this season and the Rebels lowest point total of the year.
Alabama has reached the SEC Tournament semifinals in each of the last two seasons, marking the first time in 22 years – dating back to the 1994 and 1995 seasons – that the Tide has accomplished the feat. Head coach Avery Johnson has a record of 5-3 in SEC Tournament action, including guiding the Crimson Tide to two wins in the tournament in each of the last two seasons. He has led Alabama to three-straight SEC Tournament quarterfinal appearances and consecutive SEC semifinal showings.
THE BROADCAST
• Thursday's game will air on SEC Network with Tom Hart (play-by-play), Laura Rutledge (analyst) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call.
• The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, Chris Stewart (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 Crimson Tide lost its third consecutive game and fell for the sixth time in its last eight contests when it dropped an 82-70 decision to Arkansas on the road last Saturday night in both teams' regular season finale. Alabama held a seven-point lead midway through the opening stanza, however, the Razorbacks responded with a 21-5 run that spanned halftime and turned a seven-point deficit into a nine-point advantage. From there, the Tide never got any closer than seven points.
• Senior Donta Hall is 13 points shy of becoming just the fifth player in program history with at least 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 200 blocks. Entering Thursday's SEC Tournament opener, Hall has compiled 987 points, 817 rebounds and 225 blocks in his career. Should he reach the mark, the Luverne, Ala., native will join Leon Douglas (1,909 points, 1,279 rebounds and 235 blocks), Robert Horry (1,591 points, 929 rebounds and 286 blocks), Jermareo Davidson (1,268 points, 918 rebounds and 221 blocks) and JaMychal Green (1,656 points, 912 rebounds and 212 blocks) as the only players in program history to achieve the feat.
• Thursday's SEC Tournament second round contest marks the eighth time that the Tide and Rebels are meeting in postseason play. Most recently, the Crimson Tide captured an 81-73 victory in the opening round of the 2016 SEC Tournament. Coincidentally, the Tide entered that contest as the No. 10 seed against the No. 7 seed Rebels and advanced to play No. 2 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals. Riley Norris led the Tide with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Alabama owns a 5-2 record when squaring off with Ole Miss in tournament action.
• Coming into SEC Tournament action, the Tide is ranked No. 58 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings (as of March 11) and own the No. 23 overall strength of schedule. Alabama is 9-12 against Quadrant 1 (2-9) and Quadrant 2 (7-3) opponents this year. The nine wins against Q1 and Q2 teams ranks sixth-best in the SEC. The Crimson Tide trails only LSU (16-5), Kentucky (15-5), Tennessee (13-4), Auburn (13-10) and Mississippi State (11-9) in combined Q1 and Q2 victories. Alabama ranks ahead of Florida (6-12), Ole Miss (7-11) and South Carolina (7-13) in the category. Furthermore, the Tide's seven Q2 victories are tied for second-best in the SEC and seventh-most in the nation.
• Alabama finished league play as one of the better defensive teams in the SEC. The Crimson Tide finished the conference campaign ranked third in three-point field goal percentage defense (.320), fourth in field goal percentage defense (43.5 percent) and fifth in scoring defense (71.9) against conference opponents.
SEC TOURNAMENT NOTES
• The Southeastern Conference Tournament returns to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., after a one year hiatus. The 2018 SEC Tournament was played in the ScottTrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., marking the first time in league history that the event it took play west of the Mississippi River.
• Alabama head coach Avery Johnson owns a record of 5-3 in the SEC Tournament. The Tide has advanced to at least the quarterfinals in each of the last three tournaments and reached the semifinals in back-to-back seasons under Johnson's lead. The last time that occurred came during the 1994 and 1995 seasons.
• The Tide earned the No. 10 seed in this year's event. Alabama will take on seventh-seeded Ole Miss on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. UA claimed the lone meeting between the teams this season, taking a 74-53 victory in Coleman Coliseum back on Jan. 22, 2019. A full recap and box score from that contest can be found on page 14.
• The last time the two teams squared off in postseason play came on March 10, 2016 when the Crimson Tide captured an 81-73 victory in the first round game. Coincidentally, the Tide entered that contest as the No. 10 seed against the No. 7 seed Rebels and advanced to play No. 2 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals. Riley Norris led the Tide with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Alabama owns a 5-2 record when squaring off with Ole Miss in tournament action.
• Alabama has an overall record of 66-52 in SEC Tournament play. The Tide's .559 winning percentage in the tournament ranks second among SEC schools.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama dropped its third consecutive game when it fell at Arkansas, 82-70, in the regular season finale. With the setback, the Crimson Tide finished regular season play at 17-14 overall and 8-10 in SEC play. For the second consecutive season, a freshman leads the Crimson Tide in scoring entering the league's tournament (Collin Sexton in 2018 and Kira Lewis Jr. in 2019).
• Lewis Jr., who was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, leads a balanced scoring attack that features eight Alabama players averaging at least 5.7 points per game. Three UA players average in double figures as Lewis' 13.9 points per game tops the Tide and ranks 15th in the SEC. Senior Donta Hall and sophomore John Petty Jr. are tied for second on the team with both averaging 10.6 points per game.
• Lewis leads UA in assists (2.9 apg), minutes (31.8) and free throw shooting (87-of-110, .791), while ranking second in steals (24) and threes made (51) and attempted (139). Meanwhile, Hall tops the team in total dunks (59), rebounds (8.5 rpg), blocks (1.7 bpg), double-figure contests (21) and double-doubles (13). He currently ranks among the league leaders in double-doubles (1st), rebounding (3rd) and blocked shots (9th). Petty leads the Tide in three-point field goals made (55) and attempted (158) and ranks second on the team in rebounding (4.4) and minutes (29.4).
• Junior Tevin Mack, who scored a season-high 25 points in the win over Georgia, is averaging 9.0 ppg, while junior Dazon Ingram (7.2 ppg), senior Riley Norris (7.0 ppg) and sophomores Herbert Jones (6.3 ppg) and Alex Reese (5.7 ppg) are all averaging at least 5.7 points per contest. Ingram tops the team in three-point shooting (15-of-37, .405), while Norris is second (29-of-77, 37.7 percent) over his 23 games played. Meanwhile Jones, who is considered one of the top defenders in the Southeastern Conference, tops UA with 17 charges taken and in total steals (30).
• As a team, the Crimson Tide has been outrebounded in only 10 of its 31 games on the year and ranks seventh in the SEC and 88th nationally with a +3.1 advantage on the glass (37.4-34.3). UA is shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from beyond the arc on the year, while outscoring the competition by 0.9 points per game (72.6-71.7). Additionally, the Tide is 20th in the nation in blocks per game (4.8).
• During conference play, Lewis led the team in scoring (13.2 ppg), assists (2.6 apg) and minutes (32.3 mpg), while Petty averaged 10.8 ppg and knocked down a team-leading 37.9 percent of his shots from beyond the arc (33-of-87). Meanwhile, Hall averaged a near double-double at 10.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game – a number that topped the SEC in conference games only. Jones led the Tide in steals (16) against league opposition.
• As a team in league play, the Crimson Tide owned an 8-10 record in league play to finish in 10th overall. Alabama averaged 70.3 points per game in conference play, while outrebounded teams by +1.0 (36.6-35.6). The Tide shot 43.6 percent from the field, 34.2 percent from beyond the arc and 65.9 percent from the charity stripe in SEC play. During the SEC season, Alabama ranked among the league leaders in three-point field goal percentage defense (3rd, .320), defensive rebounds (26.3), rebounding offense (36.6) and blocked shots (4.4), while ranking fourth in field goal percentage defense (.435) and was fifth in scoring defense (71.9).
ABOUT OLE MISS
• Ole Miss and Alabama will play for the 180th time in series history on Thursday night. That ranks as the third-most games against any opponent in Crimson Tide program history. UA owns a 121-58 lead in the all-time series, with the 121 wins ranking second against any opponent in program history.
• The Rebels come into Thursday night's contest as one of the surprise teams in not only the Southeastern Conference, headlined by SEC Coach of the Year Kermit Davis. Ole Miss was picked to finish last in the league in a preseason vote by media and coaches but earned the No. 7 seed in this year's tournament, finishing with a 10-8 league record and 20-11 overall mark. Most recently, the Rebels snapped a three-game losing streak with a 73-68 victory at Missouri to end the season.
• Junior guard Breein Tyree, who was named first team All-SEC, leads the Rebels and ranks second in the SEC with 18.5 points per game, while senior Terence Davis, a second team All-SEC performer is collecting 15.5 points per contest, which ranks seventh in league play. Tyree (68-of-171) and Davis (60-of-160) rank as the team leaders in threes made and attempted. Davis also tops the squad in rebounds (5.8) and assists (3.4) a game.
• As a team, Ole Miss is outscoring the opposition by 5.4 points per game (76.0-70.6) and owns a +2.3 advantage on the boards (34.5-32.2). The Rebels are shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc while allowing the opposition to shoot 44.2 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three.
• Davis is in his first season at the helm of the Ole Miss program. Now in his 24th year as a head coach, Davis has compiled a record of 489-274 (.641). His 489 career win rank 31st among Division I head coaches.
ALABAMA-OLE MISS – SERIES NOTES
• Thursday's game will mark the 180th meeting on the hardwood in series history and the second meeting between the two schools this year. The Tide captured a 74-53 victory over Ole Miss back on Jan. 22, 2019 inside Coleman Coliseum. The box score and full recap can be found on page 14.
• The Crimson Tide owns a 121-58 lead in the all-time series. The 180 all-time games ranks as the third-most games UA has played against any one opponent in program history, while the 121 victories by the Tide is the second-most victories against an opponent in program lore.
• Ole Miss is one of three teams, along with Mississippi State (125) and LSU (108), that UA has won 100 or more games against.
• Alabama boasts a record of 5-2 record when playing Ole Miss in SEC Tournament action. The last time the two teams squared off came on March 10, 2016. Coincidentally, the Tide entered that contest as the No. 10 seed against the No. 7 seed Rebels and advanced to play No. seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals. Riley Norris led the Tide with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
• The Crimson Tide has won three of the last four games in the series, but the Rebels have had the upper hand as of late. Despite falling three times in the last four head-to-head match-ups, Ole Miss has beaten the Tide in six of the last 10 and nine of the last 15 contests dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.
• The series began during the 1920-21 campaign.
NCAA TOURNAMENT RESUME
• UA enters the game with a NET Ranking of No. 58 nationally, while owning the No. 23 overall strength of schedule in the latest release (as of March 11).
• Heading into the SEC Tournament, Alabama is a combined 9-12 against Q1 and Q2 teams, owning 2-9 mark against Quadrant 1 opponents and a 7-3 record vs. teams in Quadrant 2 this season. The Tide's best wins game against Kentucky (won, 77-75) and Mississippi State (won, 83-79), while also knocking off NCAA Tournament qualifiers Murray State (won, 78-72) and Liberty (won, 84-75).
• Combined, UA's nine wins against Q1 and Q2 opposition this year trails only LSU (16), Kentucky (15), Tennessee (13), Auburn (13) and Mississippi State (11). Alabama ranks ahead of Florida (6-12), Ole Miss (7-11) and South Carolina (7-13) in combined Q1 and Q2 wins.
• Alabama's seven Q2 wins is tied for second-best in the SEC, trailing only Auburn (10-2) and tied with LSU (7-3). Even more impressive is the Quadrant 2 win total ranks in a tie for seventh-most in the nation.
• Alabama is a combined 8-2 against Q3 (5-2) and Q4 opposition (3-0) teams this season, with the lone losses both game on buzzer beaters to Texas A&M and Georgia State – a game in which the Tide held a 22-point second half lead before allowing the Panthers to come back and take the victory. The number of Q4 opponents is tied for the lowest number among all SEC schools (tied with LSU).
• Alabama owns a 3-2 record against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and is 4-2 when playing teams ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll this season. The three wins ranks third in the SEC for most wins and best winning percentage against ranked opponents (Kentucky is 5-3, .625, LSU is 4-2, .667). The Tide, Wildcats and Tigers are the only three teams to have a winning record against ranked opponents this season.
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