Alabama
Arkansas
Alabama Closes the Regular Season on the Road at Arkansas
3/8/2019 2:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide and Razorbacks will tip at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will close out the regular season slate when it travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday night. The contest, which will mark the first meeting between the teams this season, is set to tip off at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Saturday's game between Alabama and Arkansas will be the 62nd meeting between the two teams, with the Razorbacks owning a slim 33-28 edge in the all-time series. Arkansas has held the edge as of late, winning four straight contests over the Tide and five of the last six games in the series.
THE BROADCAST
• Saturday's game will air on SEC Network with Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Barry Booker (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
• Alabama is 9-11 against Quadrant 1 (3-8) and Quadrant 2 (6-3) opponents this year (as of 3/8). The nine wins against Q1 and Q2 teams ranks sixth-best in the SEC. The Crimson Tide trails only LSU (16-5), Kentucky (14-5), Tennessee (14-3), Auburn (13-9) and Mississippi State (12-9). Furthermore, Alabama's season finale at Arkansas is a Quadrant 1 opponent.
• Senior Donta Hall is 16 points shy of becoming just the fifth player in program history with at least 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 200 blocks. Entering Saturday's regular season finale, Hall has compiled 984 points, 809 career rebounds and 225 career 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.
• Saturday's match-up features two of the most exciting big men in the SEC in Hall and Daniel Gafford. Both rank among the league's top dunkers (Gafford has 78 this season and 153 in his career, while Hall has 59 on the year and 186 in his career), while the duo also ranks among the league leaders in rebounding and blocked shots.
• Alabama ranks as one of the better defensive teams in SEC play. Entering Tuesday night's contest, the Crimson Tide leads the league in three-point field goal percentage defense at 31.2 percent. Additionally, Alabama is fourth in field goal percentage defense (43.4 percent) and sixth in scoring defense (71.6) against conference opponents.
• Alabama owns a 3-2 record against AP Top-25 opponents this season, with all three victories coming during the month of January. Despite the setback, the Tide ranks third in the conference with three top-25 victories this season and winning percentage vs. ranked opponents (.600). Only Kentucky (5-3, .625) and LSU (4-2, .667) rank ahead of UA in both categories. On the season, Alabama has knocked off then-No. 22/21 Mississippi State, 83-79, on Jan. 29, then-No. 13 Kentucky (77-75) on Jan. 5 and then-No. 20 Ole Miss (74-53) on Jan. 22.
• The Alabama reserves have been a strength of this year's team, averaging nearly 25 points per contest (24.7) entering the contest at Arkansas. For the year, the Crimson Tide bench has been outscored just five times and is outscoring its counterparts by nearly seven points per contest (24.7-17.8). On 13 occasions, the UA reserves owned a double-digit advantage over the opposition's bench.
• Alabama will next begin postseason play when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2019 SEC Tournament which will be played in Bridgestone Arena. It has been determined that the Crimson Tide will play on Thursday, however, the team's seed and opponent will be decided following Saturday's contest.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama dropped its second consecutive home contest when it fell to rival Auburn, 66-60, on Tuesday night inside Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide led for over 27 minutes of the contest and by as many as 13 points early in the second half. However, the Tigers used a big 18-2 run that turned a six-point lead into a four-point deficit. Despite the big run, the game was tied in the final minutes but Auburn scored the game's final six points to seal the victory.
• Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. leads a balanced scoring attack that features eight Alabama players averaging at least 5.5 points per game. Three UA players average in double figures as Lewis' 14.0 points per game tops the Tide and ranks 15th in the SEC. Senior Donta Hall ranks second on the team at 10.9 ppg, while sophomore John Petty Jr. is collecting 10.7 points per game.
• Lewis leads UA in assists (2.9 apg), minutes (31.8) and free throw shooting (86-of-109, .789), while ranking second in steals (24) and threes made (50) and attempted (136). Meanwhile, Hall tops the team in total dunks (59), rebounds (8.6 rpg), blocks (1.8 bpg), double-figure contests (21) and double-doubles (13). He currently ranks among the league leaders in double-doubles (1st), rebounding (2nd) and blocked shots (9th). Petty leads the Tide in three-point field goals made (53) and attempted (154) and ranks second on the team in rebounding (4.4) and minutes (29.6).
• Junior Tevin Mack, who scored a season-high 25 points in the win over Georgia, is averaging 8.9 ppg, while junior Dazon Ingram (7.2 ppg), senior Riley Norris (7.0 ppg) and sophomores Herbert Jones (6.3 ppg) and Alex Reese (5.5 ppg) are all averaging at least 5.5 points per contest. Ingram tops the team in three-point shooting (15-of-37, .405), while Norris is second (28-of-75, 37.3 percent) over his 22 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 (29).
• As a team, Alabama enters Saturday's contest as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. The Tide has been outrebounded in only 10 of its 30 games on the year and ranks seventh in the SEC and 85th nationally with a +3.1 advantage on the glass (37.4-34.3). UA is shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from beyond the arc on the year, while outscoring the competition by 1.4 points per game (72.7-71.4). Additionally, the Tide is 18th in the nation in blocks per game (4.8).
• Heading into the final game in conference play, Lewis leads the team in scoring (13.2 ppg), assists (2.6 apg) and minutes (32.5 mpg), while Petty is averaging 11.0 ppg and has knocked down a team-leading 37.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc (31-of-83). Meanwhile, Hall is averaging nearly a double-double at 10.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game – a number that tops the SEC in conference games only. Jones leads the Tide in steals (15) against league opposition.
• As a team in league play, Alabama is one of four teams separated by one game entering the final contest of the regular season. The Tide owns an 8-9 record in league play, while Mississippi State, Florida and Ole Miss are all at 9-8. Alabama is averaging 70.4 points per game in conference play, while outrebounding teams by +1.0 (36.6-35.6). The Tide is shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 33.7 percent from beyond the arc and 66.9 percent from the charity stripe in SEC play. The Tide leads the SEC in league games in three-point field goal percentage defense (.312), ranks third in defensive rebounds (26.5), rebounding offense (36.6) and blocked shots (4.5), while ranking fourth in field goal percentage defense (.434).
ABOUT ARKANSAS
• Arkansas is coming off an impressive 84-48 victory over Vanderbilt last Wednesday night in Nashville, which marked the second consecutive win for the Razorbacks after dropping the previous six contests. With the victory, Arkansas improved to 16-14 on the year and 7-10 in SEC play.
• Three Arkansas players enter the final game of the regular season averaging in double figure scoring, led by sophomore Daniel Gafford's 16.6 points per contest. Gafford also tops the team in rebounds (8.5 rpg), blocks (2.1 bpg), field goal percentage (.661) and field goals made (197). Sophomore Mason Jones and freshman Isaiah Jones both average 14.0 ppg. Jones ranks among the team leaders in nearly every offensive category, while Jones leads the SEC in three-point shooting (104-of-242, .430). Meanwhile, sophomore Jalen Harris leads Arkansas in minutes per game (30.6), while his 5.6 assists a game leads the team and ranks fourth in the SEC.
• As a team, Arkansas owns a +3.2 scoring margin, outscoring opponents 76.1-72.9 on the year. The Razorbacks are shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. Arkansas ranks second in the SEC in assists (16.2 apg), assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and is fourth in steals (8.2 spg).
• Head coach Mike Anderson, who was Arkansas' 12th head men's basketball coach in program history on March 23, 2011, is one of just four current Division I coaches with 15-plus years of head coaching experience and no losing seasons. Now in his eighth season with the Razorbacks, Anderson owns a record of 167-100 (.625) and a 366-198 (.649) in 16 seasons as a head coach.
ALABAMA-ARKANSAS – SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's game between Alabama and Arkansas will be the 62nd meeting in series history, with the Razorbacks owning a slim 33-28 edge in the all-time series. The Razorbacks have won four straight and five of the last six games in the series.
• Saturday's game mark the only meeting between the two teams this season.
• Nineteen of the 28 Alabama wins in the series have come on its home floor, claiming a 19-7 all-time record against Arkansas in Coleman Coliseum. However, the Razorbacks won back-to-back games in Tuscaloosa, claiming a 76-73 decision last year on Feb. 24, 2018 (a full box score and recap from that game can be found on page 11), and a 62-61 victory on March 2, 2016. Prior to that game, Arkansas had dropped seven consecutive games on the Tide's home floor.
• Alabama has lost three straight games at Bud Walton Arena and owns an all-time record of 6-18 when playing at Arkansas. In fact, the Tide's lone win on the Razorbacks' home floor over the last 10 games dating back to the 2004-05 season came on Feb. 23, 2012.
• Fifty-one of the 61 games played in the series have come as conference opponents.
• The Crimson Tide is 3-2 in overtime contests against Arkansas. All five overtime games have come within the last 13 seasons.
• The series began during 1947-48 campaign.
NCAA TOURNAMENT RESUME
• UA enters the game with a NET Ranking of No. 55 nationally, while owning the No. 21 overall strength of schedule in the latest release (as of March 8). The Tide's remaining regular season contest will be against a Quadrant 1 opponent (Arkansas owns a NET ranking of No. 65).
• Heading into Saturday's game at Arkansas, Alabama is a combined 9-11 against Q1 and Q2 teams, owning 3-8 mark against Quadrant 1 opponents and a 6-3 record vs. teams in Quadrant 2 this season. The Tide's best wins game against Kentucky (won, 77-75), Mississippi State (won, 83-79) and at Missouri (won, 70-60).
• Combined, UA's nine wins against Q1 and Q2 opposition this year trails only LSU (16), Kentucky (14), Tennessee (14), Auburn (13) and Mississippi State (12). Alabama ranks ahead of Florida (7-11), Ole Miss (7-11) and South Carolina (8-13) in combined Q1 and Q2 wins.
• Alabama's seven Q2 wins is tied for second-best in the SEC, trailing only Auburn (9-2) and tied with LSU (7-3). Even more impressive is the Quadrant 2 win total ranks in a tie for ninth-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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