Alabama Closes its Two-Game Homestand on Wednesday Night vs. Texas A&M

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will close out its two-game homestand on Wednesday night when it plays host to Texas A&M inside Coleman Coliseum. It will mark the only meeting between the two teams this season.

The Crimson Tide is coming off an 88-82 victory over then-No. 25 LSU last Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Guards Kira Lewis Jr. (27 points) and Jaden Shackelford (26 points) combined for 53 points on the afternoon on their way to becoming the first Alabama duo to sweep the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week awards in program history.

Over its two games this past week, Alabama combined to make 35 three-pointers in 94 attempts, broke the single-game SEC record for threes made (22) and attempted (59) and set the program record for threes made and attempted in a season, topping the 259 made threes in 763 attempts across its 33 games during the 2015-16 campaign. The Crimson Tide comes into its 26th game of the year having knocked down 269-of-766 treys this year.

Promotions

Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night
- Free admission for UA Faculty and Staff
Loaded Mac 'n cheese bar
- First 250 students

The Broadcast

Wednesday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

Alabama enters the contest vs. Texas A&M owning the No. 36 overall NET Ranking (as of 2/18) and the No. 4 overall strength of schedule. The Crimson Tide leads all SEC teams in strength of schedule, while its NET Ranking is fifth-best in the league.
Coming into Wednesday night's contest, Alabama has played five straight games that were decided by six points or less, most recently an 88-82 upset win over then-No. 25 LSU last Saturday. In fact, six of the Tide's 12 games in conference play were decided by six points or less, with UA going 2-4 in those games. Of the Tide's six conference losses, five have been by under 10 points while four have been by six or less.
Kira Lewis Jr. was named the Southeastern Conference's Player of the Week and guard Jaden Shackelford earned the league's Freshman of the Week, which were both announced by the conference office Monday. They became the first Alabama men's basketball duo to sweep the league's weekly awards dating back to the 1990-91 season when the SEC began what was then called the Rookie of the Week award.
Lewis has played at another level over the Tide's last three games, averaging 24.7 points, 8.0 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. After going for a career-best 37 points in Alabama's 105-102 overtime win at Georgia on Feb. 8, the 18-year old point guard topped that performance by becoming the second player in UA history to record a triple-double in the 95-91 overtime loss at No. 11 Auburn on Feb. 12. In that contest, Lewis went for 10 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists – with just one turnover – in 45 minutes of action to join Roy Rogers as the only players in program lore to achieve the feat. Twelve of his 13 dimes went for three-point makes in the contest.
Lewis, who is averaging 17.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists on the season, is the only player in the SEC, one of three in power 5 programs and one of only eight around the nation to average at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.
Junior forward Herbert Jones showed why he is one of the most important players on the Crimson Tde's roster. Playing with his left wrist in a heavily bandaged splint vs. then-No. 25 LSU, Jones was heroic in pulling down a career-best 17 rebounds to go along with six points, three assists and a pair of steals and charges. Jones, a left-hander, also drained a pair of one-handed free throws with his right hand in the game's final minute to help secure the win.
In the five games which Jones has missed with injuries, Alabama has a record of 2-3 including a one-point loss to Penn in the season opener, a four-point loss to Arkansas and a one-point loss to Tennessee. A candidate for the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Jones leads Alabama in Hard Hat points (470.5), charges (21) and deflections (66) despite missing the aforementioned games. He has led the Tide in charges taken for each of the previous two seasons, which includes a school record 23 as a freshman. He has now accounted for 61 charges over his 90 career games played at Alabama.
The Tide enters Saturday's contest ranked No. 2 in the nation (as of 2/18) in scoring offense at 83.2 points per game. Additionally, UA is No. 3 in three-point field goals made per game at 10.8, to lead the league in both categories. UA also tops the SEC with 269 threes made and 766 threes attempted – both single-season program records – and three-point field goal percentage (.351). In all, the Tide leads the SEC in six statistical categories and ranks in the top 20 nationally in six.
Wednesday's match-up features the league's top scoring offense in Alabama at 83.2 points per game facing the second-leading scoring defense in the SEC in Texas A&M at 64.0 points per game.

About Alabama

Three UA players average double digits, while six average 8.2 ppg or better on the year. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. (17.5 ppg) tops the team and ranks fifth in the SEC in scoring average, while junior John Petty Jr. (15.2 ppg) ranks second on the squad and 10th in the league. Combined the duo produces the second-highest combined points by any two players on the same team in the SEC (32.7 ppg).
Lewis, a two-time SEC Player of the Week (1/27 & 2/17), leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally in minutes per game (37.41), while also leading UA and ranking among the league leaders in scoring, assists (3rd - 5.0 apg) and steals (t4th - 1.9 spg). A first-team All-SEC preseason honoree, he also tops the team in field goals made (159) and attempted (354), and is shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from beyond the arc and 79.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Petty is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. He leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (44.7 percent, 76-of-170) and is second in threes made per game (3.0), while ranking sixth and 20th nationally in the categories, respectively. Additionally, he leads the squad and is tied for seventh in the conference in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and also tops UA in threes made and attempted while ranking second in steals (1.3 spg) and minutes (34.4 mpg) per game.
Freshman Jaden Shackelford also average in double figures at 14.3 ppg and ranks fourth in the league at 2.6 threes made per game. He also leads the team in threes attempted, as 184 of his 276 field goal attempts – approximately 67 percent – have come from beyond the three-point line. Juniors Alex Reese (9.6 ppg) and Herbert Jones (9.2 ppg) both are averaging near double digits as well.
Jones, who has been sidelined multiple games and is currently seeing limited action despite a fractured left wrist, is the team's best defender. He leads the squad in Blue Collar Points (470.5), Hard Hat Awards (12), charges taken (21) and deflections (66). Graduate senior Beetle Bolden (8.2 ppg), who has missed four games throughout the year with a variety of ailments, also contribute on the offensive end and ranks fourth on the squad in three-point field goal percentage (.330).
As a team, Alabama has outscored the opposition by +4.2 points (83.2-79.0) and is shooting 44.0 percent from the field, 35.1 percent from beyond the arc and 70.6 percent from the foul line. The Tide averages 40.6 rebounds per game which ranks second in the SEC and is 10th-best in the nation.
Through its 12 SEC contests, Alabama leads the league in scoring offense (84.1), threes made per game (10.7) and defensive rebounds (29.3). Additionally, the Crimson Tide ranks among the top five teams in league play in rebounding offense (2nd - 40.9), assists (t2nd - 14.1), assist/turnover ratio (t2nd - 1.0), blocked shots (4th - 4.8), three-point field goal percentage (4th - .334), scoring margin (4th - +3.3), three field goal percentage defense (5th - .284) and offensive rebounding (5th - 11.7).

About Texas A&M

Texas A&M comes into Wednesday's contest sporting a 12-12 overall mark and a 6-6 record in league play following its 74-69 win over Georgia this past Saturday. The Aggies forced the Bulldogs into 21 turnovers en route the five-point win.
Senior forward Josh Nebo leads a balanced scoring attack that features seven players averaging between 11.4-6.0 points per game. Nebo leads the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and is the only Aggie to average double figures. He also tops the team in field goal percentage (.676) while his 2.1 blocks per contest not only leads the team but ranks second in the SEC and 31st in the nation. He is also second in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and minutes (28.1 mpg) per contest.
Junior Savion Flagg is second on the team in scoring (9.7 ppg) and ranks third in rebounding (5.1 rpg) while leading the squad with 2.5 assist per game. Freshman Emanuel Miller, who has scored 40 points in the Aggies' previous two games, leads TAMU with 6.6 rebounds per game while also adding 6.8 ppg.
Texas A&M enters the contest ranked as one of the top defensive teams in the SEC and is among the top-50 teams nationally in a pair of categories. The Aggies enter the game ranked second in the league and 42nd in the nation at 64.0 points allowed per game, while their 40.1 field goal percentage defense is fourth in the SEC and 44th nationally. The Aggies are being outscored by 2.8 points per game (64.0-61.2) while shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 26.0 percent from deep. Texas A&M's magic number is 65, as the Aggies are 11-4 this season when holding opponents to 65 or fewer points.
Former Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams is in his first year at the helm of the Texas A&M program. Now in his 13th season as a head coach, Williams owns a record of 265-176 (.613).

Alabama-Texas A&M - Series Notes

The contest between Alabama and Texas A&M on Wednesday night will mark the 21st meeting in series history and the 12th time the two teams will meet as SEC rivals.
Alabama owns an 12-8 edge in the previous 20 games, however, Texas A&M has won three of the last four games including a season series sweep over the Crimson Tide just a year ago. The Aggies captured an 81-80 buzzer-beating victory in its last appearance in Coleman Coliseum, which came on Jan. 12, 2019. Alabama also dropped a 65-56 decision on Feb. 19 in College Station, Texas.
The Crimson Tide owns a record of 6-2 when playing Texas A&M in Coleman Coliseum. The Aggies snapped a four-game losing streak in Tuscaloosa with last season's one-point victory. The only other victory came on Dec. 13, 2008 (lost 86-78 in overtime) prior to the two teams being SEC rivals.
Thirteen of the 20 contests in the series have been decided by single digits, including one overtime contest (Dec. 13, 2008). In fact, six of the last eight games played between the two teams have been decided by a single possession.
The first game in the series was played in 1958-59.

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