Alabama Ready for Tennessee in SEC Tournament Opener

Thursday, March 12

Nashville, Tenn.

Noon CT

Alabama

Tennessee

Alabama Ready for Tennessee in SEC Tournament Opener

3/11/2020 10:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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The No. 9 seed Crimson Tide and No. 8 seed Volunteers noon CT Thursday on SEC Network

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Alabama men's basketball team is set take on No. 8 seed Tennessee in the opening game of the 2020 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday at noon CT on SEC Network. The winner of Thursday's game will advance to the quarterfinals to take on No. 1 seed and regular season champion Kentucky on Friday at noon CT.

Alabama and Tennessee will meet in the SEC Tournament for the 16th time when the two teams square off Thursday afternoon. The Crimson Tide owns a 10-5 edge in all-time tournament games against the Volunteers, which includes a 58-48 victory in the last postseason meeting between the teams on March 15, 2013 in Nashville.

The Crimson Tide faced the Volunteers only once this season, with Tennessee taking a narrow 69-68 victory over Alabama on Feb. 4 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Tennessee had a huge edge in free throws attempted for the game, attempting 24 more foul shots than Alabama (UT had 32 attempts compared to UA's 8). The Crimson Tide gave up 19 offensive rebounds on its way to being outrebounded 42-33 and was forced into 20 turnovers in the loss.

The Broadcast

Thursday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Mike Morgan (play-by-play), Jimmy Dykes (analyst) and Marty Smith (sideline) 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

With this year's No. 9 seed, the Crimson Tide has garnered the No. 9 or No. 10 seed in the SEC Tournament in six of the last seven years dating back to the 2013-14 event. Alabama owns a record of 2-2 as a No. 9 seed in the SEC Tournament, including in 2018 when UA defeated No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 1 Auburn before falling to eventual champion Kentucky in the semifinals.
Four UA players earned SEC All-Conference honors this season, tying for the most players on a postseason team in program history (2006 team also had four). Kira Lewis Jr. (First Team), John Petty Jr. (Second Team), Jaden Shackelford (All-Freshman Team) and Herbert Jones (All-Defensive Team) each earned recognition as voted on by the league's head coaches.
Freshman Jaden Shackelford has scored 466 points on the year which currently ranks fourth on the program's single-season freshman scoring leaders list. The Hesperia, Calif., native needs just 12 points to move past Eddie Phillips' 477 points during the 1978-79 campaign for third among UA rookie scoring leaders.
UA enters SEC Tournament play ranked No. 3 in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (10.8) and is No. 4 nationally in scoring offense (82.0 points per game). Furthermore, Alabama ranks No. 3 in the nation in threes attempted (957) and No. 5 in threes made (334) – both of which are single-season program records.
Injuries have played a major factor on the Crimson Tide's 2019-20 season. Herbert Jones (4.5 games), Beetle Bolden (4 games) and John Petty Jr. (2.5 games) have all missed crucial games in SEC play. Combine those with season-ending injuries to forwards James Rojas (32 games) and Juwan Gary (32 games), each of which were expected to play significant minutes this season, injuries have cost UA players a total of 75 games this season which leads the SEC. The next closest team is Vanderbilt with 46 games missed to injuries and/or illness.
UA has had 16 games of 80 or more points and nine games of scoring 90 or more this season. The program record of games of scoring 80 or more points is 17 which was set on three occasions (1986-87, 1978-79 and 1976-77). The 1971-72 team had a school record 12 games of 90 or more points with nine such games occurring in 2001-02 and 1974-75.
The Crimson Tide finished league play one victory away from becoming just the second team in Southeastern Conference men's basketball history to earn the 800th win in league history. Alabama will enter the 2021 SEC season with 799 victories and a .561 winning percentage (799-624) which both rank second to only Kentucky.

About Alabama

Three UA players average double digits, while six average 7.9 ppg or better on the year to lead the Alabama offense. First Team All-SEC honoree Kira Lewis Jr. (18.5 ppg) tops the team and ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring average, while SEC All-Freshman honoree Jaden Shackelford (15.0 ppg) ranks second on the squad and 11th in the league. Combined the duo produces the second-highest combined points by any two players on the same team in the SEC (33.5 ppg).
Lewis, a two-time SEC Player of the Week (1/27 & 2/17), leads the SEC and ranks 13th nationally in minutes per game (37.38), while also leading UA and ranking among the league leaders in scoring, assists (3rd - 5.2 apg) and steals (t3rd - 1.8 spg). A first-team All-SEC preseason honoree, he also tops the team in field goals made (206) and attempted (449), and is shooting 45.9 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from beyond the arc and 80.2 percent from the charity stripe.
Second-Team All-SEC performer John Petty Jr., who was sidelined with an elbow injury for two contests, is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. Despite struggling in his return to the lineup last Saturday vs. Mizzou, Petty leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (44.0 percent, 85-of-193) and ranks second in threes made per game (2.9), while ranking ninth and 28th nationally in the categories, respectively. Additionally, he leads the squad and is 12th in the conference in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and tops UA in threes made while ranking second in assists (2.5 apg) and minutes (33.5 mpg) per game.
Shackelford, who was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, also ranks third in the league three-point percentage (.357) and threes made per game (2.7), while also topping the squad in threes attempted, as 235 of his 358 field goal attempts – approximately 66 percent – have come from beyond the three-point line. Juniors Alex Reese (8.8 ppg) and Herbert Jones (7.9 ppg) and graduate senior Beetle Bolden (8.5 ppg) contribute offensively 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. The SEC All-Defensive Team performer leads the squad in Blue Collar Points (593), Hard Hat Awards (16), charges taken (22), deflections (84) and floor dives (31). Bolden has also missed time (four games) throughout the year with a variety of ailments, is one of the best perimeter defenders on the team and ranks fourth on the squad in three-point field goal percentage (.344).
As a team, Alabama has outscored the opposition by +3.0 points (82.0-79.0) and is shooting 43.7 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from beyond the arc and 69.3 percent from the foul line. The Tide averages 39.4 rebounds per game which is third-best in the SEC and 25th-best in the nation. UA has collected 16 games of 80 or more points and has hit 90 or more points nine times.
During SEC play only, Alabama led the league in scoring offense (81.8) and threes made per game (10.7), while ranking second in assists (14.1).

About Tennessee

Tennessee and Alabama will meet for the 150th time in program history, with the Tide leading the all-time series, 79-70. The 149 all-time games played between the teams ranks as the sixth-most times UA has played any one opponent, while the 79 victories also rank sixth-most in program lore.
The Volunteers began the season with a 7-1 mark, but went three games under .500 (10-13) the rest of the way and enter the SEC Tournament at 17-14 overall. Tennessee earned the No. 8 seed after finishing with a 9-9 league mark after closing the regular season with an 85-63 home loss to then-No. 17 Auburn.
Four players average in double digits to lead Tennessee's balanced offensive attack. All-SEC Second Team honoree John Fulkerson along with senior Jordan Bowden share the team scoring lead at 13.7 ppg. Fulkerson, who averaged a team-leading 15.1 ppg in SEC play, also tops the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg), field goal percentage (.612) and steals (1.2 spg), while Bowden is the team leader in minutes (34.4 mpg) and assists (2.7 apg) entering the contest.
Junior forward Yves Pons was tabbed the SEC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging a league-leading 2.4 blocks per game, which also ranks 24th nationally. Pons is third on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg) average. Freshman guard Santiago Vescovi is the team leader with 3.7 assists a game while ranking fourth in 10.7 ppg.
As a team, Tennessee leads the SEC and ranks eighth in the nation with 5.6 blocks per game, while also topping the league in scoring defense (64.2) and assists per game (14.5). UT is outscoring the opposition by 2.9 points a game (67.1-64.2), while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from beyond the arc and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is in his fifth season at Tennessee and his 33rd year as a collegiate head coach. During his five years in Knoxville, Barnes has guided the Volunteers to a record of 105-63 (.621) and owns a career record of 709-378 (.652).

Alabama-Tennessee - Series Notes

Thursday's contest will mark the 150th meeting in series history between to two schools, which is the sixth-most common opponent in program lore. The Crimson Tide owns a 79-70 edge in the all-time series.
In the only game played between the two teams this season, Tennessee took a 69-68 win from Alabama back on Feb. 4 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Volunteers used a plus-24 advantage at the free throw line – Tennessee finished 23-of-32 from the foul line while Alabama was 5-of-8 – forced 20 turnovers and pulled down 19 offensive rebounds to help secure the one-point win.
Alabama played that contest without Herbert Jones, while Beetle Bolden, who played 23 minutes in the game, returned from an illness that sidelined him the two previous games. A full recap and box score from that contest can be found on page 13.
Despite the loss earlier this season, the Tide has won seven of the last 12 meetings and 15 of the last 24 games between the two teams. However, 12 of the last 17 games have been decided by 10 or fewer points.
UA owns a 12-6 edge over UT when the two teams have squared off on a neutral site, including a 10-5 mark in SEC Tournament action. The last time the teams squared off on the hardwood in the postseason came on March 15, 2013 when the Tide defeated the Vols, 58-48, in Nashville.
The series began during 1913-14 campaign.

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