Alabama
Georgia
Women's Basketball Heads to Greenville for SEC Tournament
3/4/2020 12:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Crimson Tide and Lady Bulldogs will tipoff at 11 a.m. CT inside Bon Secours Arena
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 8 seed Alabama looks to continue its winning streak in the second round of the 2020 Southeastern Conference Tournament against No. 9 seed Georgia on Thursday, March 5 at 11 a.m. CT inside Bon Secours Arena in Greenville, S.C. The Crimson Tide (18-11, 8-8 SEC) has won its last four Southeastern Conference matchups which is its longest streak against SEC teams since 1998, while the Lady Bulldogs (16-13, 7-9 SEC) are coming off a 65-59 win over Florida in Athens on Sunday.
The Crimson Tide finished the season .500 in SEC play (8-8) for the first time since 2001-02 and have
made a late push to the NCAA Tournament with its two wins over top-15 teams in back-to-back games
for the first time in program history. ESPNw Bracketologist Charlie Creme currently has the Tide as the top team in the "First Four Out" as of March 2.
The matchup on Thursday is the 54th meeting between the two schools with Georgia leading the all-time series, 41-12. Four of the last five meetings between the Tide and Lady Bulldogs have gone to overtime, including the game earlier this season when UGA defeated UA 76-75 in overtime in Athens on Feb. 16. Georgia is 4-0 in those overtime games versus Alabama. The Tide has a 1-7 all-time record against Georgia in the SEC Tournament, with its only win coming in its first tournament meeting back on Jan. 31, 1981 in Baton Rouge, La. The Lady Bulldogs won the next seven games against the Crimson Tide with its last victory coming on March 4, 2010 in Duluth, Ga.
Follow Along
- The game will be live streamed on SEC Network with Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Tamika Catchings (analyst) on the call, with sideline assistance from Andraya Carter.
- On the radio, Roger Hoover (play-by-play) will have the call on 100.1 FM/1230 AM, while also being available on the TuneIn app.
- Fans can also follow along via live stats on RollTide.com.
Bubble Watch
- Alabama is looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1998-99 season. The team currently has a 58 RPI and strength of schedule of 41. The Tide has an 18-11 record, which is the most regular wins for UA since 1997-98, including an 8-8 mark in SEC play which is the best SEC record for Alabama since 2001-02. Alabama is currently on a four-game SEC win streak for the first time since 1998. The Tide also has a 2-4 record vs. RPI 1-25 teams.
- Over the past eight seasons, every SEC team with an 8-8 mark has gone to the NCAA Tournament.
- UA is 7-3 over the last 10 games. Two of those losses were against ranked opponents in Arkansas and Kentucky with redshirt junior Jordan Lewis not at full strength.
- The Tide won back-to-back road wins against No. 9 Miss. State (Feb. 23) and No. 12 Texas A&M (Feb. 27), marking the first time in program history UA has defeated top-15 teams in back-to-back games.
- 7 of 11 of the Crimson Tides losses have come to teams that have made an appearance in the AP Top 25 this season.
Opening Tip
- The Tide has an 28-40 all-time record in the SEC Tournament, including a 4-3 mark in Greenville, S.C. A win over No. 9 seed Georgia on Thursday would put the Crimson Tide in the quarterfinals for only the second time since 2000. The only other quarterfinal appearance in the last 20 years was in 2017.
- If the Tide was to win on Thursday it would have a matchup on Friday at 11 a.m. CT against No. 1 South Carolina.
- Junior Jasmine Walker was the UA first player to be named to the All-SEC Second Team since Navonda Moore earned the distinction in 2006, while in 2011 Tierney Jenkins earned SEC First Team honors. The Montgomery native, is second on the team with 12.0 points per game, while grabbing a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. Walker is one of the best three-point shooters in the conference with her 61 makes from beyond the arc which is fifth in the SEC. Her 38.4 percentage from behind the three-point line is good enough for fourth in the conference. In SEC games, she leads the team with 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds each time out.
- Lewis became the first player in program history to be named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year after the league announced the SEC postseason awards on Tuesday. Lewis leads the team in points (13.1) and assists (3.9) per game, while currently pursuing her master's degree in business administration. In her last five games, Lewis has showed out after averaging 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists. She became the program's 29th 1,000-point scorer on Jan. 20 at Tennessee and currently has 1,140 career points which is No. 21 on Alabama's scoring list. She is just 12 points away from moving up to No. 20 all-time. Lewis took over the No. 7 spot in career assists at against Kentucky on Feb. 6.
- Alabama is one of the best in the country at getting to the free throw line. The Crimson Tide is No. 30 in the nation in free throw attempts (576) and No. 27 in makes (406). UA is knocking down its attempts at a 70.5 percent clip which is good enough for fourth in the SEC. The Tide is also one of the best three-point shooting teams in the SEC, coming in at fourth in the conference in attempts (583), makes (199) and makes per game (6.9).
About Georgia
- The Lady Bulldogs have gone 2-2 since last playing Alabama on Feb. 16 in Athens. The Bulldogs have been without Que Morrison who is out for the season with a torn labrum suffered against Texas A&M on Feb. 20. Against Alabama, Morrison notched 18 points and three steals earlier this season. For the season she averaged 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 26 games.
- Georgia is led by guard Gabby Connally who is putting up 12.6 points and 3.7 assists per game. Jenna Staiti is the only other UGA player averaging double figures with 11.5 points to go along with a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.
- Head Coach and former Alabama player Joni Taylor is finishing up her fifth season in Athens while compiling a 97-57 record. Taylor has led the Lady Bulldogs to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
SEC's Active Career Leaders (as of March 2)
- Points - Jordan Lewis: 1,140 (No. 10)
- Rebounds - Jasmine Walker: 543 (No. 9)
- Ashley Knight: 444 (No. 14)
- Ariyah Copeland 431 (No. 15)
- Assists - Jordan Lewis: 400 (No. 2)
- Blocks - Ashley Knight: 219 (No. 1)
- Steals - Jordan Lewis: 131 (No. 8)
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