Alabama and Auburn Set to Square Off Saturday in First of Two Meetings Between the Rivals

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will begin a two-game road swing on Saturday when it takes on rival Auburn inside Auburn Arena at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2. It's the first of two contests between the two in-state foes, as the Tigers will travel to Tuscaloosa for the final regular season game, which will be held on March 2 (6 p.m. CT) at Coleman Coliseum.

The Tide enters the contest having won four straight and five of its last six games following an 86-71 victory over Florida last Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum. The win improved Alabama to 8-3 on the season and 3-0 in SEC play, the program's best start to the conference season since starting 8-0 in 1986-87.

Saturday's game will mark the 163rd meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is the fourth-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Crimson Tide owns a 96-66 edge in the series, as the 96 victories also rank fourth-best against any foe in program history.

The Broadcast

Saturday's game will be available on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Dan Dakich (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.

Team Notes

Alabama enters the contest with 1,699 wins in program history and needs one more victory to earn the program's 1,700th win in school history. Whenever it happens, the Crimson Tide would become only the third team in SEC history to reach 1,700 program wins, joining Kentucky (2,321) and Arkansas (1,717). UA will be the 34th team in NCAA history to achieve the milestone and the second to do it this season (Gonzaga and Oregon).
The contest pits two of the top shooting teams in the SEC. The Tigers lead the league with 113 made three-pointers this season and an average of 10.3 threes made per game. Meanwhile, the Tide ranks third in the SEC with 103 treys and 9.4 threes made per contest.
Alabama has dropped five consecutive games in Auburn Arena. The Tide's last win on the Plains came on Feb. 17, 2015 when it upended the Tigers, 79-68. In all, Alabama and owns a record of 26-33 when playing the Tigers on their home floor. Since Auburn Arena opened in 2010, Alabama has a record of 3-7.
The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings (as of 1/8) which is third-best among SEC teams. Alabama is one of six SEC teams ranked among the top-30, which also includes No. 4 Tennessee, No. 23 Missouri, No. 25 LSU, No. 27 Arkansas and No. 30 Florida.
Alabama ranks among the top-40 in the nation in both offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com (as of 1/8). The Crimson Tide is 24th nationally in offensive efficiency coming into Saturday's contest at Auburn, and ranks No. 37 overall in defensive efficiency. Additionally, the Tide is the sixth-fastest team in the nation, averaging 14.2 seconds per possession according to the same site.
John Petty Jr. has made 21 three-pointers on the year, pushing his career total to 255 made threes. He now needs only nine more treys to become the program's all-time leader in the category, which is currently held by Brian Williams (1996-99) who made 263 career threes at Alabama. Furthermore, his 665 career attempts from deep is 74 shy of breaking Williams' program record of 738 three-point shots.
While Alabama is known for what it can do offensively, it's the Crimson Tide's defense that has helped it to a 3-0 start to SEC play. Only considering teams that have played at least two games in the conference, Alabama leads the SEC in scoring defense (66.0), field goal percentage defense (35.2 percent) and three-point field goal percentage defense (25.9 percent).
According to KenPom.com, Alabama's strength of schedule ranks No. 37 in the non-conference which is third-best among all SEC teams. The Crimson Tide's first 11 opponents on the season have a combined record of 72-32 (.692). Furthermore, eight of the opening 11 opponents are ranked in the Ken Pomeroy top-100 RPI, while six are among the top-60 (all numbers as of 1/8).

About Alabama

Alabama enters Saturday's road contest at Auburn sporting an 8-3 record on the season and is in first place overall in the league as the only 3-0 team. The Tide moved into first place following its 86-71 victory over Florida last Saturday night and are off to the program's first 3-0 start in league place since beginning SEC play in 1986-87 with eight straight victories.
Four Crimson Tide players are averaging 12.0 or more points per game for head coach Nate Oats in the early part of the season. Guard Jaden Shackelford leads the way at 13.3 ppg while Jahvon Quinerly is second on the team with 13.0 ppg. Guard John Petty Jr. is at 12.6 ppg with forward Herbert Jones with 12.4 ppg at all averaging in double figures.
Jones, considered one of the top defensive players in the entire nation, leads the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg), three-point field goal percentage (.500, 6-of-16), charges taken (4), Blue Collar Points (237.5, 21.6 BCP per game), deflections (39), floor dives (9) and Hard Hat Awards (6). He also boasts much improved offensive numbers during his senior season. In addition to averaging double digits, Jones is collecting 1.9 assists per contest, while shooting 43.5 percent from the field (47-of-108).
The trio of Petty (21-of-59), Shackelford (23-of-64) and Quinerly (11-of-34) have combined to hit 55 of the Tide's 103 three-pointers (53.4 percent) and have 157 of the team's 319 (49.2 percent) total attempts from beyond the arc. Combined, the trio is shooting 35.0 percent (55-of-157) from beyond the arc.
As a team, Alabama is outscoring the opposition by 7.7 points per contest (77.5-69.8) while shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from deep and 67.2 percent from the charity stripe.
It's the Crimson Tide's defense that has set the tone to its 3-0 start in SEC play. When considering teams that have played more than one game so far during the conference season, UA leads the league in defensive efficiency, ranking first in scoring defense (66.0), field goal percentage defense (35.2 percent) and three-point field goal percentage defense (25.9 percent).
This season, the Tide welcomed back four starters and five of its top seven scorers off last year's team, three were named as All-SEC performers a year ago. Petty (Second Team All-SEC), Shackelford (All-Freshman) and Jones (All-Defensive) all earned a spot on the postseason teams. Both Petty and Jones tested the NBA waters, with Petty, who was one of the last players to withdraw his name, announcing his return in early August and Jones in mid-June.
Alabama was predicted to finish fifth overall as voted on by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Additionally, Petty All-SEC Preseason First Team honors by both the coaches and media members, while Jones earned a spot on the preseason second team as voted on by the league's head coaches. Petty was selected to the 2020 Jerry West Award Watch List for the nation's top shooting guard. He was also tabbed preseason All-SEC by Blue Ribbon Yearbook.
Head coach Nate Oats is in his second season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program and owns a record of 24-18 (.571) during his time at the Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 120-61 (.663).

About Auburn

Auburn comes into Saturday afternoon's rivalry game against Alabama sporting a 6-5 mark, but has started league play with three consecutive defeats, most recently falling at Ole Miss, 72-61, on Wednesday night in Oxford, Miss. Forward Jaylin Williams posted a career-high 24 points, including knocking down 6-of-10 three-pointers, but it was not enough to overcome a 14-point halftime deficit.
Guard Allen Flanigan leads four players in double figures at 13.5 points per game. He also is the team leader in minutes (29.9), field goals made (50) and field goals attempted (100), while ranking second in rebounding (4.9), assists (2.9 apg), threes made (23) and field goal percentage (.500).
Guard Justin Powell, who missed the Ole Miss game with an injury, leads Auburn in assists (4.3), rebounding (6.1 rpg) and three-point shooting(19-of-43, .442), while contributing 11.7 points per game. Williams (11.5 ppg) and Jamal Johnson (10.7), the son of former Alabama standout Buck Johnson, both contribute offensively for the Tigers. Williams leads the squad in steals (1.2 spg) and field goal percentage (.533) with Johnson topping AU in threes made (26) and attempted (74).
As a team, Auburn is outscoring the competition by +2.5 points per game (74.4-71.8) and owns a +4.7 advantage on the glass (38.4-33.6). The Tigers are shooting 44.4 percent from the floor, 34.3 percent from beyond the arc and 62.1 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, Auburn allows an average of 71.8 points per game while opponents shoot 43.7 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from deep. Auburn also averages an SEC-leading 16.9 turnovers per contest.
Coming into the Alabama game, Auburn ranks among the league leaders in three-pointers made per game (1st - 10.3), assists (T2nd - 15.3), three-point field goal percentage (5th - .343) and three-point field goal percentage defense (5th - .300)
Bruce Pearl is in his seventh season at Auburn and owns a record of 131-83 (.612). Now in his 26th season as a collegiate coach, Pearl owns an overall mark of 593-228 (.722).

Players Of The Back-To-Back Weeks

Alabama guards Jaden Shackelford and John Petty Jr. have been named the SEC Player of the Week in each of the last two weeks. It's the first time since the 1986 season that UA players have earned back-to-back conference Player of the Week honors (Terry Coner and Derrick McKey).
Shackelford earned the accolade for the week of Dec. 30 when after he scored 26 points on the strength of a career-best eight three-pointers to lead UA past ETSU, 85-69, on Dec. 22.
This past week, Petty earned the recognition after averaging 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest while shooting 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from 3-point range in wins over Ole Miss and at then-No. 7 Tennessee.

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Alabama and Auburn Set to Square Off Saturday in First of Two Meetings Between the Rivals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Herbert Jones

John Petty Jr.

Jahvon Quinerly

Jaden Shackelford

University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama and Auburn Set to Square Off Saturday in First of Two Meetings Between the Rivals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Herbert Jones

John Petty Jr.

Jahvon Quinerly

Jaden Shackelford

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