Alabama Returns Home to Host In-State Foe Jacksonville State Saturday Night

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 6/8 Alabama returns to Coleman Coliseum to take on in-state foe Jacksonville State Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

The Crimson Tide (8-2) and Gamecocks (5-5) will meet for the 14th time in series history when the teams square off on the hardwood. In the last meeting, Alabama survived in a narrow 67-59 overtime victory back on Dec. 29, 2015 to improve to 12-1 in the all-time series, with all 13 previous match-up coming in Tuscaloosa.

The Broadcast

Saturday night's game will be available on SEC Network with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Pat Bradley (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 with Top Stipe (engineer) turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

The Crimson Tide has won 15 consecutive games inside Coleman Coliseum dating back to a 73-71 loss to Western Kentucky on Dec. 19, 2020. The streak began in the very next game vs. East Tennessee State (won, 85-69) on Dec. 22, 2020. The 14-straight home wins is the longest home winning streak since claiming a school-record 24-straight home wins from March of 2010 to December of 2011.
Alabama is ranked No. 19 according to the most recent NCAA NET and Ken Pomeroy rankings (as of 12/17). According to the NET rankings, UA owns a 2-1 record vs. Quad 1 opponents while its average opponent NET ranking is No. 1 in the nation. Even more telling is the fact that the Tide is the only Power 5 team and one of just three teams in the nation (New Mexico State and Prairie View A&M) who has yet to play a game against a Quad 4 opponent.
When Alabama and Jacksonville State square off, it will pit on of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation against one of the country's better perimeter defending teams. JSU comes in ranked No. 16 in the nation in three-point shooting percentage (39.3 percent) while Alabama ranks 47th nationally in three-point field goal defense (28.6 percent).
The Tide enters the contest ranked No. 1 in the SEC and No. 10 in the nation in scoring offense at 85.2 points per game. UA also leads the league and is ranked No. 31 in the nation in threes made per game (9.9).
Jaden Shackelford leads the SEC in threes made per game (3.7), total threes made (37) and three-point field goal percentage (.446) coming into Saturday'sgame. Nationally, those numbers rank eighth, ninth and 37th, respectively.
The Tide comes into the game ranked No. 6 by the Associated Press and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll according to the most recent national rankings, which were revealed last Monday afternoon. It marked the first time Alabama has been inside the AP Top-10 in the month of December dating back to the 2006-07 season when the Tide rose to No. 4 nationally the week of Dec. 4, 2006.
The Crimson Tide is one of six SEC schools that are ranked in this week's AP poll, which leads all conferences (Big 12 is second with five teams). Following Alabama is Auburn (No. 13), Tennessee (No. 18), Arkansas (No. 19), LSU (No. 20) and Kentucky (No. 21).
The Crimson Tide leads the SEC in several categories: scoring offense (85.2), three pointers made (99), threes attempted (287) and threes made per game (9.9). Nationally, Alabama ranks among the top 40 in the following: scoring offense (10th), threes made per game (31st), total threes attempted (41st), total threes made (43rd), field goal percentage (42nd/.479), offensive rebounds per game (45th/12.7) and three-point field goal percentage defense (47th/.286).
According to the most recent KenPom rankings (as of 12/17), the Tide ranks No. 7 in the nation in offensive efficiency, No. 10 in average possession length and No. 24 in adjusted tempo. The site also ranks UA No. 43 in the nation and defensive efficiency.
UP NEXT: The Crimson Tide will compete at the C.M. Newton Classic, which will be played in Birmingham, Ala., in Legacy Arena. The contest pits a pair of nationally-ranked opponents featuring No. 6/8 Alabama taking on No. 23/23 Colorado State. It will mark UA's third contest over its last five games against a top-25 team.

About Alabama

Alabama is in its 109th season of basketball in 2021-22. The Tide's first season of hoops came in 1912-13. There was no season in 1943-44 due to World War II.
The Crimson Tide is led by three players who average double figures in Jaden Shackelford (18.2 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (14.8 ppg) and Keon Ellis (12.0 ppg). The trio combines to account for 53 percent (45.0 of the 85.2 points per game average), 70 percent of the three-pointers made (69 of 99), 51 percent field goals made (156 of 309) and 51 percent of the total free throws made (69 of 135).
A pair of freshmen have also made their mark through the early portion of the schedule in guard JD Davison and center Charles Bediako. Davison, a consensus five star and McDonald's All-American, leads Alabama in assists (4.9 apg) while also ranking among the team leaders at 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a force on the inside, collecting 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks a game. Sophomore Juwan Gary has also been coming on as of late and is averaging 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
As a team, Alabama is averaging 85.2 points per contest, which leads the SEC and ranks 10th nationally, while outscoring the competition by an average of 11.0 points per game (85.2-74.2). The Tide is averaging 9.9 threes made per game, while shooting 47.9 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from beyond the arc and 67.2 percent from the charity stripe. UA also owns a rebounding margin of +5.6 (41.1-35.5) for the year.
The Crimson Tide ranks 43rd nationally in defensive efficiency entering the contest. For the year, Alabama has held opponents to an average of 74.2 points per game while limiting foes to 42.9 percent shooting from the field and just 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Alabama was picked to finish second in the league in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Kentucky was the preseason favorite to win this year's regular season title, followed by the Tide, Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn to round out the top five. Both Quinerly and Shackelford were named to the SEC Preseason First Team.
Alabama returns its top two scorers and 10 letterwinners from last season's SEC Championship team that went on to finish 27-6 overall and 16-2 in the SEC while claiming the 2021 SEC regular season and tournament championships.
UA won the program's eighth SEC regular season championship a year ago, finishing with a 16-2 league record which tied for the most wins in the conference in program history. In addition to claiming the 2021 crown, the Crimson Tide also claimed regular season titles in 1934, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1987 and 2002.

About Jacksonville State

After opening the season with one win in its first four contests, Jacksonville State has responded with wins in four of the last six contests to even its record to 5-5 on the year entering Saturday's contest at No. 6/8 Alabama. Most recently, the Gamecocks captured a 66-59 home victory over FIU last Wednesday night.
Jacksonville State senior guard Darian Adams enters the contest leading his team in scoring (14.7 ppg), assists (4.4) steals (1.6), field goals made (46) and field goals attempted (110). Prior to the season, Adams was selected to the ASUN Conference's Preseason All-Conference Team while the Gamecocks were picked to finish third in a preseason poll of coaches and league SIDs. Adams (first team) and North Carolina transfer forward/center Brandon Huffman (second team) were each tabbed 2021 All-Ohio Valley Conference performers.
Senior guard Jalen Gibbs, who transferred to JSU from Mount St. Mary's, also averages double figures at 11.3 ppg. Gibbs, who scored 40 points on 10-of-12 shooting from deep at Elon back on Nov. 27, ranks 23rd in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 46.6 percent (27-of-58). Meanwhile, Huffman also averages in double digits at 10.1 ppg and tops the squad in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and field goal percentage (.603).
As a team, Jacksonville State is outscoring the opposition by 4.1 points per game (71.9-67.8) and owns a +4.2 advantage on the boards (37.5-33.3). The Gamecocks are shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks No. 16 in the nation. The team enters the contest ranked No. 147 in the most recent KenPom.com rankings and No. 179 in the NET (as of 12/16).
Jacksonville State head coach Ray Harper, who picked up is 100th career win at JSU earlier in the year is in his sixth season at the helm of the program and his 23rd as a collegiate basketball coach. He has compiled a record of 103-70 (.595) during his time with the Gamecocks and owns a career record of 530-192 (.734).

Strength Of Schedule

Alabama enters Saturday's contest having played one of the toughest schedules in the nation to this point
In addition to ranking No. 1 in the nation in average opponent NET ranking, the Tide's schedule is ranked No. 2 by RealTimeRPI, No. 5 by KenPom.com, No. 11 by ESPN BPI and No. 14 in the Sagarin rankings.
Four of UA's six opponents during the month of December are currently ranked among the nation's top-25
The Tide's schedule consists of three of last year NCAA Final Four teams in Gonzaga (won, 91-82), Houston (won, 83-82) and Baylor (Jan. 29, Big 12/SEC Challenge)
Finally, Alabama will play 12 games (nine teams) against teams currently ranked in this week's AP Poll (12/11), while facing a total of seven teams that were picked to win their respective league – South Dakota State (Summit League), Iona (MAAC), Drake (MVC), Gonzaga (WCC), Houston (AAC), Colorado State (Mountain West) and Kentucky (SEC).

For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.