SEC Tournament Quarterfinal Preview: No. 6/5 Alabama Will Take on Mississippi State in SEC Tournament Opener Friday

Friday, March 12

Nashville, Tenn.

Mississippi State

Alabama

Mississippi State

SEC Tournament Quarterfinal Preview: No. 6/5 Alabama Will Take on Mississippi State in SEC Tournament Opener Friday

3/11/2021 10:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes Watch Live Live Stats Coach Oats Previews SEC Tournament

The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will tip off Friday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 6/5 Alabama men's basketball team is the No. 1 overall seed in the 2021 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament and will take on No. 9 seed Mississippi State, which defeated Kentucky on Thursday (74-73). The contest will tip off on Friday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN. The winner of Friday's game will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at noon CT.

Alabama earned the program's first No. 1 overall seed in the SEC Tournament since 2002 by finishing the regular season at 21-6 overall and 16-2 in SEC play. It was the Crimson Tide's first regular season championship in 19 years (2001-02). The 21 wins were the most since 2012-13 while the 16 wins in conference play matched the 1986-87 team for most league victories in a season in program history.

Alabama has won six SEC Tournament championships in program history, with the last one coming in 1991. Other tournament titles were won in 1934, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991. The Tide owns a record of 67-53 (.558) in all-time SEC Tournament games, ranking second in tournament winning percentage and third in total tournament wins.

The Broadcast

Friday's game will be available on ESPN with Karl Ravech (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.

Team Notes

Alabama remained in the national rankings, moving up at No. 6 in the Associated Press Top-25 while remaining at No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches poll. It's the highest ranking for the Tide in the AP Poll this year. In fact, the last time UA was ranked inside the AP Top-10 in the month of March came in 2002. That year, UA was ranked as high as No. 6 in the first week of March on its way to claiming its most recent SEC regular season title prior to this season.
Herbert Jones has been named the SEC Player and Defensive Player of the Year, while Nate Oats has been tabbed the league's Coach of the Year. It's the first time an Alabama player has earned Defensive Player of the Year and the first time since 2002 the program has had a player and coach of the year. In addition, Jones and John Petty Jr. were named First Team All-SEC, while Jaden Shackelford earned second-team honors and Joshua Primo was named an all-freshman performer. The full list of SEC awards can be found on page 8.
The Tide leads the nation with 15 combined Quad 1 (7-4) and Quad 2 (8-1) wins entering SEC Tournament play. Alabama, which is ranked No. 7 in the latest NET Rankings, is the only team inside the top 40 to have not played a Quad 4 opponent.
Behind the play of Jones, Alabama rank No. 3 in the Ken Pomeroy defensive efficiency ratings (as of 3/8). Last year, the Tide was rated by the same site at No. 114 in the category. The Tide also ranks No. 41 in offensive efficiency making UA one of just six teams in the nation to have a top-50 offense and a top-10 defense.
Alabama boasts four seniors who have played more than 100 games. John Petty Jr. leads all players with 125 games played, followed by Herbert Jones (123), Alex Reese (118) and Jordan Bruner (101).
Alabama ranks second the nation in three-point field goals made (288) and attempted (812) (as of March 9) and is fourth in threes made per game (10.7). Furthermore, the Tide is also second nationally in average possession length on offense (14.0) and eighth in the nation in adjusted tempo (74.4 possessions per game).
Herbert Jones has been named as a semifinalist for both the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year awards. He is one of only two players in the nation (10 players on each list) who earned a spot on each of the prestigious lists joining Evan Mobley at USC.
After finishing last year at 16-15 overall and 8-10 in SEC play, head coach Nate Oats has guided the Tide to a 21-6 record during the regular season and a 16-2 mark in SEC play. He has been named one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith National Coach of the Year.
John Petty Jr. has made an SEC-leading 64 three-pointers this season (64-of-166). He is one of five Alabama players who average better than 38-percent shooting from deep: Herbert Jones (45.5%), Jahvon Quinerly (44.1%), Joshua Primo (38.6%), John Petty Jr. (38.6%) and Keon Ellis (38.1%).

About Alabama

Alabama enters postseason play ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press and No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches polls following a regular season record of 21-6 overall and 16-2 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide claimed its eighth regular season conference championship in program history (1934, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1987 and 2002). while the 16 league wins tied for most victories during SEC play in school history (1987). The Crimson Tide will be the tournament's No. 1 seed and will meet the winner of the Kentucky-Mississippi State on Friday morning at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.
The Tide has gone 17-3 over its last 20 games, with all three losses coming on the road to teams ranked in the top 25. Two of those three defeats were by a combined eight points, falling at then-No. 24 Oklahoma by five (66-61) and at then-No. 18 Missouri by three (68-65).
Four Crimson Tide players are averaging 10.9 or more points per game for head coach Nate Oats on the season. Guard Jaden Shackelford leads the way, averaging 14.4 ppg. Guard John Petty Jr. ranks second on the team in scoring average at 12.8 ppg, followed by guard Jahvon Quinerly (12.3 ppg) and forward Herbert Jones (10.9 ppg).
Jones headlined the SEC Postseason awards, earning Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors, while also earning a spot on the Sporting News All-America Team. Oats was selected as the Coach of the Year, while Petty, Shackelford an Joshua Primo each earned All-SEC recognition by various outlets. A complete list of the post season awards can be found on page 8
Both Jones and Oats are semifinalists for Naismith Awards. Jones is a semifinalist for both the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year honors. He is one of just two players in the nation to have earned a spot on both teams (Evan Mobley, USC). Meanwhile, Oats is one of 10 coaches named as a Naismith National Coach of the Year semifinalist.
The combination of Petty (64-of-166) and Shackelford (49-of-148) have combined to hit 113 of the Tide's 288 three-pointers (39.2 percent) and have 314 of the team's 812 total attempts from beyond the arc (38.7 percent). Combined, the duo is shooting 36.0 percent (113-of-314) from beyond the arc.
As a team, Alabama is outscoring the opposition by 9.3 points per contest (79.6-70.3) while shooting 43.1 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from deep and 71.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Alabama was picked to finish fifth 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.
Head coach Nate Oats is in his second season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program and owns a record of 37-21 (.638) during his time at the Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 133-64 (.375).

About Mississippi State

Mississippi State enters the SEC Tournament sporting a 14-13 overall record on the season and finished 8-10 in league play to earn the No. 9 seed in this year's tournament. The Bulldogs will take on No. 8 seed Kentucky in Thursday's opening contest with the winner advancing to take on the Crimson Tide in Friday's quarterfinal.
Alabama swept the season series from Mississippi State, defeating the Bulldogs 81-73 on Jan. 23 in Tuscaloosa before taking a 64-59 decision in Starkville on Feb. 27.
Mississippi State has won three of its last five contests coming into the postseason, with the lone losses coming vs. Alabama and in the season finale at Auburn (lost, 78-71). The three victories include a home win over South Carolina and a pair of road victories at Ole Miss and at Texas A&M.
The Bulldogs are led by the league's top scoring duo in guards D.J. Stewart Jr. (16.5 ppg) and Iverson Molinar (16.4 ppg), who combine to score an average of 32.9 points per game. Stewart leads Mississippi State in assists (2.7 apg), steals (1.4 spg), minutes (35.0), threes made (42) and attempted (119) and field goals made (161) and attempted (374). Meanwhile, Molinar tops the team in three-point field goal percentage (44.6 percent, 33-of-74) and free throw percentage (.810).
Forward Tolu Smith also contributes on the offensive end, collecting 12.7 points per game while topping MSU in rebounding (8.6) and field goal percentage (57.7 percent). Former Alabama forward and transfer Javian Davis has played in 23 contests this season and is averaging 2.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per contest.
Ben Howland, who is in his sixth season at the helm of the program. In four different stints as a head coach, Howland has a 513-285 (.644) record – Northern Arizona (79-59), Pittsburgh (89-40), UCLA (233-107) and Mississippi State (112-79, .586). He led UCLA to three-consecutive Final Fours, including a national runner-up finish in 2006.

Alabama-Mississippi State – Series Notes

Should Mississippi State defeat Kentucky in Thursday's opening round, the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs would meet for the 206th time in series history, and the third time this season. Alabama swept the season series, capturing an 81-73 victory in the first meeting on Jan. 23 in Coleman Coliseum, followed by a 64-59 victory on Feb. 27 in Starkville – a win that clinched the 2021 regular season title.
UA owns a 128-77 edge in the all-time series, including wins in 12 of the last 15 contests played between the two teams.
The two programs have met on 10 occasions in SEC Tournament play, with the Crimson Tide owning a 7-3 edge in such contests. The last meeting came during the 2017 tournament when Alabama captured a 75-55 victory. That also marked the last time UA defeated MSU three times in the same season.
Both the 205 games played and the 128 wins against Mississippi State marks the most for Alabama against any single opponent in each category in program history.
Coming into Saturday's game, Alabama has been the dominant team in the series. Dating back to the 2011-12 season, the Crimson Tide has claimed victory in 18 of the last 24 games played between the long-time rivals.
The series, which first began during the 1912-13 season, has seen 14 overtime contests including the 2008-09 season's double-overtime affair. The Tide owns an 8-6 lead in such games.
Sixty-seven of the meetings have been decided by five or fewer points.

SEC Tournament Notes

Southeastern Conference Tournament returns to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., after the event was canceled in 2020 due to the start of the global pandemic. Excluding last season, this year marks the fifth time in the last six years the tournament will be played in Nashville, which will serve as the host city for every year until 2030 except for 2022 when the event will move to Tampa, Fla.
As a result of winning its regular season championship, the Tide has earned the No. 1 overall seed in this year's event. It is the first time UA has earned the top overall seed since 2002. Furthermore, it breaks a string of being the No. 9 or No. 10 seed which happened in six of the previous seven years dating back to the 2014 tournament.
Alabama will take the winner of No. 8 seed Kentucky and No. 9 Mississippi State, which will be played on Thursday afternoon. UA went 2-0 this season against both teams.
Alabama has an overall record of 67-53 (.558) in SEC Tournament play. The Tide's .558 winning percentage in the tournament ranks second among SEC schools.
Since the SEC Tournament was restarted in 1979, Alabama is 51-36 (.586) in the event, the second-best record in the league during that span.
Additionally, the Tide ranks second in championship game appearances (13) and SEC Tournament titles (6).
From 1982-92, Alabama won the SEC Tournament five times and appeared in the title game nine times.
Alabama has advanced to the semifinals 25 times, the third most in the league, and the finals 13 times, the second most in the league.
From 1989-92, the Tide won 11 consecutive games in the SEC Tournament.

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