Alabama Set to Host No. 4/4 Baylor in Big 12/SEC Showdown

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will step outside of conference play for the final time during the 2021-22 regular season when it takes on the No. 4/4 Baylor Bears in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday afternoon. The contest, which will be televised on ESPN, is set to tip off at 3 p.m. CT.

This year marks the sixth time Alabama has competed in the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge, which enters its 10th season in 2022. It is also the second time the Crimson Tide and Baylor will square off in the annual event, with the Bears securing a 73-68 victory on Jan. 26, 2019 in Waco, Texas. In last season's Challenge, Alabama fell at Oklahoma 66-61 to drop to 3-2 overall in the event. The Tide's three wins all came in home games: Kansas State (77-74 in 2020), Oklahoma (80-73 in 2018) and Texas Tech (76-64) in 2013, which was the first year of the annual event.

Baylor is the third team from the 2021 NCAA Final Four that the Tide will compete against this year – the only team in the nation to have three of last year's Final Four teams on its schedule. Alabama is 2-0 in those contests, defeating then-No. 3 Gonzaga (91-82 in Seattle) and then-No. 14 Houston (83-82 in Tuscaloosa).

Fans are encouraged to wear white to the game, which is sold out.

The Broadcast

Saturday's game will be available on ESPN with Karl Ravech (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (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 (courtside) on the call, while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

Saturday's game is the first of back-to-back contests against teams ranked in the Associated Press top five. Following Saturday's game vs. the No. 4-ranked (No. 3 NET) Bears, the Crimson Tide will travel to take on No. 1 Auburn (No. 8 NET) on Feb. 1. It does not before returning home to host No. 12 Kentucky (No. 9 NET) Feb. 5.
Alabama's last five losses have been by a combined 19 points. In fact, over the Crimson Tide's last 11 contests, eight have been decided by two possessions or less with UA owning a record of 3-5 in those contests.
The Tide is 7-0 on the season when holding the opposition to under 70 points in a game. The achievement has only been done twice in conference play against then-No. 14 Tennessee (73-68 on Dec. 29) and then-No. 13 LSU (70-67 on Jan. 19).
The Tide's schedule ranks No. 1 in the nation in every major rating system including: Average Opponent NET Ranking, KenPom.com, ESPN BPI, Sagarin Rankings and RealTimeRPI.
NET RANKING FACTS: Alabama has a NET Ranking of No. 24 in the nation as of 1/28 which is fifth-best in the SEC... UA leads the nation with four wins among the top 12 of the NCAA NET Rankings (No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 4 Houston, No. 10 LSU, No. 12 Tennessee)... of the 11 games remaining on the slate, five are Q1 opponents and five are Q2 ... all five remaining Q1 games are against teams in the top 10 of the NCAA NET... UA is tied for fifth in the nation in Quad 1 wins (5)... Alabama is the only team in the nation to have not played a Quad 4 opponent.
The Crimson Tide also owns a 4-1 record vs. teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season, with all four victories coming against top-15 ranked squads. Alabama defeated then-No. 3 Gonzaga (91-82 in Seattle), then-No. 14 Houston (83-82), then-No. 14 Tennessee (73-68) and then-No. 13 LSU (70-67).
The Crimson Tide remain just outside the top-25 rankings for the Week 12 national rankings. Alabama is one of the top teams that are receiving votes to be ranked in both the Associated Press (77 votes, No. 27) and Ferris Mowers USA Today Coaches Poll (53 votes, No. 26) according to the most recent national rankings, which were revealed Monday afternoon.
According to the other metric rankings, Alabama is ranked in the following (as of 1/28): No. 19 ESPN.com BPI, No. 20 KenPom.com, No. 23 Sagarin and No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings. The Tide's "Best" NET wins (Quad 1) include: Gonzaga (No. 1), Houston (No. 3), LSU (No. 10), Tennessee (No. 12) and at Florida (No. 45).
Ten of Alabama's 12 non-conference opponents (as of 1/27) are either in first place or tied for first in their respective conference and are a combined 179-53 (.772). UA's 12 non-conference foes have combined 74-13 (.871) record in conference action.
According to the most recent KenPom rankings (as of 1/27), the Tide ranks No. 13 in the nation in offensive efficiency, No. 13 in average possession length and No. 26 in adjusted tempo. The site also ranks UA No. 67 in the nation and defensive efficiency.
The Tide enters the contest ranked No. 2 in the SEC and No. 15 in the nation in scoring offense at 81.1 points per game. UA also leads the league in threes attempted (595), threes made (184) and threes made per game (9.2)..
UP NEXT: Alabama travels to Auburn, Ala., to take on the No. 1/2 Auburn Tigers Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN. It marks the second meeting this year between the rivals as the Tide fell to then-No. 4/4 Auburn, 81-77, Jan. 11 in Tuscaloosa.

About Alabama

The Crimson Tide is led by three players who average double figures in Jaden Shackelford (17.1 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (14.3 ppg) and Keon Ellis (12.2 ppg). The trio combines to account for 54 percent (43.6 of the 81.1 points per game average), 69 percent of the three-pointers made (128 of 184), 52 percent field goals made (295 of 571) and 52 percent of the total free throws made (153 of 296).
The Tide youth has also shined this season. A pair of freshmen in guard JD Davison and center Charles Bediako have both been impressive during their rookie campaign. Davison, a consensus five star and McDonald's All-American, ranks second on the team in assists (4.1 apg) while also ranking among the team leaders at 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a strong inside presence, collecting 6.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-leading 1.6 blocks a game. Meanwhile, sophomore Juwan Gary has also been impressive in his second year at UA, averaging 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
As a team, Alabama is averaging 81.1 points per contest, which ranks second the SEC and 15th nationally, and is ranked No. 13 in the nation in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com (1/27). The Tide is outscoring the competition by an average of 6.4 points per game (81.1-74.7) and owns a +4.3 advantage on the boards (40.4-36.2). The Tide is averaging 9.2 threes made per game, which leads the SEC, while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 30.9 percent from beyond the arc and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe.
Defensively, the Crimson Tide is ranked 67th nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. For the year, Alabama is allowing opponents to average 74.7 points per game while limiting foes to 43.2 percent shooting from the field and 31.3 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.
The Tide holds an all-time record of 1,730-1,074-1 (.616), which includes an 819-632 (.565) record in SEC play. By capturing its 800th SEC win, Alabama joined Kentucky as the only two teams in conference history to reach the milestone. UA also became the third team in the SEC and 34th team in NCAA history to reach 1,700 program wins. Only Kentucky and Arkansas have more wins than the Crimson Tide.

About Baylor

The defending national champion Baylor Bears come into Saturday afternoon's contest sporting a record of 18-2 overall and currently at 6-2 in Big 12 play. Most recently, the No. 4/4 Bears captured a 25-point 74-49 home win over Kansas State to claim their third straight victory following consecutive home losses on Texas Tech (65-62) and Oklahoma State (61-54) on Jan. 11 and 15.
Five players average 9.7 points or more to lead a balanced and consistent offensive attack. Sophomore LJ Cryer leads the team in scoring average (13.9 ppg) and three-point shooting (50-of-107, 46.7 percent). Senior transfer James Akinjo (Arizona) is second in scoring (13.2 ppg) while averaged a team-leading 5.1 assists per game. Akinjo also was named as a Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 honoree as well as a Sporting News Midseason All-America First Team member.
Junior guard Adam Flagler (12.5 ppg) and freshman guard/forward Kendall Brown (10.1 ppg), the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, while senior guard/forward Matthew Mayer (9.7 ppg) all contribute offensively, Additionally, junior big man Jonathan Tchamwa-Tchatchoua is collected 8.1 points and 7.6 rebounds while leading the team in field goal percentage (66.7 percent).
As a team, Baylor is one of the best in the nation on both ends of the floor, checking in at No. 5 overall in offensive efficiency and No. 6 in defensive efficiency, according to the latest KenPom.com rankings (as of 1/27). The Bears have not allowed an opponent to score more than 74 points in a game this season, while Baylor has scoring at least 80 points on eight opponents.
Baylor comes into Saturday's showdown ranked fifth nationally in scoring margin (+19.4 points a game), 11th in scoring defense (59.3) and 35th in scoring offense (78.7). The Bears are shooting 48.1 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from beyond the arc and 67.9 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, Baylor is 12th in the nation in steals per game and owns a rebounding margin of +7.8 (38.2-30.4) which ranks 17th nationally.
Head coach Scott Drew is in his 19th season at the helm of the Baylor program and owns a record of 388-217 (.641). He is the Bears' all-time leader among coaching victories. In 20 seasons as a head coach, Drew is 408-228 (.642).

Alabama-Baylor Series Notes

Baylor and Alabama will square off for the 10th time in series history and the second time in the Big 12/SEC Challenge with this year's contest. The Crimson Tide owns a record of 7-2 in the previous nine meetings, but 0-1 against the Bears in the annual challenge following the 73-68 loss in the 2019 event (Jan. 26, 2019 in Waco, Texas).
Six of the 10 meetings played between the two teams have come on a neutral floor. This is the third time Baylor will come to Tuscaloosa, but the Bears' first appearance since the 1957-58 season. Alabama holds a perfect 2-0 record in home contests, 5-1 on a neutral floor and is 0-1 in games played at Baylor.
Although the two teams will play their 10th contest against one another, it will mark just the third time the two teams will meet on the hardwood since 1967. The only other contests the schools have played against one another since 1967 came on Nov. 26, 2009 (Old Spice Classic, Alabama def. Baylor 79-76) and Jan. 26, 2018 (Big 12/SEC Challenge in Waco, Texas, Baylor def. Alabama, 73-68).
Alabama and Baylor first squared off in the opening game of the 1924-25 season. From 1947-67, the Tide and Bears met on the hardwood a total of six times, including four games played in a span of eight years from 1953-60.
In the most recent matchup, Baylor captured a narrow 73-68 victory over the Tide. The contest featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes, while neither team led by more than six points throughout. A box score from that contest can be found below.

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