No. 15/20 Alabama Remains on the Road for Saturday Afternoon Contest at Missouri

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 15/20 Alabama will play its first home-and-home partner of the 2021-22 season when it travels to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network. The Tigers will play the return game in Tuscaloosa in exactly two weeks on Jan. 22 (SEC Network/5 p.m. CT).

Saturday's contest will mark the 12th meeting between Missouri and Alabama as SEC rivals and the 18th contest overall in the series history. The Tide owns an 11-6 edge in the all-time series, with Alabama having won seven of the last 10 games. However, Mizzou has won two consecutive – both coming in Mizzou Arena where the Tigers own a 4-3 edge. It is also one of just three SEC arenas that coach Nate Oats has yet to win (Arkansas, Missouri and Texas A&M).

The Crimson Tide is coming off a well-earned 83-70 victory at Florida last Wednesday night to earn the team's first true road win of the season (Gonzaga was played in Seattle and considered a semi-away game). All five Alabama starters reached double figures as the Tide collected a season high 13 steals and 20 offensive rebounds while forcing the Gators into 20 turnovers to earn its third win in the last four trips to Gainesville.

The Broadcast

Saturday's game will be available on SEC Network with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (analyst) on the call
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

The Crimson Tide comes into the game ranked No. 15 by the Associated Press and dropped a spot to No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll according to the most recent national rankings, which were revealed Monday afternoon.
In addition to its national rankings, Alabama is ranked in the following (as of 1/7): No. 6 Sagarin, No. 16 KenPom.com and No. 18 in both the NCAA NET and ESPN.com BPI. The Tide's "Best" NET wins include: Houston (No. 3), Gonzaga (No. 4), Tennessee (No. 13), Florida (No. 49), Oakland (No. 72), Drake (No. 91) and Miami (No. 95).
Alabama is the only team in the country to have three wins versus teams ranked in the top 15 of the NCAA NET rankings (No. 3 Houston, No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 13 Tennessee). The Tide owns a record of 4-3 vs. Quad 1 teams, 3-0 vs. Quad 2 and 2-0 vs. Quad 3 foes. Alabama is the only power 5 team and one of just two teams nationally (Prairie View A&M) to have not played a Quad 4 opponent all season.
According to the most recent KenPom rankings (as of 1/6), the Tide ranks No. 10 in the nation in offensive efficiency, No. 19 in average possession length and No. 32 in adjusted tempo. The site also ranks UA No. 41 in the nation and defensive efficiency.
The Crimson Tide has won 17 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 17-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.
Guards Jaden Shackelford (16.3 ppg) and Jahvon Quinerly (15.2 ppg) combine to average 31.5 points per game which makes them the top scoring duo in the SEC. When combining Keon Ellis (12.2 ppg), the trio averages 43.7 points a contest – approximately 53 percent of the team's 82.2 scoring average – making the trio the top scoring threesome in the league.
Alabama leads the nation in Quad 1 wins with four (tied), combined Q1 and Q2 (3) wins with seven and NCAA NET top-15 wins with three. Moreover, the Tide is one of only two teams in the nation to have not played a Q4 opponent (Prairie View A&M is the other) and boasts the No. 1 Average Opponent NET Rank in the nation.
UP NEXT: The Crimson Tide will return home to take on rival No. 9/9 Auburn on Tuesday, Jan. 11, in Coleman Coliseum. The game, which is the first of two contests played between the in-state foes (Alabama returns the trip on Feb. 1), will be televised on ESPN at 8 p.m. CT.

About Alabama

The Crimson Tide is led by three players who average double figures in Jaden Shackelford (16.3 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (15.2 ppg) and Keon Ellis (12.2 ppg). The trio combines to account for 53 percent (43.6 of the 82.2 points per game average), 70 percent of the three-pointers made (95 of 135), 51 percent field goals made (215 of 417) and 48 percent of the total free throws made (87 of 182).
The Tide youth has also shined this season. 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, is tied for the team lead in assists (4.4 apg) while also ranking among the team leaders at 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a force on the inside, collecting 7.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks a game. Meanwhile, sophomore Juwan Gary has also been a force, averaging 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
As a team, Alabama is averaging 82.2 points per contest, which leads the SEC and is 18th nationally, and outscoring the competition by an average of 9.5 points per game (82.2-72.7). The Tide is averaging 9.6 threes made per game, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from beyond the arc and 68.7 percent from the charity stripe. UA also owns a rebounding margin of +5.6 (41.0-35.4) for the year.
The Crimson Tide ranks 43rd nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. For the year, Alabama is allowing opponents to average 72.7 points per game while limiting foes to 42.5 percent shooting from the field and 29.9 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 1,728-1,071-1 (.616), which includes an 817-629 (.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 MISSOURI

Missouri enters Saturday's contest with Alabama sporting a 6-7 overall mark and is 0-1 in SEC play. The Tigers did not play their mid-week game – originally scheduled for Jan. 5 at Ole Miss – due to a pause within the Mizzou's program. The Tigers were last in action on Dec. 29 when they dropped the SEC opener to than-No. 18.17 Kentucky, 83-56, in Columbia, Mo.
The Tigers are led on the season by senior Kobe Brown, a native of Huntsville, Ala. (Lee HS), who tops the team in a variety of categories, including scoring (14.2 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg), steals (1.7 spg), field goal percentage (50.8 percent), field goals made (66) and field goals attempted (130) coming into Saturday afternoon's contest.
A pair of transfers have also made their impact felt. Junior transfer Amari Davis (Green Bay) also averages in double digits at 10.8 points per contest and leads the team in free throw percentage (81.3 percent). Meanwhile, Jarron Coleman – a Ball State transfer – leads the Tigers in assists (2.6 apg) and threes made (14) and attempted (50).
As a team, the Tigers are currently ranked No. 235 in the NET, which is second worst in the league (Georgia is ranked 238) and own a 1-5 record vs. Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams on the year. Mizzou is shooting 40.4 percent from the floor and 24.3 percent from deep while allowing opponents to shoot 45.2 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from beyond the arc, all of which rank last in the conference. The Tigers also rank last in the SEC in threes made per game (5.0), assists per game (10.9) and assist/turnover ratio (0.77).

The Tigers our averaging 66.6 points per contest and own a -4.1 scoring margin (66.6-70.7). Missouri does rank as one of the better rebounding teams in the league, owning a +2.9 rebounding advantage on the season (37.0-34.1). Additionally, the Tigers' 12.9 offensive rebounds per game rank fifth in the SEC and 32nd in the nation.
Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin is in his fifth year at the helm of the program and his 14th season overall as a head coach. Martin, who spent three years in the SEC as the head coach of Tennessee (2011-14), owns a career coaching record of 258-184 (.584) and is 72-63 (.533) in five seasons at Missouri.

Alabama-Missouri Series Notes

Alabama and Missouri will square off in the first of two match-ups between the two teams this season on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers will return the game in exactly two weeks when they pay a visit to Coleman Coliseum on Jan. 22 (5 p.m. CT on SEC Network)
In the lone meeting last season between the teams, then-No. 10 Alabama dropped a narrow 68-65 decision at then-No. 18 Missouri on Feb. 6, 2021. The Tide nearly made an improbable comeback in that contest. Ttrailing by as many as 21 points, 60-39, with just over 10 minutes remaining. However, UA was able to mount a 26-6 over the next 9:13 to cut the lead to one, 66-65, with 1:11 left to play before Mizzou eventually hung on for the narrow victory. The box score from last year's game is located below.
Saturday's contest will mark the 12th meeting between the teams as SEC rivals and 18th contest overall in the series history. The Tide owns an 11-6 edge in the all-time series, with Alabama having won seven of the last 10 games over the Tigers despite last season's defeat.
With last season's defeat in Columbia, Mo., the Crimson Tide has now dropped two consecutive games to the Tigers. Prior to that, Alabama's lone defeat over the previous seven games against Mizzou came in Coleman Coliseum on Jan. 31, 2018 when the Tigers captured a 69-60 victory.
It will mark Tide's third consecutive game playing Missouri inside Mizzou Arena where the Tigers own a 4-3 all-time advantage over Alabama. UA's only other appearances in Mizzou Arena dating back to the 2013-14 season – both wins – came on Feb. 15, 2017 (won, 57-54) and Jan. 16, 2019 (won, 70-60).
Ten of the 17 games played between the two teams have been decided by 10 or fewer points.
The first game of the series was played on Dec. 10, 1977

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