No. 24/25 Alabama Begins Final Homestand Saturday vs. South Carolina on Senior Night

Saturday, February 26

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

5 p.m. CT

Alabama

South Carolina

Quinerly , Ellis, Shackelford huddle at Vanderbilt

No. 24/25 Alabama Begins Final Homestand Saturday vs. South Carolina on Senior Night

2/25/2022 12:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Crimson Tide will honor three graduating players following the contest which will tip at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama begins its final homestand of the year when it welcomes the South Carolina Gamecocks to Coleman Coliseum Saturday at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network. It will be the only contest between the teams during the regular season.

The Crimson Tide enters the contest having won four of its last five games following Tuesday night's 74-72 win at Vanderbilt. It was Alabama's third-straight win in Memorial Gymnasium which is the first time that's happened since 1985-87. The lone loss over the five-game stretch came at No. 4/3 Kentucky on Feb. 19 (lost, 90-81).

Saturday will also double as Senior Day with Keon Ellis, Jahvon Quinerly and James Rojas being honored following the contest. The trio has or will earn their diplomas during the 2021-22 year (seniors Tyler Barnes and Britton Johnson were honored last season, Noah Gurley is expected graduate in 2022-23 and will return next season).

In addition to honoring the graduates Saturday, Alabama also welcomes back the 2001-02 team in a halftime recognition. That team finished with an overall record of 27-8 (17-0 at Coleman Coliseum) and 12-4 in SEC play to win the program's first SEC regular season championship in 15 years. The Tide ended the year with a final ranking of No. 8 by the Associated Press. Erwin Dudley and Mo Williams were named SEC Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively, while Mark Gottfried was named Coach of the Year. Rod Grizzard also earned also earned all-league honors that memorable season.

The Broadcast

Saturday's game will be available on SEC Network with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Joe Kleine (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

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.
The Crimson Tide remained in the national rankings, moving up one spot from last week in each poll. Alabama imrpoved from No. 25 to No. 24 in this week's Associated Press Top-25 rankings, while also climbing from the first team left out of last week's poll into No. 25 in the Ferris Mowers USA Today Coaches Poll.
UA ranks No. 11 in the nation in offensive efficiency by Ken Pomeroy (as of 2/24), which would stand as the program's second-most efficient offense over the last 20 years of KenPom.com's end-of-year ranking (finished No. 9 in 2005). Pomeroy also ranks the Tide No. 10 in average possession length, No. 17 in adjusted tempo and No. 79 in defensive efficiency.
According to the other metric rankings, Alabama is ranked in the following (as of 2/21): No. 20 KenPom.com, No. 21 ESPN.com BPI, No. 21 Sagarin and No. 22 in the NCAA NET rankings. The Tide's "Best" NET wins (Quad 1) include: Gonzaga (No. 1), Houston (No. 4), Baylor (No. 6), Tennessee (No. 9), LSU (No. 17), Arkansas (No. 23) and at Florida (No. 55).
The Crimson Tide owns a 5-4 record vs. teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season. The five ranked wins is tied for second-most in the nation (Texas Tech), trailing Marquette (6) by one and stands the second-most in a single season, one shy of matching the 2017-18 squad that finished with six top-25 wins.
All five of UA's ranked wins came against top-15 teams, giving Alabama the national lead in top-15 wins (5). The Crimson Tide has defeated then-No. 3 Gonzaga (91-82 in Seattle), then-No. 14 Houston (83-82), then-No. 14 Tennessee (73-68), then-No. 13 LSU (70-67) and then-No. 4 Baylor (87-78).
Alabama owns a record of 4-2 in games that have come down to a single possession (3 or fewer points) and is 4-4 in two possession contests (4-6 points) on the year.
NET RANKING FACTS: Alabama has a NET Ranking of No. 22 in the nation as of 2/24 which is fifth-best in the SEC... UA is the only team in the nation to have defeated four teams among the NET Top 10 (No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 4 Houston, No. 6 Baylor and No. 9 Tennessee)... UA is tied for the fourth nationally in total number of Quad 1 with seven (only three teams have more: Baylor, Kansas, Iowa State)... Alabama is the only team in the nation to have not played a Quad 4 opponent.
UP NEXT: Alabama will host the final home game of the 2021-22 season when it welcomes Texas A&M to Coleman Coliseum in the lone meeting between the teams this year. The contest is slated for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff and will be televised on SEC Network.

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 (16.9 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (14.1 ppg) and Keon Ellis (11.7 ppg). The trio combines to account for 54 percent (42.6 of the 80.2 points per game average), 68 percent of the three-pointers made (178 of 257), 51 percent field goals made (399 of 783) and 52 percent of the total free throws made (219 of 400).
The Tide's 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 (4.0 apg) while also ranking among the team leaders at 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a strong inside presence, collecting 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-leading 1.8 blocks a game.
As a team, the Crimson Tide is averaging 80.2 points per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, Alabama is giving up 75.9 points per game while allowing the opposition to shoot 43.0 percent from the floor and 32.7 percent from deep. UA is the top three-point shooting team in the SEC, connecting on 257-of-832 treys this season for an average of 9.2 threes made per game – all of which leads the league.
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 1,734-1,077-1 (.616), which includes an 822-634 (.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 South Carolina

South Carolina comes into Saturday's contest having won four consecutive games to improve to 17-10 overall and in a fifth-place tie with Alabama in the SEC standings with three games to play in the regular season. The Gamecocks owns a NET Ranking of 87 and are ranked No. 92 by KenPom.com.
Most recently, the USC picked up its fourth-straight win by taking down Mississippi State, 66-56, Wednesday night in Columbia, S.C. Guard Jermaine Couisnard, who was coming off a career-high 33-point performance in a 77-75 win over LSU on Feb. 19, scored 22 points to record back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career.
Couisnard leads South Carolina in scoring at 11.5 ppg, while also topping the team in assists (2.9 apg), steals (1.2 spg) and three-point percentage (34.0 percent). Guard Erik Stevenson, who has made stops at Wichita State and Washington before transferring to South Carolina, ranks second in scoring average (11.3 ppg), rebounding (4.5 rpg) and steals (1.1 spg) while leading the team in field goals made (101) and attempted (277), threes made (49) and attempted (151) and free throw shooting where he's hit 53-of-54 from the charity stripe (98.1 percent).
Guard James Reese V (10.2 ppg), who played for one season under Nate Oats at Buffalo in 2017-18, guard Devin Carter (9.2 ppg) and Keyshawn Bryant (8.9 ppg) all contribute on the offensive end of the floor. Reese leads USC in minutes per game at 29.7 and ranks second in threes made (43) and attempted (132). Meanwhile, forward/center Wildens Leveque averages 7.2 ppg and a team-leading 5.0 rpg.
As a team, the Gamecocks enter the game as one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the nation, checking in at No. 11 in the category at 13.3 per game. That has helped contribute to USC's +2.8 advantage on the glass (38.4-35.6) and +2.6 average scoring margin (71.6-69.0). South Carolina is shooting 43.1 percent from the floor, 31.8 percent from beyond the arc and 66.2 percent from the charity stripe.
South Carolina is led by 10th-year head coach Frank Martin. Martin, who led the Gamecocks to a Final Four run in 2017, owns a record of 170-144 (.541) during his tenure with the Gamecocks and is 287-198 (.592) now in his 15th season as a head coach (spent five years at Kansas State).

Alabama-South Carolina Series Notes

Alabama and South Carolina will meet for the 49th time overall, with the Crimson Tide owning a 32-16 edge in the series history.
Alabama has won six consecutive games in the series entering Saturday night's showdown. The two teams played only once last season, with the Crimson Tide taking an 81-78 decision in Columbia, S.C. A box score from that contest can be found below.
In addition to six-straight wins in the series, Alabama was been victorious in eight of the last nine games played between the two teams. The Tide has been even better at home, claiming six straight wins over USC in Coleman Coliseum and have won 16 of the 18 games played in Tuscaloosa in the series (16-2 in Tuscaloosa, 13-2 in Coleman Coliseum).
When playing at Colonial Life Arena, the Crimson Tide owns a record of 8-12 overall, including winning three consecutive games in Columbia with last year's three-point win. The steak also includes wins on Feb. 26, 2019 when UA took a 68-62 victory followed by a memorable quadruple overtime 90-86 victory Feb. 7, 2017.
The teams have met 19 times as SEC opponents with UA winning 25 of those meetings (25-14).
Sixteen of the last 20 games between the teams have been decided by 10 or fewer points, including seven coming down to just one possession.
The series began during 1922-23 campaign.

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