2022 SEC Tournament Preview: Alabama to Face Vanderbilt Thursday Night

Thursday, March 10

Tampa, Fla.

7 p.m. CT

Alabama

Vanderbilt

3/9/22 MBB SEC TournamentAmalie ArenaPhoto by Robert Sutton

2022 SEC Tournament Preview: Alabama to Face Vanderbilt Thursday Night

3/9/2022 12:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Crimson Tide begins quest for back-to-back SEC Tournament titles for the first time since winning three-straight from 1989-91

TAMPA, Fla. – On the eve of its 2022 Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament opener, the sixth-seeded Alabama men's basketball team spent the day making final preparations for Thursday's opener against No. 11 Vanderbilt, who defeated No. 14 Georgia 86-51 in Wednesday's opening round. The Tide and Commodores will tipoff at approximately 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) on SEC Network on the first full day of the event, which is being held March 9-13 in Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

The defending champs are in the house??#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball | #SECTourney pic.twitter.com/rT7qaiSNKf
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 9, 2022

The Crimson Tide enters the event as the defending SEC Tournament Champions, winning three games in Nashville on the way to the program's seventh tournament title and first in 30 years dating back to 1991. Alabama earned the No. 1 overall seed and defeated Mississippi State (78-49) in the quarterfinals, Tennessee (73-68) in the semis and LSU (80-79) in the championship game.

Alabama and Vanderbilt have met in the SEC Tournament play eight times, with each team winning four. The last time the two teams met in postseason play was March 12, 2009 (Alabama 82, Vandy 75).

With last year's title run, Alabama has won seven SEC Tournament championships in program history. The other six tournament titles were won in 1934, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991. The Tide owns a record of 70-53 (.558) in all-time SEC Tournament games, ranking second in tournament winning percentage and third in total tournament wins.

????#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/gnL8pctK6i
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 9, 2022

The Broadcast

Thursday's SEC Tournament action will be available on SEC Network with Tom Hart (play-by-play), Dane Bradshaw, (analyst) and Alyssa Lang (courtside) 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, while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

Four Alabama players earned all-conference honors this season: Jaden Shackelford earned a spot on the All-SEC Second Team for second-straight season, Charles Bediako and JD Davison both earned SEC All-Freshman honors, Keon Ellis was named to the league's all-defensive team.
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. 27 in the nation as of 3/8 which is sixth-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. 3 Baylor, No. 5 Houston and No. 8 Tennessee)... UA is tied for fourth nationally in total number of Quad 1 with 7 (only eight teams have more)... Alabama has played the fewest amount of Quad 4 opponents (1) than any other team in the nation.
The Tide is receiving votes to be ranked in this week's Associated Press Top-25 (No. 36, 7 votes) and the Ferris Mowers USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 31, 11 votes). It marks the 18th consecutive week that Alabama has been ranked or receiving votes in both major college basketball top-25 polls, reaching as high as No. 6/8 (week 6).
Junior guard Jaden Shackelford has attempted an SEC-leading 262 three-pointers on the year which ranks second-most in a single season by any Alabama player. He needs only 18 more attempts from deep to break Eric Washington's mark of 279 set in 1995-96. Additionally, Shackelford's 93 made threes on the year ranks third in the UA annals, 21 makes from surpassing Washington's 1995-96 record of 113.
For the season, Alabama is 289-of-929 from beyond the arc and leads the league in threes made and threes attempted for the year. The 2021-22 team is just the third in program history to have attempted 900 treys in a season and needs just 61 more attempts to break the school record of 989 set last season. The Tide also needs 11 more makes to become the third team to reach 300 made threes in a season. The other two occurrences came under head coach Nate Oats in each of the last two seasons (2019-20 and 2020-21).
UA ranks No. 13 in the nation in offensive efficiency by Ken Pomeroy (as of 3/8), 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. 13 in average possession length and No. 16 in adjusted tempo. However, Alabama has dropped to No. 93 in defensive efficiency which ranks 11th in the SEC.

Gallery: (3-9-2022) 03-09-22 MBB SEC Practice

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 second team All-SEC performer Jaden Shackelford (16.6 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (14.3 ppg) and Keon Ellis (12.1 ppg). The trio combines to account for 54 percent (43.0 of the 80.1 points per game average), 71 percent of the three-pointers made (205 of 289), 51 percent field goals made (443 of 861) and 51 percent of the total free throws made (243 of 472).
The Tide's youth has also shined this season. A pair of SEC All-Freshman Team honorees in guard JD Davison and center Charles Bediako. 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 8.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a strong inside presence, collecting 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-leading 1.7 blocks a game, which ranks third in the SEC.
As a team, the Crimson Tide is averaging 80.1 points per game which ranks 12th in the nation, while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, Alabama is giving up 76.2 points per game while allowing the opposition to shoot 44.3 percent from the floor and 33.1 percent from deep. UA is the top three-point shooting team in the SEC, connecting on 289-of-929 treys this season for an average of 9.3 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 1,735-1,080-1 (.616), which includes an 824-637 (.564) 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.

RECAPPING THE 2020-21 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Alabama returned 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.
Alabama claimed its seventh SEC Tournament titles last year. It was the first tournament title by the Tide in 30 years, with the last coming in 1991. In all, the Tide has won 15 combined championships - the eight regular season titles ranking third-most and the seven tournament championships ranking second-best in the league.
UA has made 37 NCAA (21) or NIT (16) appearances in program lore. It was the program's third appearance since 2012 (also earned an at-large bid in 2018).
The Tide made its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and has reached its eighth Sweet 16 showing. Alabama owns a record of 21-21 (.512) in NCAA Tournament games.
Alabama also ranks second in the SEC in league victories and third in all-time winning percentage.

Four Earn All-Conference

The Southeastern Conference announced the league's 2022 men's basketball postseason honors Tuesday, as Jaden Shackelford led four Alabama players who picked up league recognition. Shackelford earned second team honors for a second consecutive year, while JD Davison and Charles Bediako were voted to the all-freshman team. Senior Keon Ellis also earned a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team.
It's the third straight year that Alabama has had four different players earn All-SEC honors in the same year. In addition, it marks the sixth consecutive season a Tide rookie earned a spot on the all-freshman team, joining Joshua Primo (2021), Jaden Shackelford (2020), Kira Lewis Jr. (2019), Collin Sexton (2018) and Braxton Key (2017).
Meanwhile, Ellis represents Alabama as one of the SEC's top defenders as a UA player picked up the honor for the fifth straight year after Donta Hall (2018, 2019) and Herbert Jones (2020, 2021) were each honored in back-to-back seasons, with Jones also earned the program's lone SEC Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Congrats to our 4?? guys ?? ??

??https://t.co/CKrG1Jeknl #RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/wAVDVodEFG
— Alabama Men's Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 8, 2022

JADEN SHACKELFORD – SECOND TEAM

Picks up second team all-conference honors for the second straight year and third straight year receiving recognition after being named all-freshman team in his rookie campaign
Earned SEC Player of the Week and NCAA National Player of the Week for Dec. 6 after defeating then-No. 3 Gonzaga
Tops the Crimson Tide with 16.6 points per game, which ranks seventh in the SEC
Leads Alabama in threes attempted (262), minutes (34.0 mpg) and 20-point scoring games (10), while ranking second on the team in rebounds (168) and threes made (93)
Surpassed 1,000 career points in a 20-point effort against. Oakland, becoming the 53rd player in Alabama history to reach the milestone
Scored a career-high 30 points with a career-high tying eight three-pointers in the Tide's win against Ole Miss, shooting 8-of-13 from beyond the arc

KEON ELLIS – ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM

Continues to showcase his defensive prowess earning 1.9 steals per game, good for seventh in the SEC
Considered one of the top two-way players in the nation
Ranks seventh in the SEC in steals (1.9 spg) and 13th in rebounding (6.0 rpg), while also averaging 12.1 ppg
He's stepped up his play on defense in league action, recording 2.3 steals per game in league action
For the year, he tops the team in total +/- numbers (+99) and ranks sixth in the conference with an average of +9.9 per 40 minutes
Ranks 27th in the nation and leads the SEC in free throw percentage (88.5%), while topping the team in rebounds (185)

JD DAVISON – ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, picking up the honor for the weeks of Dec. 6 and Feb. 14
In 31 contests, the Letohatchee, Ala., native started five games, ranking second on the team in assists (126) and steals (29), while third on the team in rebounds (147)
Scored a career-high 20 points in the Tide's win over then-No. 3 Gonzaga, also adding five rebounds and three assists
Recorded first career double-double against Miami at the ESPN Events Invitational with 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds
Also had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Vanderbilt

CHARLES BEDIAKO – ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Leads the team in blocks (51) while sitting third in the SEC with 1.6 blocks per game
Tops the Crimson Tide in field goal percentage, making 69.1 percent of his shots' and dunks (38)
Led the Tide in scoring and rebounding against then No.5 Kentucky, matching his career high in both points with 12 and rebounds with eight
Recorded a career-high six blocks in the Tide's win over then-No. 3 Gonzaga, while also adding eight rebounds – the first Tide player to swat 5+ shots in a game since Donta Hall

Last Time Versus Vanderbilt

After trailing by five at intermission, Alabama used a strong second half start and free throw shooting down the stretch to hang on for a narrow 74-72 win at Vanderbilt on Feb. 23.
Jahvon Quinerly came off the bench to score 19 points and lead four Alabama players in double figures. Freshman guard JD Davison earned his second career double-double with a 10-point, 10-rebound performance to go along with five assists and three steals. Graduate transfer Noah Gurley added 11 points and three blocks and senior Keon Ellis had 10 points and eight boards in the win.
With the two-point win, 18 of the last 19 games played between Alabama and Vanderbilt have been decided by 10 or fewer points with 11 of those contests being decided by five or less
Alabama connected on 22-of-25 free throws in the contest for an 88 percent clip, which was a season-best mark
Davison led the Tide matching his career high in rebounds and steals while his five dimes also led the team
The win was the UA's fifth in six meetings between the two teams