No. 2/2 Alabama Faces Oklahoma in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge
1/27/2023 12:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide and the Sooners meet for the second time in three seasons
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 2/2 Alabama men's basketball will take a break from Southeastern Conference games to face Oklahoma in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, on the road Saturday (1 p.m. CT) in the Lloyd Noble Center. This year's Alabama-Oklahoma matchup marks the third time the two teams have squared off in the annual challenge, splitting the previous two contests (Oklahoma won 66-61 in 2021 and Alabama won 80-73 in 2018).
Saturday's contest features two of the top defenses in the country as the Tide rank No. 3 in three-point field goal percentage defense (.259) and Oklahoma ranks No. 25 (.295). Two of the best rebounders in the country will be on display as Alabama's Noah Clowney ranks No. 46 in defensive rebounds per game (6.37) in the country and Oklahoma's Tanner Groves is No. 49 in the nation (6.35).Â
The Broadcast
Saturday's game is set for a 1 p.m. CT tipoff and will be aired 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) 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
- Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the AP Top-25 Poll, the programs highest ranking this late into the season
- Alabama is 4-2 overall in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and 2-1 under head coach Nate Oats
- Coach Nate Oats is 3-2 all-time against the Big 12 as a head coach
- Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the AP Top-25 Poll, its highest AP ranking since 2002-03 (Ranked No. 1)
- Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, its highest-ever ranking since USA Today took over in the 1991-92 season
- Alabama's 8-0 record ties for the fifth-best start in SEC play in program history
- Alabama has six Quad 1 wins this season, which is tied for third-most in the country behind Purdue (7 wins)
- The Crimson Tide is one of five teams with an unbeaten record on the road this season, beating opponents by a scoring margin of +12.5
- The Tide is one of eight teams and the only Power 5 team left this season with an unbeaten record in conference play
- Alabama is 14-12 against AP Top 25 teams during Nate Oats' tenure
- Alabama has posted five wins over top-25 opponents in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history, going 10-5 over the span
- Brandon Miller is averaging 19.5 points per game, the most by any freshman in the country and No. 30 overall
- Miller is the only freshman in the country to rank in the top 75 in points and rebounds per game (No. 75)
- Miller is one of nine players in Division I, the only player in the SEC and the only freshman in the country that has scored 385 points and recorded 160 rebounds this season
About OklahomaÂ
- Oklahoma is ranked in the top 50 in five NCAA Division I categories. OU is 20th in field goal percentage (.477), 22nd in 3-point percentage defense (.355), 24th in effective field goal percentage (.552), 41st in fouls per game (14.9) and 42nd in scoring defense (63.8 PPG).
- Grant Sherfield is 24th among active NCAA Division I career leaders in assist average (4.75), 25th in scoring average (15.4), 27th in assist to turnover ratio (1.86), 27th in assists (489) and 61st in total points (1,583). The Fort Worth, Texas product is one of 29 DI active men's basketball players with 1,500 points and 300 assists. Groves is 82nd in career rebounds (683).
- Sherfield has recorded double-digit points in 17 contests this season and scored 15 points in the Sooners' last outing against Oklahoma State.
- Porter Moser and Jake Moser are one of 22 father/coach and son/player duos in Division I.
- Oklahoma holds a 61-22 record at Lloyd Noble Center since 2017. The Sooners have won .831 percent (594-122) of their games at LNC since the building opened in 1975. OU's winning percentage at Lloyd Noble Center is second in the Big 12 only to Kansas' 87.8% at Allen Fieldhouse (840-117).
- The Sooners are 11-2 in their last 13 games against the SEC. Prior to its loss against Auburn last season, Oklahoma had won its nine previous meetings against the SEC, which included two AP top 15 victories last season against Florida and Arkansas. OU is 2-1 this season and beat Ole Miss at the ESPN Events Invitational and Florida at the Jumpman Invitational.
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