Alabama Men’s Basketball Faces No. 4/4 Arizona in Phoenix in the Hall of Fame Series

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will travel to Phoenix, Ariz., to face No. 4/4 Arizona in the Hall of Fame Phoenix Series, Wednesday at the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns.

The Crimson Tide's matchup against the Wildcats is the final matchup of three straight games where Alabama will face a top-10 opponent in No. 4 Purdue, at No. 8 Creighton and vs. No. 4 Arizona (Phoenix, Ariz.). It is the first time Alabama has faced three straight top-10 opponents during the non-conference schedule.

Alabama continues to have one of the best offenses in the country, as the Tide ranks No. 1 in the country, according to KenPom. Alabama has scored 921 points (92.1 ppg), which ranks No. 3 in the country and the most in program history through the first nine games of the season, surpassing last year's team (830 points).

The Broadcast

Wednesday's game is set for a 10 p.m. CT tipoff and will be aired on the ESPN with Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Sean Farnham (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 head coach Nate Oats is 15-18 against AP Top-25 opponents and 5-7 against Top-10 opponents
Alabama is playing three-straight AP Top-10 opponents during non-conference for the first time in program history and the first time since the 2021-22 season (W vs. #4 Baylor, L at #1 Auburn and L vs. #5 Kentucky)
Alabama has scored 921 points this season (92.1 ppg), the most any UA team has scored in the first 10 games of the season, surpassing last year's team (830 points)
Alabama is one of six schools in the country that has two players on its current roster that has scored at least 1,500 points throughout their career in Aaron Estrada (1,618 points) and Mark Sears (1,566 points)
UA is making 19.9 free throws per contest, which ranks No. 4 in the country
The Crimson Tide owns the No. 1 ranked offense, according to KenPom
The Tide is averaging 92.1 points per game, which ranks No. 3 in the country
UA has an effective field goal percentage of .577, which ranks No. 12 in the country
Mark Sears is one of three players in Division I and the only Power 5 player in the country that has at least 210 points, 25 three-pointers, 35 assists and 40 rebounds this season
Sears ranks No. 16 in the nation in scoring (21.2 ppg), No. 8 in three-point percentage (48.1) and No. 24 in total points (212)
One of the best players in the SEC, Sears ranks No. 1 in the SEC in scoring, No. 3 in field goal percentage (56.0), and No. 8 in assists (3.7 apg)
Senior transfer Grant Nelson was named to the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List, which annually recognizes the top player in college basketball and the Karl Malone Award Watch List for the top power forward in Division I
Alabama's trio of Estrada, Nelson and Sears have each scored over 1,000 points throughout their college career, which is tied for the third most in the country (St. John's & TCU with four each

About Arizona

The Wildcats have been ranked 42 straight weeks and 42 out of 44 weeks under Lloyd. They
have been in Top 10 for 34 weeks and in the Top 5 for 19 weeks.
Arizona is outscoring its opponents, 416-242, in the paint through nine games.
Arizona is one of four teams in the country with three wins over top-25 teams
Head coach Tommy Lloyd's record is 69-11 in his third season as a head coach. After setting the NCAA record for most wins in his first two seasons (61), the focus turns to the three-year record. The NCAA record for most wins through three seasons is 89 wins by Brad Underwood and Brad Stevens.
Eight different countries, including the United States, are represented on Arizona's 18-man roster. The countries include Serbia, Sweden, Mali, Estonia, Lithuania, England and Spain
Arizona leads the country in rebound margin (+17.9 per game), scoring margin (+30.1), second in scoring (94.0) and assists per game (21.6)
All five starters are averaging between 12.3 and 14.1 points per game this season. At least five players have scored in double figures in seven of eight games

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