No. 3/3 Alabama Faces Auburn Saturday at Neville Arena on College GameDay
2/10/2023 12:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide looks to improve to 12-0 in SEC play
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the first time in program history, the No. 3/3 Alabama men's basketball team will play on ESPN's College GameDay as the Crimson Tide faces Auburn on the road Saturday afternoon.Â
The Tide looks to improve to 12-0 in the Southeastern Conference for just the second time in program history (Alabama finished the 1955-56 conference season with a perfect 14-0 record).
Alabama's Brandon Miller and Auburn's Wendell Green Jr. have shined throughout SEC play as Miller is averaging a league-best 19.6 points per game, while Green ranks No. 5 (15.7 ppg) in the SEC with fellow teammate Johni Broome scoring 15.1 points per contest, which ranks No. 7 in the conference.Â
The Broadcast
Saturday's game is set for a 1 p.m. CT tipoff and will be aired on ESPN with Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline) 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
- On Feb. 3, 2023 Alabama head coach Nate Oats received a contract extension to keep him in charge of the Crimson Tide basketball program through March 14, 2029
- Alabama has won 10 SEC games by double digits, which is the second-most in program history (The 1955-56 team won 11 SEC games by double-digits)
- Alabama is looking to improve to 22-3, which would match the program's best-ever record through 25 games (1975-76)
- Alabama's is looking to improve to 12-0 in SEC play for the second time in program history (1955-56 finished with a 14-0 record)
- Alabama is ranked No. 3 in the AP Top-25 Poll, which is the highest ranking in program history this late into the season
- The Tide is one of three teams and the only Power 5 team left this season with an unbeaten record in conference play (Oral Roberts in the Summit and Eastern Washington in the Big Sky)
- The Crimson Tide is one of two schools (Houston) to rank in the top-15 in both defense adjusted efficiency (No. 6) and in offense adjusted efficiency (No. 15) according to KenPom
- Alabama is one seven teams in the last 25 seasons to start SEC play 11-0, which two of those teams won the National Championship (2011-12 Kentucky and 2006-07 Florida)
- Brandon Miller is averaging 19.0 points per game, the most by any freshman in the country and No. 38 overall
- Miller is the only player in Division I to score 455 points, record 195 rebounds and make 75 three-pointers this season
- Miller is shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range, which ranks No. 9 in Division I
- Miller is one of five players in Division I, the only player in the SEC and the only freshman in the country that has scored 455 points and recorded 195 rebounds this season
About AuburnÂ
- Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl (15th, 631) ranks among the Top 15 NCAA Division I active coaches with most career wins - one of three coaches in the SEC to top the list next to Kentucky head coach John Calipari (4th, 783) and Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes (6th, 772).
- Pearl is a three-time SEC Coach of the Year honoree and is the fourth-winningest coach in program history with 169 victories behind Joel Eaves (213), Cliff Ellis (186) and Sonny Smith (173).
- Johni Broome has positioned himself as one of the top big men in the SEC. He is currently on a six-game double-digit scoring streak including three big-time double-double performances at Texas A&M (18 points and 10 rebounds), South Carolina (27 points and 11 rebounds) and versus Georgia (19 points and 18 rebounds).
- Auburn ranks No. 7 nationally and second in the SEC in blocks per game (5.7) behind its two-headed monster of Broome (8th, 2.7 bpg) and Dylan Cardwell (62nd, 1.6 bpg).
- Auburn has had 12-straight capacity crowds of 9,121 this season. The Tigers also boast 35-consecutive regular-season capacity crowds (minus the COVID season in 2020-21).
- For the third time in program history, ESPN's College GameDay is coming to Auburn on Saturday, when the Tigers and Crimson Tide meet.
- The Tigers are 2-0 in their previous College GameDay campus visits which include victories over then No. 13-ranked Kentucky (W, 75-66) on Feb. 1, 2020, and Texas A&M (W, 75-58) on Feb. 12, 2022, as the No. 1 team in the land.
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