Alabama
Vanderbilt
Alabama Men’s Basketball Begins SEC Play This Weekend at Vanderbilt
1/5/2024 1:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide look to extend its four-game winning streak at Memorial Gymnasium
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will play its first Southeastern Conference game of the season, as the Crimson Tide travel to Nashville, Tenn. to face Vanderbilt.
The Crimson Tide's matchup against the Commodores features two of the top backcourts in the SEC as the duo of Mark Sears (251 points) and Aaron Estrada (180 points) has accounted for 35 percent of UA's scoring while Vanderbilt's guards Ezra Manjon (182 points) and Tyrin Lawrence (118 points) are responsible for 33 percent of their team's scoring.
Alabama continues to have one of the best offenses in college basketball, as the Tide ranks No. 1 in the country, according to KenPom. Alabama has scored 1,207 points this season (92.8 ppg), the most any UA team has scored in the first 13 games of the season, surpassing the 2000-01 team (1,107 points).
The Broadcast
Saturday's game is set for a 2:30 p.m. CT tipoff and will be aired on the SEC Network with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Pat Bradley (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
- Head coach Nate Oats became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 career wins at Alabama (147 games) with UA's win over Liberty, surpassing Wimp Sanderson (150 games)
- 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 (1,641 points) and Mark Sears (1,589 points)
- Alabama has posted the toughest non-conference schedule, as its opponents have compiled a .719 winning percentage, posting a combined 115-45 record, which ranks No. 1 in the nation
- The Crimson Tide are currently ranked as the highest SEC team (No. 5) in the NET ranking
- The Tide is averaging 92.8 points per game, which ranks No. 1 in the country
- Guard Mark Sears is one of two players in Division I and the only Power 5 player in the country that has at least 250 points, 30 three-pointers, 49 assists and 55 rebounds this season
- Sears ranks No. 39 in the nation in scoring (19.3 ppg)
- One of the best players in the SEC, Sears ranks No. 1 in the SEC in scoring, No. 6 in field goal percentage (53.6), and No. 9 in assists (3.8 apg)
- Alabama is one of two schools in the SEC (Kentucky) that has two players rank in the top-10 in assists per game in Estarda (No. 7, 4.0 apg) and Sears
- Grant Nelson is shooting 92.3 percent from the free throw line, which ranks No. 20 in the country
- 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 Vanderbilt
- Ezra Manjon is one of four SEC players averaging better than 15.5 points and 3.5 assists per game (Sears, Wade Taylor - Texas A&M, Sean East - Mizzou)
- Manjon has scored in double figures 87 times in his career and is one of just three active SEC players with 85-plus career games in double figures (Antonio Reeves, UK & Johni Broome, AU)
- Vandy is the 10th-youngest program by average age heading into the 2023-24 season and the fifth youngest in the major conferences (Marquette, Kentucky, Arizona, UCLA)
- The Commodores average 20.12 years old with 12 of VU's 17 players being underclassmen
- Vanderbilt's backcourt is one of the most formidable backcourts in the nation in guards Ezra Manjon and Tyrin Lawrence as the duo has accounted for 33 percent of the Commodores' scoring (300 of 890's points)
- Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse is one of two active NCAA D-I head coaches who was a top-three NBA Draft pick
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on X and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
