Alabama Opens Two-Game Homestand Against Arkansas on Saturday Night - Alabama Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will put its eight-game home winning streak on the line when it plays host to Arkansas on Saturday ...
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will put its eight-game home winning streak on the line when it plays host to Arkansas on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT inside Coleman Coliseum. The contest, which will be televised on SEC Network, will be the only game played between the two teams in the regular season.
The Razorbacks enter the contest having won five straight and six of the last seven games in the series. The five consecutive wins by Arkansas is the longest current winning streak by an SEC team against the Crimson Tide.
The 1989-90 team will be recognized during halftime of Saturday's contest. That team, which was led by the likes of Robert Horry, Gary Waites, Melvin Cheatum and Keith Askins, among others, reached the Sweet 16 and finished ranked No. 23 in the final Associated Press poll. The Tide won the SEC Tournament that season and finished with a record of 26-9 overall and 12-6 in SEC play.
Promotions
- 90s Night – Free vintage t-shirt given away to first 1,000 fans in attendance, 90s tumbler to first 250 students, 90s candy given away while supplies last
- Pregame autographs with the No. 1-ranked softball team
- Saturday's game will be televised on SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Dane Bradshaw (analyst) on the call.
- The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
- The Tide enters Wednesday night's contest ranked No. 5 in the nation in scoring offense at 82.5 points per game and is No. 4 in three-point field goals made per game at 10.4 (as of 1/31), leading the league in both areas. UA also leads the SEC in threes made (207), threes attempted (589) and three-point field goal percentage (.351).
- The contest features the top two scoring duos, and arguably the top two backcourts, in the SEC. The Arkansas backcourt of Mason Jones (19.2 ppg) and Isaiah Joe (16.8 ppg) combine to average 36.0 points to lead the league, while Alabama's Kira Lewis Jr. (16.7 ppg) and John Petty Jr. (15.8 ppg) rank as the second-highest scoring duo in the league at 32.5 points per game.
- Saturday's game will feature the league's top three-point shooting team going up against the top three-point defensive team. Alabama leads the SEC in three-point shooting at 35.1 percent, while Arkansas allows opponents to connect on just 24.6 percent from deep which not only leads the SEC but ranks No. 1 nationally in the statistic.
- Through seven SEC games, Alabama leads the league in scoring offense (82.7), threes made per game (9.4) and defensive rebounds (30.9). Additionally, the Crimson Tide ranks among the top three teams in league play in rebounding offense (2nd - 42.0), scoring margin (3rd - +5.7) and field goal percentage defense (3rd - .388).
- The Crimson Tide has had 11 games of 80 or more points and five games of scoring 90 or more this season. The program record of games of scoring 80 or more points is 17 which was set on three occasions (1986-87, 1978-79 and 1976-77). The 1971-72 team had a school record 12 games of 90 or more points with nine such games occurring in 2001-02 and 1974-75.
- Alabama has vaulted to No. 1 in the SEC and No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (82.5). The Tide has scored 1,649 points through its 20 games thus far. With 12 more guaranteed games this season, the Crimson Tide is within reach of breaking the program's single-season scoring record of 2,761 points set during the 2000-01 campaign.
- In addition to its national ranking in scoring, the Tide ranks atop the SEC and No. 4 nationally in three-pointers made per game (10.4). Additionally, the Tide leads the SEC in three-pointers made (207) and attempted (589), ranking No. 17 in the nation in each category. Alabama is on pace to shatter the team's three-point records for a single season of 259 made three-pointers and 763 attempted.
- In 20 contests this season, the Tide has posted more than 30 shots from beyond the arc 11 times while Alabama has attempted more than 65 shots from the field in 10 separate contests and scored 80 or more points a total of 11 times.
- Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. was named the SEC Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week on Monday. In leading the Crimson Tide to a pair of victories this past week, Lewis averaged 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in wins over Vanderbilt and Kansas State. He became the second Alabama player to earn SEC Player of the Week joining John Petty Jr. who earned the recognition for the week of Dec. 23.
- Alabama enters the contest having played the second-toughest strength of schedule in the SEC. According to the latest KenPom.com rankings (as of 1/31), the Crimson Tide owns the No. 27 overall strength of schedule and the No. 45 non-conference SOS, both of which rank second in the SEC. Florida (22/30) leads the league in both categories.
- Three Alabama players average double figures, while six average 8.4 points per game or better through its 20 contests played. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. (16.7 ppg) tops the team and ranks sixth in the SEC in scoring average, while junior John Petty Jr. (15.8 ppg) ranks second on the squad and ninth in the league. Combined the duo produces the second-highest combined points by any two players on the same team in the SEC (32.5 ppg).
- Lewis leads the SEC and is 13th nationally in minutes per game (37.1), while also leading UA and ranking among the league leaders in scoring, assists (3rd - 4.8 apg) and steals (6th - 1.7 spg). A first-team All-SEC preseason honoree, he also tops the team in field goals made (122) and attempted (274), and is shooting 44.5 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent from the charity stripe.
- Petty is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. He leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (46.8 percent, 65-of-139) and is second in threes made per game (3.3), while ranking fifth and 14th nationally in the categories, respectively. Additionally, he leads the squad and ranks ninth in the conference in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and also tops UA in threes made and attempted while ranking second in steals (1.1 spg) and minutes (33.9 mpg) per game.
- Freshman Jaden Shackelford also average in double figures at 12.7 ppg, while junior Herbert Jones is at 9.9 ppg. Shackelford is second on the team in threes attempted, as 134 of 200 field goal attempts – approximately 67 percent – have come from beyond the three-point line. Jones is the team's best defender, leading the team in Blue Collar Points (418), Hard Hat Awards (11), charges taken (18), deflections (62) and floor dives (23). Junior Alex Reese (9.7 ppg) and graduate senior Beetle Bolden (8.4 ppg) and also contribute on the offensive end.
- As a team, the Tide has been outrebounded in seven of its 20 games played this year and owns a +1.3 advantage on the glass (41.0-39.7). The 41.0 rebounds per game ranks second in the SEC and is 16th-best in the nation. Alabama has outscored the opposition by +5.2 points (82.5-77.3) and is shooting 44.0 percent from the field, 35.1 percent from beyond the arc and 71.3 percent from the foul line.
- Alabama's pace of play ranks among the national leaders. According to the latest KenPom.com rankings (as of 1/31), the Crimson Tide averages 77.7 possessions per 40 minutes ranks third-best in the country. Furthermore, UA's average possession length on offense is at 14.9 which is sixth-fastest in the nation.
- Under first year head coach Eric Musselman, Arkansas opened the season with wins in 12 of its first 13 contests. However, the Razorbacks have dropped four of the last seven, including three of the last four. Most recently, Arkansas dropped a narrow 79-77 home contest against South Carolina last Wednesday night to fall to 3-4 in league action, one game back of Alabama in the league standings.
- The Razorbacks are led by three players averaging double figures, topped by the league's leading scorer in Mason Jones. The junior guard is averaging 19.2 points per game following a monster 34 point, 12 rebound performance against the Gamecocks. Jones not only leads Arkansas in scoring, but also tops the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (1.8 spg).
- Sophomore guard Isaiah Joe is second on the team at 16.8 ppg, while he ranks as one of the league's best shooters. Joe leads the league in three-pointers made per game (3.8) and is second to Alabama's John Petty Jr. in three-point field goal percentage (34.4 percent).
- As a team, the Razorbacks are outscoring the opposition by 10.2 points per contest (74.2-64.0) and by 2.3 points a game in SEC play (72.9-70.6). Arkansas is shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from beyond the arc, however, the Razorbacks are last in the league in rebounding margin at -5.2 (32.9-38.2).
- Arkansas leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to only 24.6 percent from deep this season. The Hogs also lead the league in steals per game (8.8), turnovers forced (17.1) and turnover margin (+5.1).
- Musselman owns a record of 125-39 (.762) in his five years as a collegiate head coach.
- Saturday's game between Alabama and Arkansas will be the 63rd meeting in series history, with the Razorbacks owning a 34-28 edge in the all-time series.
- The Razorbacks have won five straight and six of the last seven games in the series. The five consecutive wins by Arkansas is the longest current winning streak by an SEC team against the Crimson Tide.
- Saturday's game mark the only meeting between the two teams this season.
- Nineteen of the 28 Alabama wins in the series have come on its home floor, claiming a 19-7 all-time record against Arkansas in Coleman Coliseum. However, the Razorbacks won back-to-back games in Tuscaloosa, capturing a 76-73 decision on Feb. 24, 2018 and a 62-61 victory on March 2, 2016. Prior to that game, Arkansas had dropped seven consecutive games on the Tide's home floor.
- Fifty-two of the 62 games played in the series have come as conference opponents.
- The Crimson Tide is 3-2 in overtime contests against Arkansas. All five overtime games have come within the last 13 seasons.
- The series began during 1947-48 campaign.
