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Alabama Looks to Continue Winning Ways When it Hosts Florida Tuesday Night - Alabama Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its only home game in the current four game stretch when it takes on Florida Tuesday night inside Coleman Coliseum. T...
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its only home game in the current four game stretch when it takes on Florida Tuesday night inside Coleman Coliseum. The contest, which will tip off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2, will be for first place in the SEC standings as both teams come into the showdown as the only 2-0 teams in the league.
The Tide enters the contest having won four of its last five games and is coming off arguably its most impressive win with a 71-63 victory over then-No. 7 Tennessee last Saturday night in Knoxville. It marked Alabama's first win over a top-10 team in a true road contest since taking down then-No. 4 Mississippi State on Feb. 21, 2004 (W, 77-73).
Florida and Alabama will meet for the 146th time in series history, and only meeting this season, when the teams square off on Tuesday. UA owns an all-time record of 75-70 in the series, including a 27-12 record in games played at Coleman Coliseum. However, the Tide has lost eight straight and 10 of the last 12 to the Gators at Coleman Coliseum. The last time Alabama defeated Florida at home came on Feb. 26, 2006.
The Broadcast
- Tuesday's game will be available on ESPN2 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), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
Team Notes
- The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 36 in the first NCAA NET rankings which were released on Monday. Alabama is one of six SEC teams ranked among the top-40 in the rankings, which included Tuesday night's opponent Florida (ranked No. 22). Other conference teams in the top 40 included No. 3 Tennessee, No. 10 Missouri, No. 23 LSU and No. 24 Arkansas.
- Alabama ranks among the top-40 in the nation in KenPom.com's offensive and defensive efficiency. The Crimson Tide is 36th nationally in offensive efficiency coming into Tuesday's contest against Florida, and ranks No. 40 overall in defensive efficiency.
- While Alabama is known for what it can do offensively, it's the Crimson Tide's defense that has helped it to a 2-0 start to SEC play. Alabama ranks second in the conference in scoring defense (63.5) and leads the league in field goal percentage defense (32.8 percent) and three-point field goal percentage defense, limiting SEC foes to just 5-of-34 shooting from beyond the arc (14.5 percent).
- The Crimson Tide is off to a 2-0 start in league play for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The last time Alabama began league play at 3-0 came during the 1986-87 campaign (started that SEC season 7-0).
- Alabama has collected 1,698 wins in program history and is just two wins shy of becoming the third team in SEC history to reach 1,700 program victories, joining Kentucky (2,320) and Arkansas (1,713).
- John Petty Jr. has made 20 three-pointers on the year, pushing his career total to 254 made threes. He now needs only 10 more treys to become the program's all-time leader in the category, which is currently held by Brian Williams (1996-99) who made 263 career threes at Alabama. Furthermore, his 663 career attempts from deep is 76 shy of breaking Williams' program record of 738 three-point shots.
- According to KenPom.com, Alabama's strength of schedule ranks No. 43 in the non-conference which is fourth-best among all SEC teams. Including the 5-1 Gators, the Crimson Tide's 11 opponents on the season have a combined record of 67-29 (.698). Furthermore, eight of the opening 11 opponents are ranked in the Ken Pomeroy top-100 RPI, while five are among the top-60 (all numbers as of 1/3).
- Alabama boasts four players who average in double figures in Jaden Shackelford (13.0), Jahvon Quinerly (13.0), John Petty Jr. (12.7) and Herbert Jones (12.0). Together, the four combine to account for 50.7 of the Tide's 76.7 points per game – approximately 66 percent of the total scoring average.
About Alabama
- Alabama enters Tuesday's home contest against Florida sporting a 7-3 record on the season and a 2-0 mark in SEC play. Most recently, the Crimson Tide captured the fourth win in the last five games – and most impressive victory of the season – when it captured a 71-63 victory over then-No. 7 Tennessee last Saturday night in Knoxville, Tenn. Alabama shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the floor and improved to 6-0 on the season when shooting 40-percent or better in a contest.
- Four Crimson Tide players are averaging 12.0 or more points per game for head coach Nate Oats in the early part of the season. Guarda Jaden Shackelford (13.0 ppg) and Jahvon Quinerly (13.0 ppg) lead the way with guard John Petty Jr. (12.7 ppg) along with forward Herbert Jones (12.0 ppg) each average in double figures.
- Jones, considered one of the top defensive players in the entire nation, leads the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg), three-point field goal percentage (.500, 7-of-14), charges taken (3), Blue Collar Points (214, 21.4 BCP per game), deflections (30), floor dives (7) and Hard Hat Awards (5). He enters league play with much improved offensive numbers. In addition to averaging double digits, Jones is collecting 2.0 assists per contest, while shooting 44.6 percent from the field (41-of-92).
- The trio of Petty (20-of-57), Shackelford (21-of-57) and Quinerly (11-of-34) have combined to hit 52 of the Tide's 95 three-pointers (54.7 percent) and have 148 of the team's 299 (49.8 percent) total attempts from beyond the arc.
- As a team, Alabama is outscoring the opposition by 7.0 points per contest (76.7-69.7) while shooting 41.8 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from deep and 66.4 percent from the charity stripe.
- It's the Crimson Tide's defense that has set the tone to its 2-0 start in SEC play. UA leads the league in defensive efficiency through the early part of conference play, ranking first in field goal percentage defense (32.8 percent) and three-point field goal percentage defense (14.7 percent), while ranking second in scoring defense (63.5).
- This season, the Tide welcomed back four starters and five of its top seven scorers off last year's team, three were named as All-SEC performers a year ago. Petty (Second Team All-SEC), Shackelford (All-Freshman) and Jones (All-Defensive) all earned a spot on the postseason teams. Both Petty and Jones tested the NBA waters, with Petty, who was one of the last players to withdraw his name, announcing his return in early August and Jones in mid-June.
- Alabama was predicted to finish fifth overall as voted on by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Additionally, Petty All-SEC Preseason First Team honors by both the coaches and media members, while Jones earned a spot on the preseason second team as voted on by the league's head coaches. Petty was selected to the 2020 Jerry West Award Watch List for the nation's top shooting guard. He was also tabbed preseason All-SEC by Blue Ribbon Yearbook.
- Head coach Nate Oats is in his second season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program and owns a record of 23-18 (.561) during his time at the Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 119-61 (.661).
About Florida
- Similar to the Crimson Tide, Florida has started a perfect 2-0 in league play and improve to 5-1 overall on the season following an 83-79 victory over LSU last Saturday. The Gators also defeated Vanderbilt on the road, 91-72, in the league opener which marked the first game it that UF played since it dropped a 12-point decision at Florida State on Dec. 12
- Florida is currently playing without leading scorer and SEC Preseason Player of the Year Keyontae Johnson. Prior to being sidelined, Johnson was leading the team in scoring (16.0 ppg) while shooting 64.1 percent (25-of-39) from the field and 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from beyond the arc across his four contests.
- Three other Florida players are averaging in double figures. Guard Tre Mann leads the way as he tops the team with 15.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Scottie Lewis contributes 14.7 ppg while leading the team in blocks (9) and steals (10) and Colin Castleton adds 11.7 ppg and tops UF in field goal percentage (73.7 percent).
- As a team, the Gators are averaging 82.8 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 14.0 points per game (82.8-68.8). Florida leads the league in field goal percentage at 50.6 percent shooting on the year and ranks third in scoring offense and three-point shooting percentage (.36.2 percent). In its two SEC games, UF is the top offensive team and leads the conference in scoring offense (87.0) and field goal percentage (55.8 percent).
- Florida head coach Mike White is in his sixth year as head men's basketball coach. Prior to coming to Gainesville, White led Louisiana Tech to a 101-40 record (.716) from 2010-14, including three straight conference championships. He owns a 113-66 (.631) record in six seasons at Florida and is 214-106 (.669) in his nine seasons as a head coach.
Alabama-Florida Series History
- Tuesday's game will mark the 146th meeting on the hardwood between Alabama and Florida, which is the eighth-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Tide owns a 75-70 edge in the all-time series.
- In the only contest played between the teams a year ago, the Crimson Tide dropped a 104-98 double overtime decision inside the Stephen O'Connell Center nearly a year ago to the day on Jan. 4, 2020. The Gators' last appearance in Coleman Coliseum came on Feb. 16, 2019 when UA dropped a 71-53 decision. It was Florida's eighth consecutive win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
- The last time Alabama defeated Florida in Tuscaloosa came on Feb. 26, 2006. The Tide has lost eight straight and 10 of the last 12 to the Gators at Coleman Coliseum.
- Alabama owns an all-time record of 48-22 when playing Florida in Tuscaloosa and is 27-12 in games against the Gators in Coleman Coliseum.
- Despite splitting the last four games in the series, Alabama has still dropped 13 of the 15 and 24 of the last 29 games played between the two teams.
- Fifteen of the last 21 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.
Players Of The Week
- Alabama guards Jaden Shackelford and John Petty Jr. have each been named the SEC Player of the Week in each of the last two weeks. It's the first time since the 1986 season that UA players have earned back-to-back conference Player of the Week honors (Terry Coner and Derrick McKey).
- Shackelford earned the accolade for the week of Dec. 30 when after he scored 26 points on the strength of a career-best eight three-pointers to lead UA past ETSU, 85-69, on Dec. 22.
- This past week, Petty earned the recognition after averaging 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest while shooting 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from 3-point range in wins over Ole Miss and at then-No. 7 Tennessee.
…. thanks for the schedule post. Those 8 o'clock tipoffs through the week are tough on me ( up @ 4am for work), glad to finally see a 6pm tipoff.
, but he definitely doesn't lack in the effort category.
