Alabama Men's Basketball Makes Short Trek to take on Mississippi State on Tuesday Night - University of Alabama Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team closes its two-game road trip when it travels to Starkville, Miss., where it will take on Mississippi State on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network. It will mark the second meeting of the year between the two teams. Just two weeks ago...
The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will square off for second time in two weeks when the teams tip off at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team closes its two-game road trip when it travels to Starkville, Miss., where it will take on Mississippi State on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network. It will mark the second meeting of the year between the two teams. Just two weeks ago, the Crimson Tide captured an 83-79 victory over the then-No. 20 ranked Bulldogs on Jan. 29 in Coleman Coliseum.
Mississippi State and Alabama will meet for the 201st time in series history when the teams square off on Tuesday night. The Tide owns an all-time record of 125-75 in the series, including wins in 11 of the last 13 meetings and 15 of the last 19 overall games played between the two programs. The 200 games played and the 125 wins against Mississippi State marks the most for Alabama against any single opponent in each category in program history.
The Crimson Tide won its second straight SEC contest, and secured its second road win in league play, with a 77-67 victory at Vanderbilt on Saturday night. Alabama claimed its first win at Memorial Gymnasium since 2013 and just the second victory on Vandy's home floor since 1990. The Tide led by as many as 19 points and connected on 9-of-11 free throws down the stretch to seal the 10-point victory.
THE BROADCAST
• Tuesday's game will air on SEC Network with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call.
• The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
NOTES YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Coming into Tuesday night's game at Mississippi State, the Tide is ranked No. 43 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings (as of Feb. 10) and own the No. 25 overall strength of schedule. Alabama has played a total of 13 games against Quadrant 1 (2-5) and Quadrant 2 (6-0) opponents this season and boasts a record of 8-5 in such contests. The eight combined wins rank fifth in the conference entering this week's action, trailing only Tennessee (11-1), LSU (11-4), Kentucky (10-4) and Mississippi State (9-7). Moreover, Alabama is a perfect 6-0 against Q2 opponents this season making the Crimson Tide one of only seven teams in the nation that have a perfect record when playing at least six games against Q2 opponents (Houston, Michigan and Nevada are 8-0, Tennessee is 7-0, while Gonzaga and Texas Tech are 6-0).
• The Alabama reserves have been a strength of this year's team, averaging more than 27 points per contest (27.1) entering the contest at Mississippi State. In fact, over the last 10 games alone, the UA bench is averaging 31.3 points per game and have scored 33 points or more seven times over the 10-game stretch. For the year, the Crimson Tide bench has been outscored just three times on the season and is outscoring its counterparts by 8.3 points per contest (27.1-18.8).
• The Crimson Tide owns a 9-2 record under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum, with both defeats coming on buzzer-beating three-pointers. Most recently, Alabama fell to Texas A&M on Jan. 12 when TJ Starks drained an improbable shot from beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded, lifting the Aggies to an 81-80 victory. The other occurrence came back on Dec. 4 when Georgia State's three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Panthers an 83-80 victory.
• Head coach Avery Johnson boasts a record of 14-11 when playing teams ranked in the Associated Press Top-25, including a 3-1 record this season. Johnson has guided the Crimson Tide to seven consecutive wins at home and nine wins in the last 13 overall games played against ranked opponents. His record is even more impressive considering the Tide had lost 21 consecutive games against ranked opponents prior to his arrival.
• Alabama owns a 3-1 record against AP Top-25 opponents this season, with all three victories coming during the month of January, most recently knocking off then-No. 22/21 Mississippi State, 83-79, on Jan. 29 in Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide, which has now won seven straight home game vs. ranked teams and improved to 9-4 over the last two seasons when playing an opponent ranked in the top 25, also defeated then-No. 13 Kentucky (77-75) on Jan. 5 and then-No. 20 Ole Miss (74-53) on Jan. 22.
• The 70-point mark seems to be a key for the Crimson Tide team this season. On the year, Alabama has a record of 15-3 when scoring 70 or more points in a game. However, the Tide is 0-5 this season when scoring less than 70 points in a contest..
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama improved to 15-8 on the year and 6-4 in SEC play when it captured a 77-67 decision over Vanderbilt on Saturday night in Nashville. The Crimson Tide led the contest for more than 36 minutes and improved to 15-3 on the season when scoring 70 or more points in a contest. The two teams will meet again in exactly two weeks from the date of the game on Feb. 23 in Tuscaloosa.
• Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. leads a balanced scoring attack that features eight Alabama players averaging at least 6.0 points per game, while 10 players are averaging double-digit minutes. Three UA players average in double figured as Lewis' 14.3 points per game tops the Tide and ranks 10th in the SEC. Sophomore John Petty Jr., who leads the Tide in SEC play with 13.4 ppg, ranks second on the team at 11.7 ppg, while senior Donta Hall is collecting 11.0 points per game.
• Lewis leads UA in assists (3.0 apg), steals (20), minutes (30.9) and free throw shooting (68-of-83, .819), while ranking second in threes made (36) and attempted (96). Meanwhile, Hall tops the team in total dunks (45), rebounds (8.7 rpg), blocks (1.8 bpg), double-figure contests (16) and double-doubles (10). He currently ranks among the league leaders in double-doubles (1st), rebounding (3rd) and blocked shots (9th). Petty leads the Tide in three-point field goals made (45) and attempted (127) and ranks second on the team in minutes (28.9) and in rebounding (4.1).
• Junior Tevin Mack, who scored a season-high 25 points in the win over Georgia, is averaging 9.0 ppg, while junior Dazon Ingram (7.6 ppg), senior Riley Norris (6.9 ppg) and sophomores Herbert Jones (6.4 ppg) and Alex Reese (6.0 ppg) are all averaging at least six points per contest. Ingram tops the team in three-point shooting (14-of-28, .500), while Norris is second (18-of-45, 40.0 percent) over his 14 games played. Meanwhile Jones, who is considered one of the top defenders in the Southeastern Conference, tops UA with 16 charges taken and is second in steals (20).
• As a team, Alabama enters Tuesday's contest as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. The Tide has outrebounded 18 of its 23 opponents on the year and ranks fourth in the SEC and 38th nationally with a 5.3 advantage on the glass (38.7-33.3). UA is shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc on the year, while outscoring the competition by 3.7 points per game (75.9-72.2).
• Through 10 games in conference play, Petty leads the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg and has knocked down 41.1 percent of his shots from beyond the arc (23-of-56). Meanwhile, Hall is averaging nearly a double-double at 10.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game – a number that tops the SEC in conference games only. Lewis is scoring 13.3 ppg in league play and tops the team in steals (8). Ingram (2.8 apg) leads the Tide in assists per game in SEC play.
• As a team in league play, Alabama leads the league in defensive rebounds per game (27.5) and ranks second in the SEC in rebounding offense (39.0). The Tide also ranks among the league leaders in blocked shots (3rd - 4.9), rebounding margin (3rd - +4.5), offensive rebounds per game (T4th - 11.5), scoring defense (4th - 73.2), scoring margin (5th - +2.8), three-point field goal percentage (5th - .361), three-point field goal percentage defense (5th - .333) and rebounding defense (5th - 34.5).
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
• Mississippi State comes into Tuesday's contest having dropped three of its last four games, including an 83-79 defeat at Alabama just two weeks ago in Coleman Coliseum. The Bulldogs have dropped two contests in its current three-game homestand, most recently dropping a narrow 71-67 loss to No. 5 Kentucky this past Saturday. State also fell by the same margin to No. 21 LSU, 92-88 in overtime on Feb. 6.
• Senior Quinndary Weatherspoon leads MSU with a 17.9 points per contest, which third-best in the SEC, while adding 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He also ranks fifth in the league in free throw percentage (.842) and is fourth in field goal percentage (.495). Two other Mississippi State players average double figures coming into the game against Alabama. Junior guard Lamar Peters ranks second on the team at 12.4 ppg, while leading the team and ranking fourth in the SEC with 5.7 assists a game. Senior forward Aric Holman tops the team with 1.9 blocks per contest, which is tied for fifth in the league, while adding 10.6 ppg.
• As a team, Mississippi State is averaging 78.5 points per game and outscoring the competition by 7.2 points (78.5-71.3). The Bulldogs rank fourth in the SEC in scoring, field goal percentage (.473) and assists per game (14.9), while ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (.372) and third in three-pointers made per game (8.6).
• Ben Howland, who is in his fourth season at the helm of the program, was named the 20th head coach in Mississippi State history on March 23, 2015. In four different stints as a head coach, Howland has a 471-255 (.649) record – Northern Arizona (79-59), Pittsburgh (89-40), UCLA (233-107) and Mississippi State (71-52, .577). He led UCLA to three-consecutive Final Fours, including a national runner-up finish in 2006.
ALABAMA-MISSISSIPPI STATE – SERIES NOTES
• Alabama and Mississippi State will meet for the 201st time in series history, and second time this season, when the teams square off on Tuesday night. The Tide captured an 83-79 victory over the Bulldogs back on Jan. 29 in Coleman Coliseum. With the win, UA now owns a 125-75 edge in the all-time series, including wins in nine of the last 11 contests played between the two teams.
• The 200 games played and the 125 wins against Mississippi State marks the most for Alabama against any single opponent in each category in program history.
• The two teams split its season series a year ago, with each team winning on its home floor. Alabama claimed a narrow 68-62 victory over the Bulldogs in the first meeting this season, which was played on Jan. 20, 2018 at Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 19-point lead at halftime, but had to withstand a second half surge from Mississippi State to hang on for the win. The second meeting featured eight ties and 11 lead changes, but it was a late 7-1 surge that broke a tie game and propelled the Bulldogs to a 67-63 victory. The win snapped Alabama's four-game win streak at the Hump.
• Alabama has won four of the last five games played against Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum. However, the Tide had a four-game winning streak at The Hump snapped last season when it fell fin the final minutes to the Bulldogs, 67-63 on Feb. 6, 2018. With that loss, Alabama fell to 40-55 in all-time games played in Starkville, Miss.
• Coming into Tuesday's game, Alabama has been the dominant team in the series. The Crimson Tide has claimed victory in five of the last six, nine of the last 11 and 15 of the last 19 games played between the long-time rivals.
• The series, which first began during the 1912-13 season, has seen 14 overtime contests including the 2008-09 season's double-overtime affair. The Tide owns an 8-6 lead in such games.
• Sixty-six of the meetings have been decided by five or fewer points.
NCAA TOURNAMENT RESUME
• Heading into Tuesday's game at Mississippi State, Alabama is a combined 8-5 against Q1 and Q2 teams, owning 2-5 mark against Quadrant 1 opponents and a perfect 6-0 record vs. teams in Quadrant 2 this season. Combined, UA's 8 wins against Q1 and Q2 opposition this year trails only Tennessee (11), LSU (11), Kentucky (10) and Mississippi State (9).
• Alabama boasts the conference's fourth-best winning percentage against Quadrant 1 and 2 opposition. The Tide's 8-5 mark equates to a .615 winning percentage, trailing only Tennessee (11-1, .917), LSU (11-4,.733) and Kentucky (10-4, .714), while ranking ahead of Mississippi State (9-7, .563). Those are the only five teams in the SEC that own a winning record in combined Q1 and Q2 games.
• UA enters the game at Mississippi State with a NET Ranking of No. 43 nationally, while owning the No. 25 overall strength of schedule. More importantly, Alabama's average of its 14 NET wins is 112.5, which ranks first in the SEC and eighth-best in the nation.
• Of the Tide's remaining eight regular season contests, four are projected to be against Q1 opposition, while three will be against Q2 teams.
• Alabama's three Quadrant 4 opponents is the lowest number among SEC schools (tied with LSU).
