TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will close out the current two-game road trip when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the No. 3/3 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) on ESPN2. It will mark the only meeting during the regular season between the two teams.
Tennessee and Alabama are set to square off for the 148th time in program history when the teams meet on the hardwood Saturday afternoon, with the Tide leading the all-time series, 79-68. The 148 all-time games played between the teams ranks as the sixth-most times UA has played any one opponent, while the 79 victories also rank sixth-most in program lore.
THE BROADCAST
• Saturday's game will air on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (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
• Alabama head coach Avery Johnson owns a record of 12-10 in 22 games against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 entering the game at No. 3/3 Tennessee. The last time the Crimson Tide defeated a team ranked among the top five in the nation came a year ago when UA defeated then-No. 5 Texas A&M, 79-57, on Dec. 30, 2017. The last time an Alabama team captured a true road win over team ranked among the AP top five teams in the country came on Feb. 21, 2004 when it downed then-No. 4 Mississippi State, 77-73, in Starkville, Miss.
• Senior forward Donta Hall needs seven more rebounds to reach 700 rebounds for his career (currently at 693). In doing so, he would become just the fifth player in program history to record at least 700 rebounds and 200 blocks (currently has 205) in his career.
• Coming into Saturday's game at No. 3 Tennessee, the Crimson Tide is ranked No. 55 in the latest NCAA Net Rankings (as of Jan. 17). Alabama has played a total of eight games against Quadrant 1 (2-2) and Quadrant 2 (4-0) opponents this season and boasts a record of 6-2 in such contests, which is tied for second-most Q1 and Q2 combined wins in the SEC entering this weekend's action. Only LSU's eight such wins (8-3) rank higher. Furthermore, the Tide's winning percentage of .750 in Q1 and Q2 games ranks second in the SEC behind Tennessee (5-1; .833).
• The Alabama reserves have been a strength of this year's team, averaging more than 26 points per contest (26.1) entering the contest at Tennessee. The Crimson Tide bench has been outscored just twice on the season and it outscoring its counterparts by 8.1 points per contest (26.1-18.0). In fact, over the last three games, the UA bench has scored 33 or more points on each occasion and is averaging 35.7 points per game.
• The Tide is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation entering the game at No. 3 Tennessee. Alabama has won the rebounding battle in 15 of its 16 games this season, including outrebounding each of the four SEC opponents this season. For the year, Alabama ranks second in the SEC and 31st nationally in rebounding margin (+6.5), outrebounding the opposition by an average of 39.1-32.6.
• Balanced scoring is a big key when determining an outcome of a game this season. In fact, the Tide has had nine games in which four players hit double figures, owning a record of 7-2 in such contests – both of the losses coming on buzzer beater three-pointers to Georgia State and Texas A&M. Alabama falls to 4-3 in the seven games in which less than four hit double digits.
• Alabama returns to the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum when it welcomes No. 18/20 Ole Miss on Tuesday, Jan. 22. The contest, which will be the lone meeting between the two teams during the regular season, is set to tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama snapped its two-game losing skid by capturing its first SEC road win of the season with a 70-60 victory at Missouri on Wednesday night. With the victory, the Tide improves to 11-5 this year and 2-2 in the SEC. It was arguably the best defensive performance from start-to-finish this season. The 60 points allowed by the Crimson Tide marked the fewest points it has given up in a game this season, while the Tigers' 26 first half points were the second-fewest it has allowed in any half this season (held Ball State to 21 points in the first half back on Nov. 16).
• Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. leads a balanced scoring attack that features seven Alabama players averaging 7.1 points per game or more. Three UA players average in double digits as Lewis' 14.4 points per game tops the Tide and ranks 12th in the SEC. Senior Donta Hall is second on the team at 11.1 points per game, while sophomore John Petty Jr. is collecting 10.9 ppg.
• Lewis leads UA in minutes (30.8), assists (2.8 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.371) and free throw shooting (52-of-61, .852). Meanwhile, Hall tops the team in total dunks (30), rebounds (8.8 rpg), blocks (2.1 bpg), double-figure contests (12) and double-doubles (8). He currently ranks among the league leaders in double-doubles (T-1st), rebounding (3rd) and blocked shots (T-6th). Petty leads the Tide in threes made (31) and attempted (89) and ranks second on the team in minutes (30.1) and rebounding (4.9).
• Junior Tevin Mack, who scored a season-high 22 points in the win over Kentucky back on Jan. 5, is averaging 9.3 ppg, while junior Dazon Ingram (7.9 ppg), and sophomores Alex Reese (7.3 ppg) and Herbert Jones (7.1 ppg) are both averaging over seven points per contest. Ingram is second in the team with 2.8 assists per game, while Jones, who is considered one of the top defenders in the Southeastern Conference, tops UA with 15 charges taken and 16 steals.
• As a team, Alabama enters Saturday's contest as one of the top rebounding teams in the SEC. The Tide has outrebounded 15 of its 16 opponents on the year and ranks second in the SEC and 33rd nationally with a +6.5 advantage on the glass (39.1-32.6). UA is shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc on the year, while outscoring the competition by 4.0 points per game (76.5-72.5).
• Alabama welcomed back three of its top four and nine of the top 11 scorers from last season's squad. Leading the list of returnees is Hall, who paced all returning players in scoring (10.6 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg), blocks (2.0 bpg), dunks (75) and field goal percentage (.726).
ABOUT TENNESSEE
• Tennessee and Alabama will meet for the 148th time in program history, with the Tide leading the all-time series, 79-68. The 148 all-time games played between the teams ranks as the sixth-most times UA has played any one opponent, while the 79 victories also rank sixth-most in program lore.
• This marks the sixth straight year the two teams will meet only once during regular season play. The last time the two teams squared off twice in the same season came during the 2012-13 campaign.
• Tennessee comes into Saturday's game as one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won 11 straight games. It is the longest winning streak since UT reeled off 11 consecutive victories during the 2007-08 campaign. Additionally, the Volunteers have won 18 straight games at Thompson-Boling Arena dating back to last season.
• Tennessee is led on the year by a pair of players who were each named to the 25-man Wooden Award Midseason Watch List. Junior Grant Williams, who was named the SEC Player of the Year last season,and senior Admiral Scholfield rank as the top two scorers in the SEC at 18.8 ppg and 17.7 ppg, respectively. Meanwhile, point guard Jordan Bone collected 13.4 points and a 6.3 assists per game, which ranks second in the SEC. As a team, the Volunteers lead the league in a multitude of statistics, including: scoring margin (20.3), scoring offense (87.1), assists per game (20.6), turnovers per game (11.9), field goal percentage (.516), field goal percentage defense (.379) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.300). Furthermore, Tennessee leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.77).
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is in his fourth season at Tennessee and his 32nd year as a collegiate head coach. During his four years in Knoxville, Barnes has guided the Volunteers to a record of 72-45 (.615) and owns a career record of 676-359 (.653).
ALABAMA-TENNESSEE – SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's contest will mark the 148th meeting in series history between to two schools, which is the sixth-most common opponent in program lore. The Crimson Tide, which has won three of the last four games over the Vols, owns a 79-68 edge in the all-time series.
• Alabama has won seven of the last 10 meetings and 15 of the last 22 games between the two teams. However, there have been close games played between the two teams as 10 of the last 15 games have been decided by 10 or fewer points.
• The Tide owns a record of 22-43 when playing the Volunteers in Knoxville. Entering Saturday's contest, Alabama has dropped two straight and five of the last six games played in Thompson-Boling Arena. The last time UA won at UT came on Jan. 10, 2015. In that contest, Alabama held Tennessee to just 38 points in a 56-38 victory. It was the fewest points Alabama has allowed a Tennessee team since a 70-37 victory on Feb. 24, 1958.
• UA owns a 45-18 all-time record when playing Tennessee in Tuscaloosa, including a 28-9 mark under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum. The Tide has won four of the last five games played between the two teams at Coleman, with the lone loss in the stretch coming on Feb. 1, 2014 (76-59).
• The series began during 1913-14 campaign.
TOPPLING THE TOP 25
• Head coach Avery Johnson has led his teams to success when playing against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 during his time at the Capstone.
• In 22 total games played against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 (including NCAA Tournament contests), Johnson has led the Tide to a record of 12-10. That's a huge improvement, especially considering prior his arrival, Alabama had lost 21 consecutive games to nationally-ranked opponents.
• In its lone contest against a team ranked in the AP Top 25, Alabama captured a 77-75 win over then-No. 13/14 Kentucky on Jan. 5.
• Saturday's contest at Tennessee marks the third time head coach Avery Johnson has faced a top-five ranked opponent during his time at Alabama. He owns a 1-1 record in such contests, defeating then-No. 5 Texas A&M, 79-57, in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 30, 2017 before falling in the NCAA Tournament second round to then-No. 2 and eventual national champion Villanova, 81-58, on March 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• The Crimson Tide has not defeated an AP Top-5 opponent in a true road contest in nearly 15 years. The last time it happened came on Feb. 21, 2004 when it downed then-No. 4 Mississippi State, 77-73, in Starkville, Miss.
• Last season, Alabama finished with six wins over ranked opponents, It was the most victories over top-25 teams in a single season in program history, topping the four victories over ranked foes which was set in four different seasons (1981-82, 1986-87, 2001-02 and in coach Johnson's first season in 2015-16).
Alabama Men’s Basketball Set To Take on No. 3/3 Tennessee to Close Out Two-Game Road Swing - University of Alabama Athletics
Tennessee and Alabama are set to square off for the 148th time in program history when the teams meet on the hardwood Saturday afternoon, with the Tide leading the all-time series, 79-68. The 148 all-time games played between the teams ranks as the sixth-most times UA has played any one opponent, while the 79 victories also rank sixth-most in program lore.
THE BROADCAST
• Saturday's game will air on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (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
• Alabama head coach Avery Johnson owns a record of 12-10 in 22 games against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 entering the game at No. 3/3 Tennessee. The last time the Crimson Tide defeated a team ranked among the top five in the nation came a year ago when UA defeated then-No. 5 Texas A&M, 79-57, on Dec. 30, 2017. The last time an Alabama team captured a true road win over team ranked among the AP top five teams in the country came on Feb. 21, 2004 when it downed then-No. 4 Mississippi State, 77-73, in Starkville, Miss.
• Senior forward Donta Hall needs seven more rebounds to reach 700 rebounds for his career (currently at 693). In doing so, he would become just the fifth player in program history to record at least 700 rebounds and 200 blocks (currently has 205) in his career.
• Coming into Saturday's game at No. 3 Tennessee, the Crimson Tide is ranked No. 55 in the latest NCAA Net Rankings (as of Jan. 17). Alabama has played a total of eight games against Quadrant 1 (2-2) and Quadrant 2 (4-0) opponents this season and boasts a record of 6-2 in such contests, which is tied for second-most Q1 and Q2 combined wins in the SEC entering this weekend's action. Only LSU's eight such wins (8-3) rank higher. Furthermore, the Tide's winning percentage of .750 in Q1 and Q2 games ranks second in the SEC behind Tennessee (5-1; .833).
• The Alabama reserves have been a strength of this year's team, averaging more than 26 points per contest (26.1) entering the contest at Tennessee. The Crimson Tide bench has been outscored just twice on the season and it outscoring its counterparts by 8.1 points per contest (26.1-18.0). In fact, over the last three games, the UA bench has scored 33 or more points on each occasion and is averaging 35.7 points per game.
• The Tide is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation entering the game at No. 3 Tennessee. Alabama has won the rebounding battle in 15 of its 16 games this season, including outrebounding each of the four SEC opponents this season. For the year, Alabama ranks second in the SEC and 31st nationally in rebounding margin (+6.5), outrebounding the opposition by an average of 39.1-32.6.
• Balanced scoring is a big key when determining an outcome of a game this season. In fact, the Tide has had nine games in which four players hit double figures, owning a record of 7-2 in such contests – both of the losses coming on buzzer beater three-pointers to Georgia State and Texas A&M. Alabama falls to 4-3 in the seven games in which less than four hit double digits.
• Alabama returns to the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum when it welcomes No. 18/20 Ole Miss on Tuesday, Jan. 22. The contest, which will be the lone meeting between the two teams during the regular season, is set to tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama snapped its two-game losing skid by capturing its first SEC road win of the season with a 70-60 victory at Missouri on Wednesday night. With the victory, the Tide improves to 11-5 this year and 2-2 in the SEC. It was arguably the best defensive performance from start-to-finish this season. The 60 points allowed by the Crimson Tide marked the fewest points it has given up in a game this season, while the Tigers' 26 first half points were the second-fewest it has allowed in any half this season (held Ball State to 21 points in the first half back on Nov. 16).
• Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. leads a balanced scoring attack that features seven Alabama players averaging 7.1 points per game or more. Three UA players average in double digits as Lewis' 14.4 points per game tops the Tide and ranks 12th in the SEC. Senior Donta Hall is second on the team at 11.1 points per game, while sophomore John Petty Jr. is collecting 10.9 ppg.
• Lewis leads UA in minutes (30.8), assists (2.8 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.371) and free throw shooting (52-of-61, .852). Meanwhile, Hall tops the team in total dunks (30), rebounds (8.8 rpg), blocks (2.1 bpg), double-figure contests (12) and double-doubles (8). He currently ranks among the league leaders in double-doubles (T-1st), rebounding (3rd) and blocked shots (T-6th). Petty leads the Tide in threes made (31) and attempted (89) and ranks second on the team in minutes (30.1) and rebounding (4.9).
• Junior Tevin Mack, who scored a season-high 22 points in the win over Kentucky back on Jan. 5, is averaging 9.3 ppg, while junior Dazon Ingram (7.9 ppg), and sophomores Alex Reese (7.3 ppg) and Herbert Jones (7.1 ppg) are both averaging over seven points per contest. Ingram is second in the team with 2.8 assists per game, while Jones, who is considered one of the top defenders in the Southeastern Conference, tops UA with 15 charges taken and 16 steals.
• As a team, Alabama enters Saturday's contest as one of the top rebounding teams in the SEC. The Tide has outrebounded 15 of its 16 opponents on the year and ranks second in the SEC and 33rd nationally with a +6.5 advantage on the glass (39.1-32.6). UA is shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc on the year, while outscoring the competition by 4.0 points per game (76.5-72.5).
• Alabama welcomed back three of its top four and nine of the top 11 scorers from last season's squad. Leading the list of returnees is Hall, who paced all returning players in scoring (10.6 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg), blocks (2.0 bpg), dunks (75) and field goal percentage (.726).
ABOUT TENNESSEE
• Tennessee and Alabama will meet for the 148th time in program history, with the Tide leading the all-time series, 79-68. The 148 all-time games played between the teams ranks as the sixth-most times UA has played any one opponent, while the 79 victories also rank sixth-most in program lore.
• This marks the sixth straight year the two teams will meet only once during regular season play. The last time the two teams squared off twice in the same season came during the 2012-13 campaign.
• Tennessee comes into Saturday's game as one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won 11 straight games. It is the longest winning streak since UT reeled off 11 consecutive victories during the 2007-08 campaign. Additionally, the Volunteers have won 18 straight games at Thompson-Boling Arena dating back to last season.
• Tennessee is led on the year by a pair of players who were each named to the 25-man Wooden Award Midseason Watch List. Junior Grant Williams, who was named the SEC Player of the Year last season,and senior Admiral Scholfield rank as the top two scorers in the SEC at 18.8 ppg and 17.7 ppg, respectively. Meanwhile, point guard Jordan Bone collected 13.4 points and a 6.3 assists per game, which ranks second in the SEC. As a team, the Volunteers lead the league in a multitude of statistics, including: scoring margin (20.3), scoring offense (87.1), assists per game (20.6), turnovers per game (11.9), field goal percentage (.516), field goal percentage defense (.379) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.300). Furthermore, Tennessee leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.77).
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is in his fourth season at Tennessee and his 32nd year as a collegiate head coach. During his four years in Knoxville, Barnes has guided the Volunteers to a record of 72-45 (.615) and owns a career record of 676-359 (.653).
ALABAMA-TENNESSEE – SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's contest will mark the 148th meeting in series history between to two schools, which is the sixth-most common opponent in program lore. The Crimson Tide, which has won three of the last four games over the Vols, owns a 79-68 edge in the all-time series.
• Alabama has won seven of the last 10 meetings and 15 of the last 22 games between the two teams. However, there have been close games played between the two teams as 10 of the last 15 games have been decided by 10 or fewer points.
• The Tide owns a record of 22-43 when playing the Volunteers in Knoxville. Entering Saturday's contest, Alabama has dropped two straight and five of the last six games played in Thompson-Boling Arena. The last time UA won at UT came on Jan. 10, 2015. In that contest, Alabama held Tennessee to just 38 points in a 56-38 victory. It was the fewest points Alabama has allowed a Tennessee team since a 70-37 victory on Feb. 24, 1958.
• UA owns a 45-18 all-time record when playing Tennessee in Tuscaloosa, including a 28-9 mark under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum. The Tide has won four of the last five games played between the two teams at Coleman, with the lone loss in the stretch coming on Feb. 1, 2014 (76-59).
• The series began during 1913-14 campaign.
TOPPLING THE TOP 25
• Head coach Avery Johnson has led his teams to success when playing against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 during his time at the Capstone.
• In 22 total games played against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 (including NCAA Tournament contests), Johnson has led the Tide to a record of 12-10. That's a huge improvement, especially considering prior his arrival, Alabama had lost 21 consecutive games to nationally-ranked opponents.
• In its lone contest against a team ranked in the AP Top 25, Alabama captured a 77-75 win over then-No. 13/14 Kentucky on Jan. 5.
• Saturday's contest at Tennessee marks the third time head coach Avery Johnson has faced a top-five ranked opponent during his time at Alabama. He owns a 1-1 record in such contests, defeating then-No. 5 Texas A&M, 79-57, in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 30, 2017 before falling in the NCAA Tournament second round to then-No. 2 and eventual national champion Villanova, 81-58, on March 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• The Crimson Tide has not defeated an AP Top-5 opponent in a true road contest in nearly 15 years. The last time it happened came on Feb. 21, 2004 when it downed then-No. 4 Mississippi State, 77-73, in Starkville, Miss.
• Last season, Alabama finished with six wins over ranked opponents, It was the most victories over top-25 teams in a single season in program history, topping the four victories over ranked foes which was set in four different seasons (1981-82, 1986-87, 2001-02 and in coach Johnson's first season in 2015-16).
Alabama Men’s Basketball Set To Take on No. 3/3 Tennessee to Close Out Two-Game Road Swing - University of Alabama Athletics
