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Alabama Opens Southeastern Conference Play with Ole Miss on Tuesday Night - University of Alabama Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its final game in 2020 when it opens Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday night vs. Ole Miss inside Coleman Coliseum. The
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The Crimson Tide and Rebels will tip off at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its final game in 2020 when it opens Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday night vs. Ole Miss inside Coleman Coliseum. The contest will tip off at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network. It will be the only contest played between the two teams this season.
The game will be one of two league contests that will be played on the SEC's opening night. Texas A&M will travel to take on LSU at 6 p.m. CT, while the originally scheduled game between Kentucky and South Carolina has been postponed and will be played later in the season.
The Crimson Tide will be looking for the program's 800th SEC victory. Alabama enters the game with an all-time conference record of 799-626 (.561). If it happens, the Tide will be only the second team in league history to achieve the plateau, joining Kentucky (1,012 wins). Alabama also ranks third in all-time SEC winning percentage, trailing only Kentucky (.780) and Tennessee (.564) in the category.
The Broadcast
- Tuesday's game will be available on SEC Network with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Daymeon Fishback (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) the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
- Aabama won for the fourth time in its last six games and the third time in four home games when it captured an 85-69 victory over East Tennessee State on Dec. 22. The Crimson Tide held a narrow 36-35 lead at intermission, however, the Crimson Tide shot 55 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc and outscored the Bucs 49-34 over the final 20 minutes on its way to the 15-point win.
- Forward Alex Reese is playing in 100th game at Alabama when he takes the floor against the Rebels Tuesday night. He is the third UA player to have reached the plateau, joining John Petty Jr. (107th game) and Herbert Jones (105th game). Additionally, graduate student Jordan Bruner is playing his 92nd career contest Tuesday night and is eight games shy of becoming the fourth Crimson Tide player to reach the 100-game mark.
- According to KenPom.com, Alabama's strength of schedule ranks No. 57 in the non-conference which is fourth-best among all SEC teams. The eight teams the Tide has faced owns a combined record of 40-21 (.656). It will not get any easier for UA as its next four opponents are a combined 20-4 (.875). When totaling together the first 12 teams on Alabama's schedule, opponents own a total record of 60-25 (.706). Furthermore, five of the opening 12 opponents are ranked in the Ken Pomeroy top-40 RPI, while nine are among the top-85 (all numbers as of 12/27).
- Alabama has collected 1,696 wins in program history and is just four wins shy of becoming the third team in SEC history to reach 1,700 program victories, joining Kentucky (2,319) and Arkansas (1,713).
- John Petty Jr. has made a team-leading 13 three-pointers on the year, pushing his career total to 247 made threes. He now needs only 17 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 652 career attempts from deep is 87 shy of breaking Williams' program record of 738 three-point shots.
- Alabama boasts four players who average in double figures in Jaden Shackelford (14.0), Herbert Jones (13.3), John Petty Jr. (12.0) and Jahvon Quinerly (11.8). Together, the four combine to account for 51.1 of the Tide's 76.8 points per game – approximately 67 percent of the total scoring average.
- After playing four of its first five games this season away from Coleman Coliseum, the Crimson Tide is set to conclude a season-long four-game homestand on Tuesday night vs. Ole Miss. The stretch began on Dec. 15 vs. Furman and continued with the Western Kentucky game on Dec. 19 and East Tennessee State on Dec. 22. Alabama has won two of the three games during the homestand and is currently at 3-1 under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum for the season.
- Alabama enters Tuesday's contest against Ole Miss sporting a 5-3 record on the season. Most recently, the Crimson Tide captured the fourth win over its last six contests with an 85-69 over East Tennessee State. With the win, UA improves to 5-0 on the year when scoring more than 80 points in a game following the win over the Bucs, however, the Tide is 0-3 when scoring under 80.
- Four Crimson Tide players are averaging 11.0 or more points per game for head coach Nate Oats in the early part of the season. Guard Jaden Shackelford (14.0 ppg) leads the way, followed by forward Herbert Jones (13.3 ppg) and guards John Petty Jr. (12.0 ppg) and Jahvon Quinerly (11.8 ppg) are each averaging in double figures.
- Jones, considered one of the top defensive players in the entire nation, leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg), three-point field goal percentage (.462, 6-of-13), charges taken (3), Blue Collar Points (184.5, 23.1 BCP per game) and Hard Hat Awards (4). He enters league play with much improved offensive numbers. In addition to averaging double digits, Jones is collecting 2.1 assists per contest, while shooting 46.2 percent from the field (36-of-78).
- The trio of Petty (13-of-46), Shackelford (19-of-48) and Quinerly (8-of-27) have combined to hit 40 of the Tide's 73 three-pointers (54.8 percent and have 121 of the team's 242 (50.0 percent) total attempts from beyond the arc.
- As a team, Alabama is outscoring the opposition by 5.5 points per contest (76.8-71.3) while shooting 41.6 percent from the field, 30.2 percent from deep and 68.8 percent from the charity stripe.
- 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 21-18 (.538) during his time at the Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 117-61 (.657).
- The Rebels come into Tuesday night's contest sporting a 5-1 overall record on the season. Ole Miss was one of the last teams in the SEC to take the court, playing its first game on Dec. 10, but has reeled off wins in five of its first six games to begin the season. The lone loss came in the Rebels' only road game, a 65-62 defeat at Dayton on Dec. 19.
- Ole Miss boasts a balanced scoring attack with two players who average in double figures while all five starters average at least 8.0 points per contest entering conference play. Guard Devontae Shuler leads the team at 14.8 points per game, while also topping the squad in assists (3.8 apg), steals (2.0 spg), three-point shooting (12-of-30, .400) and free throw percentage (17-of-19, .895). Graduate transfer Romello White has been a welcome addition, ranking second in the team in scoring at 11.5 ppg and leads the Rebels in field goal percentage (27-of-37, .730) and blocks (1.7 bpg).
- Forwards KJ Buffen (9.7 ppg) and Luis Rodriguez (9.0 ppg) along with guard Jarkel Joiner (8.3) all contribute on the offensive end. Rodriguez is the team leader in rebounding (8.5 rpg) and ranks second in assists (3.0 apg), steals (1.8 spg) and three-point shooting (6-of-16, .375).
- Junior guard Devontae Shuler and sophomore forward Blake Hinson also average in double figures at 11.2 and 10.3 points a game, respectively. Shuler also tops Ole Miss in assists (3.5 apg) and steals (1.8 spg), while ranking second in three-point shooting (.340) and minutes a game (33.6).
- As a team, Ole Miss is outscoring the opposition by 22.0 points per game (74.7-52.7) and leads the SEC in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense (.356) entering league play. The Rebels also rank fourth in the SEC in scoring margin and field goal percentage (.476) and is second in the league in turnover margin (+6.0). Ole Miss has played the 289th strength of schedule through its six contests according to KenPom.com's RPI with just one of its opponents ranking in the top 150 (No. 59 Dayton).
- Head coach Kermit Davis is in his third season at the helm of the Ole Miss program and owns a 40-31 (.563) mark. The 2019 SEC Coach of the Year, who is now in his 26th year as a head coach, has compiled a record of 509-294 (.634).
- Saturday's game will mark the 182nd meeting on the hardwood in series history and the only meeting between the two schools during the regular season. The Tide has won three straight in the series, including an impressive 103-78 victory at The Pavilion last season. The 103 points was the most scored by the Crimson Tide in a road game that did not go to overtime in program history. The box score from that contest can be found on the right.
- With three consecutive wins in the series, the Crimson Tide has improved to a 123-58 lead in the all-time series. The 181 all-time games ranks as the third-most games UA has played against any one opponent in program history, while the 123 victories by the Tide is the second-most victories against an opponent in program lore.
- Ole Miss is one of three teams, along with Mississippi State (126) and LSU (109), that UA has won 100 or more games against.
- Alabama boasts a record of 39-7 when playing Ole Miss in Coleman Coliseum. Most recently, the Crimson Tide captured a 74-53 victory over the Rebels on Jan. 22, 2019. That game marked just the second home contest Alabama has played against Ole Miss over the last seven times the teams have squared off.
- The Crimson Tide has won five of the last six games in the series entering Tuesday night's showdown. Prior to Alabama's recent run over the past five games, Ole Miss had beaten the Tide in five of the previous six contests.
- The series began during the 1920-21 campaign.
