Alabama Men’s Basketball Welcomes Florida for Saturday Afternoon Showdown - University of Alabama Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its first home Saturday contest since Jan. 12 when it welcomes the Florida Gators to Coleman Coliseum. It begins a stretch in
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its first home Saturday contest since Jan. 12 when it welcomes the Florida Gators to Coleman Coliseum. It begins a stretch in which the Crimson Tide has four of its next six games under the arched roof. Saturday's contest will tipoff at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.
Florida and Alabama will meet for the 144th time in series history, and only meeting this season, when the teams square off on Saturday. UA owns an all-time record of 75-68 in the series, including a 27-11 record in games played at Coleman Coliseum. The Tide has lost seven straight and nine of the last 11 to the Gators at Coleman Coliseum. The last time Alabama defeated Florida at home came on Feb. 26, 2006
The Crimson Tide had its two-game winning streak snapped last Tuesday night in Starkville, Miss., falling to Mississippi State 81-62 in Humphrey Coliseum. With the loss, the Tide and Bulldogs split the season series for the second consecutive year (Alabama defeated then-No. 20 Mississippi State, 83-79, back on Jan. 29 in Tuscaloosa).
THE BROADCAST
• Saturday's game will air on SEC Network with Roy Philpott (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
• Coming into Saturday's game against Florida, the Tide is ranked No. 45 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings (as of Feb. 14) and own the No. 19 overall strength of schedule. Alabama has played a total of 15 games against Quadrant 1 (2-6) and Quadrant 2 (6-1) opponents this season and boasts a record of 8-7 in such contests. The eight combined wins rank fifth in the conference entering this week's action, trailing only LSU (12-4), Tennessee (11-1), Kentucky (10-4) and Mississippi State (10-7). Moreover, Alabama is 6-1 against Q2 opponents this season putting the Crimson Tide in a tie for ninth in the nation in terms of Q2 victories. Only eight teams in the nation have more Quadrant 2 wins than the Crimson Tide (Baylor, Seton Hall, Tennessee and Texas Tech own seven Q2 wins, while Houston, Michigan, Nevada and Villanova have eight such victories
• The Alabama reserves have been a strength of this year's team, averaging more than 26 points per contest (26.2) entering the contest against Florida. For the year, the Crimson Tide bench has been outscored just four times on the season and is outscoring its counterparts by 7.8 points per contest (26.2-18.4).
• 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.
• Alabama is 8-7 against Quadrant 1 (2-6) and Quadrant 2 (6-1) opponents this year (as of 2/14). The eight wins against Q1 and Q2 teams ranks as the fifth-most in the SEC. The Crimson Tide trails only LSU (12-4), Tennessee (11-1), Kentucky (10-4) and Mississippi State (10-7) in combined Q1 and Q2 victories. Furthermore, Alabama's 6-1 mark against Q2 opponents is second only to Tennessee's 7-0 record. In fact, only eight teams in the nation have more Quadrant 2 wins than the Crimson Tide (Baylor, Seton Hall, Tennessee and Texas Tech own seven Q2 wins, while Houston, Michigan, Nevada and Villanova have eight such victories).
• Alabama boast a record of 3-1 against team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 entering this weekend's game. The three wins is tied for second in the SEC for most wins against ranked opponents (LSU has three, Kentucky has 4). Furthermore, the Tide's .750 winning percentage against ranked opponents leads the SEC, ahead of Kentucky (4-2, .667) and LSU (3-2, .600).
• The 70-point mark is the magic number for the Crimson Tide this season. When scoring 70 or more points, Alabama is 15-3 on the year. However, the Tide falls to 0-6 this season when scoring fewer than 70 points in a contest.
• Alabama will head back out on the road to travel to College Station, Texas, where it will take on the Texas A&M Aggies on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m. CT. It will mark the second meeting between the two teams this season. Texas A&M took an 81-80 victory in Coleman Coliseum back on Jan. 12 thanks to a miraculous buzzer-beating three-pointer by Aggie guard T.J. Starks.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama fell to 15-9 on the year and 6-5 in SEC play when it dropped an 81-62 decision at Mississippi State last Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide committed 18 turnovers in the contest, which resulted in a big 28-5 discrepancy in points off turnovers. UA fell to 0-6 in games when it does not reach the 70-point plateau (15-3 when scoring 70 or more points in a contest).
• Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. leads a balanced scoring attack that features eight Alabama players averaging at least 5.5 points per game, while 10 players are averaging double-digit minutes. Three UA players average in double figures as Lewis' 14.4 points per game tops the Tide and ranks 11th in the SEC. Sophomore John Petty Jr. ranks second on the team at 11.2 ppg, while senior Donta Hall is collecting 11.0 points per game.
• Lewis leads UA in assists (2.9 apg), minutes (31.0) and free throw shooting (72-of-87, .828), while ranking second in steals (20), threes made (39) and attempted (103). Meanwhile, Hall tops the team in total dunks (45), rebounds (8.6 rpg), blocks (1.9 bpg), double-figure contests (17) and double-doubles (10). He currently ranks among the league leaders in double-doubles (1st), rebounding (3rd) and blocked shots (T-8th). Petty leads the Tide in three-point field goals made (45) and attempted (129) and ranks second on the team in minutes (28.6) and in rebounding (4.0).
• Junior Tevin Mack, who scored a season-high 25 points in the win over Georgia, is averaging 9.1 ppg, while junior Dazon Ingram (7.8 ppg), senior Riley Norris (6.6 ppg) and sophomores Herbert Jones (6.3 ppg) and Alex Reese (5.8 ppg) are all averaging at least 5.5 points per contest. Ingram tops the team in three-point shooting (14-of-29, .483), while Norris is second (19-of-49, 38.8 percent) over his 16 games played. Meanwhile Jones, who is considered one of the top defenders in the Southeastern Conference, tops UA with 17 charges taken and in total steals (22).
• As a team, Alabama enters Saturday's contest as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. The Tide has outrebounded 18 of its 24 opponents on the year and ranks fourth in the SEC and 48th nationally with a 4.7 advantage on the glass (38.1-33.5). UA is shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc on the year, while outscoring the competition by 2.8 points per game (75.3-72.6).
• Through 11 games in conference play, Lewis leads the team in scoring at 13.6 ppg, while Petty is averaging 12.2 ppg and has knocked down 39.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc (23-of-58). Meanwhile, Hall is averaging nearly a double-double at 10.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game – a number that tops the SEC in conference games only. Ingram leads the Tide in assists per game (2.7) and in three-point field goal percentage (9-of-22, .409) throughout SEC play.
• As a team in league play, Alabama is outscoring the competition by +0.8 points per game (74.7-73.9) and outrebounding league teams by +3.3 (37.8-34.5). The Tide is shooting 44.5 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from beyond the arc and 71.0 percent from the charity stripe in SEC play. The Tide leads the SEC in league games in defensive rebounds (26.6), ranks second in rebounding offense (37.8), third in blocked shots (4.9) and fourth in rebounding margin (+3.3)
ABOUT FLORIDA
• Florida enters Saturday afternoon's contest coming off a 66-57 victory over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night in Gainesville, Fla. With the win, the Gators snapped a three-game losing streak against conference opponents, improving to 13-11 overall and 5-6 in SEC play, just one game back of the Crimson Tide.
• Florida is led by senior KeVaughn Allen's 12.5 points per game, while freshman Noah Locke is the only other Gator to average in double figures at 11.3 ppg. Both Allen and Locke have stepped up their offensive output in SEC play. Allen has tallied 15.1 points and Locke 13.6 per game during conference action, ranking 14th and t-20th in the conference, respectively.
• The Gators have several players who rank among the SEC leaders: Kevarrius Hayes (2nd, 2.8 offensive rebounds per game; 3rd, 2.0 blocked shots); KeVaughn Allen (1st, .886 free throw percentage); Andrew Nembhard (3rd, 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio); and Noah Locke (2nd, .414 3-point field goal percentage; 3rd, 2.8 3-pointers made).
• UF enters Saturday's game leading the SEC in scoring defense at 63.5 points allowed per game, which also ranks 19th nationally. The Gators leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.316), while ranking second in turnover margin (+4.0) and 3-pointers made per game (8.8). On the season, Florida is outscoring the opposition by +4.8 points per game (68.3-63.5) but are being outrebounded by 1.2 boards per contest (34.2-35.4).
• Florida head coach Mike White is in his fourth 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 an 82-48 (.631) record in four seasons at Florida and is 183-88 (.675) in his eight seasons as a head coach.
ALABAMA-Florida – SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's game will mark the 144th 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 75-68 edge in the all-time series.
• Alabama split its two contests with Florida a year ago, which each team winning on the others home floor by double figures. The Crimson Tide captured a 68-50 win at then-No. 23 Florida on Feb. 3, 2018, marking UA's largest margin of victory against the Gators in Gainesville in program history. However, Florida returned the favor, capturing a 73-52 on Feb. 27, 2018 in Alabama's final home game of the regular season inside Coleman Coliseum.
• The last time Alabama defeated Florida at home came on Feb. 26, 2006. The Tide has lost seven straight and nine of the last 11 to the Gators at Coleman Coliseum. Alabama owns an all-time record of 48-21 when playing Florida in Tuscaloosa and is 27-11 in games against the Gators in Coleman Coliseum.
• Despite winning two of the last three games over the Gators, Alabama has still dropped 12 of the 14 and 23 of the last 28 games played between the two teams.
• Fourteen of the last 19 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.
NCAA TOURNAMENT RESUME
• Heading into Saturday's game against Florida, Alabama is a combined 8-7 against Q1 and Q2 teams, owning 2-6 mark against Quadrant 1 opponents and a 6-1 record vs. teams in Quadrant 2 this season. Combined, UA's 8 wins against Q1 and Q2 opposition this year trails only LSU (12), Tennessee (11), Kentucky (10) and Mississippi State (10). Following the Tide is Ole Miss with seven combined Q1 and Q2 wins, while both South Carolina and Auburn have six such victories.
• Alabama boasts the conference's fifth-best winning percentage against Quadrant 1 and 2 opposition and are one of five teams in the SEC to own a winning record against Q1 and Q2 opposition. The Tide's 8-7 mark equates to a .533 winning percentage, trailing only Tennessee (11-1, .917), LSU (12-4,.750), Kentucky (10-4, .714) and Mississippi State (10-7, .588).
• Alabama owns a 3-1 record against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and is 4-1 when playing teams ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll this season. The three wins is tied for second in the SEC for most wins against ranked opponents (LSU has three, Kentucky has 4). Furthermore, the Tide's .750 winning percentage against ranked opponents leads the SEC, ahead of Kentucky (4-2, .667) and LSU (3-2, .600).
• UA enters the game with a NET Ranking of No. 45 nationally, while owning the No. 19 overall strength of schedule. Of the Tide's remaining seven regular season contests, three 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).
