Alabama Hosts Mississippi State Wednesday Night in SEC Home Opener - University of Alabama Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its Southeastern Conference home opener on Wednesday night when it hosts Mississippi State at 6 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum.
rolltide.com
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play its Southeastern Conference home opener on Wednesday night when it hosts Mississippi State at 6 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum. This will mark the first of two meetings between the longtime rivals, as the Crimson Tide will play the return game in Starkville, Miss., on Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Mississippi State and Alabama will meet for the 202nd time in series history when the teams square off on Wednesday night. The Tide owns an all-time record of 125-76 in the series, including wins in 11 of the last 14 meetings and 15 of the last 20 overall games played between the two programs. The 201 games played and the 125 wins against Mississippi State marks the most for Alabama against any single opponent in each category in program history.
Most recently, the Crimson Tide had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 104-98 double overtime defeat at Florida last Saturday in both teams' SEC opener. It was just the second time in the last seven games that Alabama has lost, with both contests coming on the road by a combined eight points (lost 73-71 at No. 20 Penn State on Dec. 14). The streak is even more impressive considering five of the seven games during the stretch were played away from Tuscaloosa.
Promotions
- Loaded Tater Tot Food Bar – Available only to the first 250 students
- Friday's game will air on SEC Network with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (analyst) and Meggi Hetzel (analyst) on the call.
- The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, as Chris Stewart (play-by-play), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) will call the action. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
- After opening the season with a 2-4 mark over its first six contests, the Tide owns a 5-2 mark in the seven games since. Turnovers have proved to be the biggest difference. Alabama averaged 18.8 miscues (113 turnovers) over the season's first six games but have since average 14.4 turnovers (101 turnovers) in the seven contests since.
- As a result of its recent offensive surge, Alabama has vaulted to No. 1 in the SEC and No. 6 nationally in scoring offense (83.9). The Tide has scored 1,091 points through its 13 games thus far. With 18 more guaranteed games this season, the Crimson Tide is on pace to program's single-season scoring record of 2,761 points set during the 2000-01 campaign.
- In addition to its national ranking in scoring, the Tide ranks atop in the SEC and No. 3 nationally in three-pointers made per game (11.2) while ranking No. 2 in the SEC and 45th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.370). Alabama is on pace to shatter the team's three-point records for a single season of 259 made three-pointers and 763 attempted. The Crimson Tide enters its upcoming contest 146-of-395 from beyond the arc through 13 games on the year.
- Alabama's pace of play ranks among the national leaders entering conference play. The Crimson Tide averages 78.9 possessions per 40 minutes ranks third-best in the country. Furthermore, UA's average possession length on offense is at 14.9 which ranks as the 10th-fastest in the nation.
- In 13 contests this season, the Tide has posted more than 30 shots from beyond the arc nine times while Alabama has attempted more than 65 shots from the field in nine separate contests and scored 80 or more points a total of eight times.
- Mississippi State's Reggie Perry and Alabama's Kira Lewis Jr. were teammates on the gold medal-winning USA Men's Basketball Under 19 World Cup team that claimed the Gold Medal at the FIBA World Cup which this past summer.
- Alabama's John Petty Jr. needs only five more three-pointers to become just the fifth person in program history to make at least 200 treys for his career.
- Alabama will play its first home Southeastern Conference when it welcomes longtime rival Mississippi State to Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday night. The contest opens a stretch that included four of the Crimson Tide's next six games being played under the arched roof.
- Three Alabama players average double figures, while six average over 9.0 points per game through its 13 contests played. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. and junior John Petty Jr. are tied atop the squad in scoring average at 16.6 points per game.
- Lewis leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the nation in minutes per game (37.5), while also leading UA and ranking among the league leaders in assists (8th - 4.7 apg) and steals (4th - 1.9 spg). A first-team All-SEC preseason honoree, he also tops the team in field goals made (82) and attempted (193), and is shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 32.8 percent (22-of-67) from beyond the arc.
- Petty is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. He ranks second in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (50.0 percent, 46-of-92) and is third in threes made per game (3.5), while ranking fifth and eighth, respectively, in the categories nationally. Additionally, he leads the squad and ranks ninth in the conference in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and also tops UA in threes made (46) and attempted (92) while ranking second in steals (1.3 spg) and minutes (33.6 mpg) per game.
- Freshman Jaden Shackelford also average in double figures at 13.0 ppg. He leads the team in threes attempted as 90 of 135 field goal attempts – approximately 67 percent – have come from beyond the three-point line.
- Graduate senior Beetle Bolden (9.1 ppg) and juniors Alex Reese (9.5 ppg) and Herbert Jones (8.3 ppg) are all contributing offensively.
- As a team, the Crimson Tide has been outrebounded in just four of its 13 games played this year and owns a +2.5 advantage on the glass (41.4-38.9). Alabama has outscored the opposition by +4.2 points (83.9-79.7) and is shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from beyond the arc and 70.6 percent from the foul line.
- Mississippi State enters the contest sporting an 9-4 record on the season and an 0-1 mark in league play following the team's 80-68 home loss to No. 7 Auburn this past Saturday. It was the second loss in the last three games for the Bulldogs, who started the season a perfect 5-0 before splitting their next eight games coming into Wednesday's match-up in Tuscaloosa.
- Four players average in double figures to lead Mississippi State, topped by Preseason First Team honoree Reggie Perry. The sophomore forward is the only player in the SEC who averages a double-double at 15.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The 6-10, 250-pound forward leads the league in rebounds and offensive rebounds per game (3.5) and ranks 10th in scoring average.
- Senior Tyson Carter is second in scoring average (14.5) while also leading the team in assists (4.0 apg) and in threes made (26) and attempted (85). Sophomore Robert Woodard is second in the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and fourth in scoring average (11.9 ppg), while junior Nick Weatherspoon also averages in double figures (12.0 ppg) in his three games of action after he missed the first 10 games due to a violation of team rules.
- As a team, Mississippi State leads the league in rebounding margin at +7.5 (38.0-30.5), which also ranks 25th in the nation. Additionally, the Bulldogs are 21st nationally and second in the conference in blocked shots per game (5.5). For the year, MSU is outscoring the competition by +8.2 points per game (73.2-65.0), while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc.
- Ben Howland, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the program. In four different stints as a head coach, Howland has a 487-266 (.647) record – Northern Arizona (79-59), Pittsburgh (89-40), UCLA (233-107) and Mississippi State (87-60, .592). He led UCLA to three-consecutive Final Fours, including a national runner-up finish in 2006.
