TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men/s basketball team will return to action on Monday night when it takes on Stanford in the opening round of the 2020 Camping...
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The Crimson Tide and Cardinal set to tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT (9:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN2
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men/s basketball team will return to action on Monday night when it takes on Stanford in the opening round of the 2020 Camping World Maui Invitational. The two teams will play the opening day nightcap, which will tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT (9:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN2. In addition to the Crimson Tide and Cardinal, other participants in the 37th annual edition of the event include Davidson, Indiana, Providence, Stanford, Texas and UNLV.
Alabama and Stanford will meet for the fourth time in series history and the first time since the 2013 postseason NIT second round game in Tuscaloosa (Alabama won 66-54 on March 23, 2013). The Crimson Tide has won all three previous matchups with the Cardinal, including the memorable 2004 NCAA Tournament run in which Alabama, the No. 8 seed in the West Region, stunned No. 1 seed Stanford, 70-67, on March 30, 2004. Current UA assistant coach
Antoine Pettway was a senior guard on that team which went on to defeat Syracuse in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual national champion UConn in the Elite Eight.
This will mark Alabama's second appearance in the Maui Invitational. The only other showing occurred back in 2008 when UA finished with a 2-1 record, falling to Oregon in the opening round before finishing play with back-to-back wins over Chaminade and Saint Joseph's. In fact, four teams in that 2008 field will be making a return appearance: Alabama, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas.
The Broadcast
- Monday's game will be televised on ESPN2 with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Bill Walton (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) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
About Alabama
- Alabama opened the 2020-21 campaign with an impressive 81-57 victory over in-state foe Jacksonville State last Wednesday night. The No. 25-ranked Crimson Tide was led by Jaden Shackelford (18 pts, 12 rebs) and Herbert Jones (14 pts, 12 rebs) who each earned double-doubles and led four players in double figures en route to the victory..
- Alabama returns the SEC's top two returning scorers from a year ago in Jaden Shackelford (15.0 ppg) and John Petty Jr. (14.5 ppg). The duo combined to score 29.5 points per contest during the 2019-20 campaign.
- Of the four returning starters, three were named as All-SEC performers. Senior John Petty Jr. leads the way as he averaged 14.5 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per game. After testing the NBA waters, Petty announced his return to the team in early August after he proved to be one of the most lethal three-point shooters in the nation, knocking down 85 threes last season. He also topped the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (44.0 percent, 85-of-193) on his way to earning second team All-SEC honors.
- Senior Herbert Jones is back and healthy after earning a spot on the SEC All-Defensive team and making a name for himself as one of the top defensive players in the NCAA. Meanwhile, sophomore Jaden Shackelford, who led the SEC in three-pointers made (55) during league play, returns after bursting onto the scene last season to garner SEC All-Freshman team accolades. Senior Alex Reese returns after establishing personal career bests in nearly every category last season, including leading the team in blocked shots (1.0 bpg), ranking third rebounding (4.8 rpg) and fourth in scoring (8.8 ppg) and three-pointers made (51).
- In addition to the returnees, Alabama welcomes six scholarship signees, five of which made up the nation's ninth-ranked signing class according to Rivals.com and the No. 12 overall by 247sports.com. The Crimson Tide signees include Keon Ambrose-Hylton (Toronto, Ontario/Andrews Osborne Academy [Ohio]), Keon Ellis (Fort Myers, Fla./Florida SW State), Darius Miles (Washington, D.C./IMG Academy), Josh Primo (Toronto, Ontario/Royal Crown International) and Alex Tchikou (Paris, France/Dream City Christian HS).
- The team recruiting rankings do not include another new addition in graduate transfer Jordan Bruner. Last season at Yale, Bruner earned First Team All-Ivy League honors after leading the conference in rebounds per game (9.2) and ranking fourth in assists (3.8 apg) and third in blocked shots (1.7 bpg) while adding 10.9 points per contest.
- Head coach Nate Oats is in his second season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program. After finishing last season at 16-15 overall, Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 112-58 (.659).
About Stanford
- Stanford has yet to play a game in the 2020-21 season as its season opener against Utah Valley State was cancelled due to a positive Covid test and subsequent contact tracings within the Utah Valley State program.
- The Cardinal finished last season with a 20-12 overall and a 9-9 mark in PAC-12 play. Stanford seemed destined for an NCAA bid prior to the season being shortened by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
- Stanford returns four of five starters from a year ago, led by PAC-12 Preseason All-Conference honorees senior Oscar da Silva (15.7 ppg and 6.4 rpg) and freshman Ziaire Williams. Daejon Davis (8.8 pts, 3.7 ast), Bryce Wills (7.8 pts, 4.0 reb) and Spencer Jones (8.8 pts, 3.2 reb) join da Silva among returning starters. da Silva (first team) and Wills (all-defense) take the floor as all-conference selections from last season.
- In all, the Cardinal returns 74 percent of its scoring from a year ago and adds to it with ESPN's 10th-rated recruiting class in the country, led by Williams – a five-star small forward.
- Head coach Jerod Haase enters his fifth season at the helm of the program. Since arriving on The Farm, he has guided the Cardinal to has won 68 games, recorded its best conference finish and most league wins in a decade and earned a postseason berth for the first time in three years. He owns a record of 68-61 (.527) while at Stanford and owns a career record of 148-114 (.565) in eighth total years as a collegiate head coach which includes four years at UAB.
