BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Alabama will open play in the Heavyweight Division of the Men Who Speak Up Main Event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, when it takes on Valparaiso on Monday at 11 p.m. CT (9 p.m. PT). That contest will follow the BYU-Saint Louis game, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. PT). The winner of Monday's contests will advance to play in the championship game on ESPN2 at 11 p.m. CT (9 p.m. PT), with the consolation game tipping off at 8:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. PT).
The Crimson Tide practiced on the MGM Garden Arena floor for approximately two hours on Sunday afternoon. The Tide arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday in order to get acclimated to the surroundings and Pacific Time Zone.
Alabama is coming off an impressive 77-59 victory over Ball State last Friday night. The Tide led by as many as 29 points before settling for the 18-point win. The Alabama reserves stole the show, accounting for 59 of the team's 77-point total. Senior forward Shannon Hale led UA with 19 points, while Ar'Mond Davis (17) and Avery Johnson Jr. (13) both reached double figures.
Monday's game will be not be televised but will be streamlined on youtube.com/bdglobalsportsnetwork. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast on the Crimson Tide Sports Network as Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) will call all the action. Live stats for the contest can accessed through RollTide.com, while in-game updates and photos will be made available on Twitter on @AlabamaMBB.
HOW TO WATCH
RADIO: Crimson Tide Sports Network
VIDEO: youtube.com/ bdglobalsportsnetwork
LIVE STATS: statb.us/central/439
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ALABAMA COMPETING IN 104TH SEASON OF BASKETBALL
• Alabama has begun its 104th season of basketball in 2016-17.
• The Tide has an all-time record of 1,620-1,000-1 (.618), which includes a 765-588 (.565) record in SEC play.
• Alabama ranks second in the SEC in league victories and all-time winning percentage.
• UA has made 33 NCAA (19) or NIT (14) appearances and has won seven SEC regular-season titles and six SEC Tournament championships.
LAST TIME OUT
• Alabama team used a strong performance from its reserves as it defeated Ball State, 77-59, on Friday night in Coleman Coliseum.
• Senior Shannon Hale led the Tide with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor in 19 minutes of action.
• Hale and was joined in double-figures by junior Ar'Mond Davis' 17 points, while sophomore Avery Johnson Jr. added 13 points, six assist and five boards. All three players came off the bench to lead the Tide.
• Holding a slim 13-12 lead midway through the opening stanza, the Tide went on a 21-7 run that started at 10:41 and spanned 9:36 to take a 36-21 lead with 1:05 to play.
• The Cardinals scored five more points before going into halftime, but the Tide took a 36-26 lead going into the locker room.
• The Tide came out strong to start the second half, as it went on a 10-0 run that started at 19:12 and went for 1:49 to give it a 48-28 point lead.
• Ball State responded by scoring seven straight points to cut the Tide's lead to 48-35. Alabama followed with a 20-4 run at the 15:21 mark that spanned 4:12 to extend its lead 68-39, and never looked back.
ALABAMA VS. BALL STATE: QUICK HITS
• Alabama picked up season highs in points (77), steals (14), threes made (12), three-point shooting (52.2 percent), field goals made (26) and field goals attempted (61) in the victory.
• Alabama has scored 70 or more points in each of its first three contests to begin the year.
• The Tide continued to get quality production from its bench, as its reserves outscored Ball State's bench 59-13 in the 40 minute contest.
• The trio of Hale (3-of-5), Davis (5-of-7) and Johnson (3-of-3) combined to go 11-of-15 from beyond the arc as the Tide's reserves combined to match Ball State's total scoring output of 59 points, outscoring the Cardinals 59-13.
• Ingram added eight points, five boards and three steals in the winning effort.
• The Tide also forced 21 turnovers that resulted in 26 points, compared to six points-off-turnovers for Ball State.
LEADING THE SEC
• Alabama ranked in a tie for tops in the SEC when it came to Graduation Success Rate (GSR) among men's basketball schools in the league.
• Alabama, along with Georgia, were the only men's basketball program in the SEC that boasted a perfect 100 percent in the 2015-16 GSR results.
• The GSR factors students who entered school from 2006-09 and graduated within six years of their start date.
BENCH SUPPORT
• The Alabama bench has been a weapon through the Tide's opening three contests, highlighted by the reserves scoring 59 of the team's 77 points in a 77-59 win over Ball State on Nov. 18.
• The 59 points scored by the bench marked the most scored by any Tide reserve group this century. The previous high in the 2000s came with 48 points on two occastions: vs. Florida A&M on Nov. 19, 2008 and vs. Stillman on Nov. 18, 2013.
• For the year, Alabama's reserves has outscored its counterpart by a total margin of 113-47. That averages out to +22.0 points per game (37.7-15.7).
NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT
• Including Dazon Ingram who is a redshirt freshman, the Crimson Tide welcomed seven newcomers who are currently playing in Avery Johnson's 11-man rotation to begin the season.
• The seven players are combining to average 47.8 of Alabama's 73.0 points per game average through its three contests, which equates to approximately 65 percent of the Tide's scoring output on the year.
• The group is also dishing out 83 percent of the Tide's assists (30 of the team's 36 total assists) and pulling down 50 percent of the team's boards (19.0 of UA's 38.3 total rebounding average).
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
• After missing all but seven games of his rookie season in 2015-16 due to a broken foot, redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram has picked up where he left off when he got injured.
• Ingram started each of the Tide's first seven games last season prior to suffering the injury. At the time, he led the team with 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, ranked second in steals (1.1 spg), third in minutes per contest (25.6 mpg) and fourth in points per game (7.7) and field goal percentage (.541).
• Through three games this year, Ingram leads Alabama in scoring, (11.0 ppg), assists (4.7 apg), steals (1.7 spg) and minutes (29.7 mpg), while ranking third in rebounding (4.0 rpg).
• In addition to posting solid numbers, Ingram also ranks among the team leaders in both field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. The Theodore, Ala., native is second in three-point shooting (50 percent; 3-of-6) and third in field goal percentage (57.9 percent; 11-of-19).
AVERY JOHNSON SIGNS NATION'S NO. 3 RECRUITING CLASS
• It was a landmark Signing Day for The University of Alabama men's basketball program, as head coach Avery Johnson officially announced the Tide's 2017 class on Nov. 11.
• The Crimson Tide's five-man signing class is rated as high as No. 3 in the country according to Scout.com and Rivals.com, which is the highest-ranked signing class in program history. Meanwhile, ESPN.com and 247sports.com ranks the class as the fourth-best in the nation.
• The five newest members of the Alabama men's basketball program include guards Herb Jones, John Petty and Collin Sexton and forwards Alex Reese and Galin Smith. All five were rated as either four or five star recruits, while all were top-100 recruits in the nation, according to Rivals.com. Bios on all five signees can be found on page 3 of the 2016-17 game notes.
• Alabama not only nabbed the three top recruits in the state of Alabama in Petty, Reese and Jones, but also the top player in the state of Georgia in Sexton and the top big man in the state of Mississippi in Smith.
• Coach Avery Johnson's thoughts on this year's signing class: "We're excited about this 2017 recruiting class. All five of the players have signed their NLI with us, and I would like to thank their families have committed to us. I am extremely proud of all of the hard work that our assistant coaches and all of our auxiliary staff that has put into us having what we feel is the best recruiting class in The University of Alabama men's basketball history. Now, obviously, with a recruiting class, they have to come in and develop and be coachable and learn, mature, grow and develop. We have to win some games for it to really be a truly, great recruiting class. Times of Wimp Sanderson and C.M. Newton, they had some terrific, high-level, pro-like players; we are trying to duplicate and imitate a lot of their success in recruiting and hopefully their success on the court."
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
The Crimson Tide practiced on the MGM Garden Arena floor for approximately two hours on Sunday afternoon. The Tide arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday in order to get acclimated to the surroundings and Pacific Time Zone.
Alabama is coming off an impressive 77-59 victory over Ball State last Friday night. The Tide led by as many as 29 points before settling for the 18-point win. The Alabama reserves stole the show, accounting for 59 of the team's 77-point total. Senior forward Shannon Hale led UA with 19 points, while Ar'Mond Davis (17) and Avery Johnson Jr. (13) both reached double figures.
Monday's game will be not be televised but will be streamlined on youtube.com/bdglobalsportsnetwork. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast on the Crimson Tide Sports Network as Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) will call all the action. Live stats for the contest can accessed through RollTide.com, while in-game updates and photos will be made available on Twitter on @AlabamaMBB.
HOW TO WATCH
RADIO: Crimson Tide Sports Network
VIDEO: youtube.com/ bdglobalsportsnetwork
LIVE STATS: statb.us/central/439
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Alabama improved to 2-1 on the year following a 77-59 victory over Ball State last Friday night. The contest was the second game of the Men Who Speak Up Main Event, as the Tide toppled Coastal Carolina, 70-53, in the first game of the tournament. Both contests were held in Tuscaloosa.
- Through three games, Alabama has proved to be a deep team. The Tide boasts nine players averaging double digit minutes and 11 players getting at least eight minutes of playing time per game. Moreover, Alabama has eight players averaging five or more points per game.
- The Alabama bench has proven to be a difference make through the early part of the season. After scoring a season-high 59 points in the win over Ball State on Nov. 18, the Tide's reserves have outscored its counterparts by a total 66 points on the year (113-47). Through three games on the year, the Alabama bench is averaging 37.7 points, compared to just 15.7 points by the opposition.
- Alabama opened the season in front of 14,579 fans, which marked the second straight season the Tide had a season-opening crowd of more than 14,000 fans (14,970 vs. Kennesaw State in 2015-16 season opener). Through its first two home games this year, Alabama is averaging 12,359 fans per game.
- Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram has had a solid return to the lineup after sitting out the final 26 games after a broken foot ended his season early. Ingram currently leads the team in scoring (11.0 ppg), assists (4.7 apg), steals (1.7 spg) and minutes (29.7 mpg). Furthermore, the Theodore, Ala., native has recorded 14 assist to just three turnovers and is shooting 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the field and 50 percent (3-of-6) from beyond the arc.
- Junior college transfer Ar'Mond Davis began the year by hitting just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc, but connected on 5-of-7 shots from deep in the win over Ball State. As a result, the sharp-shooter from Tacoma, Wash., leads the team in threes made (7) and three-point field goal percentage (.412) coming into Monday's game vs. Valparaiso. Last season at the College of Southern Idaho, Davis ranked sixth in the NJCAA in threes made (84) and ranked as the No. 3 JUCO shooting guard in the nation.
- Freshman Braxton Key is proving he can do a little of everything. The Charlotte, N.C., native is averaging 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game early on this season. In fact, Key, along with Ingram, are the only Alabama players to rank in the top five in scoring, rebounding, assists, minutes, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage.
ALABAMA COMPETING IN 104TH SEASON OF BASKETBALL
• Alabama has begun its 104th season of basketball in 2016-17.
• The Tide has an all-time record of 1,620-1,000-1 (.618), which includes a 765-588 (.565) record in SEC play.
• Alabama ranks second in the SEC in league victories and all-time winning percentage.
• UA has made 33 NCAA (19) or NIT (14) appearances and has won seven SEC regular-season titles and six SEC Tournament championships.
LAST TIME OUT
• Alabama team used a strong performance from its reserves as it defeated Ball State, 77-59, on Friday night in Coleman Coliseum.
• Senior Shannon Hale led the Tide with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor in 19 minutes of action.
• Hale and was joined in double-figures by junior Ar'Mond Davis' 17 points, while sophomore Avery Johnson Jr. added 13 points, six assist and five boards. All three players came off the bench to lead the Tide.
• Holding a slim 13-12 lead midway through the opening stanza, the Tide went on a 21-7 run that started at 10:41 and spanned 9:36 to take a 36-21 lead with 1:05 to play.
• The Cardinals scored five more points before going into halftime, but the Tide took a 36-26 lead going into the locker room.
• The Tide came out strong to start the second half, as it went on a 10-0 run that started at 19:12 and went for 1:49 to give it a 48-28 point lead.
• Ball State responded by scoring seven straight points to cut the Tide's lead to 48-35. Alabama followed with a 20-4 run at the 15:21 mark that spanned 4:12 to extend its lead 68-39, and never looked back.
ALABAMA VS. BALL STATE: QUICK HITS
• Alabama picked up season highs in points (77), steals (14), threes made (12), three-point shooting (52.2 percent), field goals made (26) and field goals attempted (61) in the victory.
• Alabama has scored 70 or more points in each of its first three contests to begin the year.
• The Tide continued to get quality production from its bench, as its reserves outscored Ball State's bench 59-13 in the 40 minute contest.
• The trio of Hale (3-of-5), Davis (5-of-7) and Johnson (3-of-3) combined to go 11-of-15 from beyond the arc as the Tide's reserves combined to match Ball State's total scoring output of 59 points, outscoring the Cardinals 59-13.
• Ingram added eight points, five boards and three steals in the winning effort.
• The Tide also forced 21 turnovers that resulted in 26 points, compared to six points-off-turnovers for Ball State.
LEADING THE SEC
• Alabama ranked in a tie for tops in the SEC when it came to Graduation Success Rate (GSR) among men's basketball schools in the league.
• Alabama, along with Georgia, were the only men's basketball program in the SEC that boasted a perfect 100 percent in the 2015-16 GSR results.
• The GSR factors students who entered school from 2006-09 and graduated within six years of their start date.
BENCH SUPPORT
• The Alabama bench has been a weapon through the Tide's opening three contests, highlighted by the reserves scoring 59 of the team's 77 points in a 77-59 win over Ball State on Nov. 18.
• The 59 points scored by the bench marked the most scored by any Tide reserve group this century. The previous high in the 2000s came with 48 points on two occastions: vs. Florida A&M on Nov. 19, 2008 and vs. Stillman on Nov. 18, 2013.
• For the year, Alabama's reserves has outscored its counterpart by a total margin of 113-47. That averages out to +22.0 points per game (37.7-15.7).
NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT
• Including Dazon Ingram who is a redshirt freshman, the Crimson Tide welcomed seven newcomers who are currently playing in Avery Johnson's 11-man rotation to begin the season.
• The seven players are combining to average 47.8 of Alabama's 73.0 points per game average through its three contests, which equates to approximately 65 percent of the Tide's scoring output on the year.
• The group is also dishing out 83 percent of the Tide's assists (30 of the team's 36 total assists) and pulling down 50 percent of the team's boards (19.0 of UA's 38.3 total rebounding average).
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
• After missing all but seven games of his rookie season in 2015-16 due to a broken foot, redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram has picked up where he left off when he got injured.
• Ingram started each of the Tide's first seven games last season prior to suffering the injury. At the time, he led the team with 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, ranked second in steals (1.1 spg), third in minutes per contest (25.6 mpg) and fourth in points per game (7.7) and field goal percentage (.541).
• Through three games this year, Ingram leads Alabama in scoring, (11.0 ppg), assists (4.7 apg), steals (1.7 spg) and minutes (29.7 mpg), while ranking third in rebounding (4.0 rpg).
• In addition to posting solid numbers, Ingram also ranks among the team leaders in both field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. The Theodore, Ala., native is second in three-point shooting (50 percent; 3-of-6) and third in field goal percentage (57.9 percent; 11-of-19).
AVERY JOHNSON SIGNS NATION'S NO. 3 RECRUITING CLASS
• It was a landmark Signing Day for The University of Alabama men's basketball program, as head coach Avery Johnson officially announced the Tide's 2017 class on Nov. 11.
• The Crimson Tide's five-man signing class is rated as high as No. 3 in the country according to Scout.com and Rivals.com, which is the highest-ranked signing class in program history. Meanwhile, ESPN.com and 247sports.com ranks the class as the fourth-best in the nation.
• The five newest members of the Alabama men's basketball program include guards Herb Jones, John Petty and Collin Sexton and forwards Alex Reese and Galin Smith. All five were rated as either four or five star recruits, while all were top-100 recruits in the nation, according to Rivals.com. Bios on all five signees can be found on page 3 of the 2016-17 game notes.
• Alabama not only nabbed the three top recruits in the state of Alabama in Petty, Reese and Jones, but also the top player in the state of Georgia in Sexton and the top big man in the state of Mississippi in Smith.
• Coach Avery Johnson's thoughts on this year's signing class: "We're excited about this 2017 recruiting class. All five of the players have signed their NLI with us, and I would like to thank their families have committed to us. I am extremely proud of all of the hard work that our assistant coaches and all of our auxiliary staff that has put into us having what we feel is the best recruiting class in The University of Alabama men's basketball history. Now, obviously, with a recruiting class, they have to come in and develop and be coachable and learn, mature, grow and develop. We have to win some games for it to really be a truly, great recruiting class. Times of Wimp Sanderson and C.M. Newton, they had some terrific, high-level, pro-like players; we are trying to duplicate and imitate a lot of their success in recruiting and hopefully their success on the court."
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
