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No. 2/2 Alabama Faces South Carolina Wednesday in Colonial Life Arena - University of Alabama Athletics
The No. 2/2 Alabama men's basketball team will begin the week on the road, as the Crimson Tide faces South Carolina Wednesday at Colonial Life Arena.
rolltide.com
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 2/2 Alabama men's basketball team will begin the week on the road, as the Crimson Tide faces South Carolina Wednesday at Colonial Life Arena.
The Alabama-South Carolina matchup features two of the best freshmen in the Southeastern Conference, as UA's Brandon Miller ranks No. 1 among all freshmen in Division in scoring (18.7 ppg) while USC's Gregory "GG" Jackson II ranks No. 6 in the country, averaging 15.2 points per contest.
The Broadcast
Wednesday's game is set for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff and will be aired on the ESPN2 with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Seth Greenberg (analyst) on the call.The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call, while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
Notes You Need To Know
- For the second time in the last three seasons, Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats was named to the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's Coach of the Year (Finished in the top 4 in 2021)
- Alabama has posted five wins over top-25 opponents in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history, going 10-6 over the span
- Alabama is 14-13 against AP Top 25 teams during Nate Oats' tenure
- The Crimson Tide is the first SEC team to score 100 points versus three conference opponents since the 1997-98 Arkansas team
- Alabama has won 11 SEC games by double digits, tying the program record set by the 1955-56 team
- Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the AP Top-25 Poll, the highest ranking in program history this late into the season
- The Crimson Tide is one of three schools (Houston and Kansas) to rank in the top 15 in both defense adjusted efficiency (No. 3) and in offense adjusted efficiency (No. 13) according to KenPom
- Brandon Miller became the third freshman and the fastest freshman in program history to score 500 points in a single season (27 games), surpassing Collin Sexton (28 games) and James "Hollywood" Robinson (30 games)
- Miller is the only player in Division I to score 505 points, record 215 rebounds and make 80 three-pointers this season
- Alabama's freshmen have scored 51.8 percent (1,167 points) of the Tide's scoring this season led by Miller's 18.7 points per game
- The Tide's defense has prevented any conference opponent from scoring 69 points or more in any SEC game this season
About South Carolina
- Head coach Lamont Paris was a part of the Wisconsin coaching staff that made seven straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Included in that stretch was a National Championship Game appearance (2015), Final Four (2014) and four Sweet 16s (2011-12, 2016-17).
- Josh Gray is averaging 10.6 rebounds per game over his last nine outings. He leads the team with 10+ rebounds in six games (five in SEC play)
- Highly touted freshman Gregory "GG" Jackson II is currently one of three freshmen in the country averaging at least 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Alabama's Brandon Miller (18.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and Duke's Kyle Filipowski (15.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg) is the only other players on the list.
- Gregory "GG" Jackson II ranks No. 6 in the nation among all freshmen scoring 15.2 points per game
- South Carolina is 0-7 this season when scoring 59 points or less. The team is also 3-15 when trailing at the half as opposed to 6-2 when leading at the break
- This new-look Gamecock squad features eight new players (four transfers and four freshman) headlined by Jackson, the highest rated recruit in program history (recruit rankings started in early 2000s). He joined former Carolina standout PJ Dozier (2015-17) as the only five-star signees in program history.
